S

"Do you think she'll be here?" Marco asked quietly. Star shrugged and glanced around the corner once more. There was still no sign of the woman they were searching for, but they had waited this long, so it was best to keep at it. The two sat against the wall near the alley and waited as Star began fiddling with her wand. "She was here last time, so there's a good chance she'll come for the donuts again." She whispered.

They were in a quieter area of echo creek, waiting for a powerful Mewnian warrior to make her entrance. After waiting for nearly two hours with their eyes glued to the dumpster, there was still no sign of her. "I told you we should have just come when they throw out the old donuts. That's when she comes out of the dumpster." Marco grumbled. Star frowned and took another glance at the waste bins down the alley. "I just want to see how she got there. Last time, she used a dumpster as a portal or something and I want to know if that's even possible."

Marco shrugged and laid his head back and stared at the sky. "What if Mina can't be reasoned with, Star? You know she's totally bonkers." She shook her head and glared at him. There was a slight annoyance in her expression, but she also seemed to genuinely care for Marcos opinion. "She might be a little, off. Yeah. But if I can find out what happened to her, or help her get better, she won't cause so much trouble later. It's worth a shot, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I just hate dealing with her." Star smiled and was about to speak when the sound of an old metal door being opened echoed down the alley. Both teens hurried to look around the corner to see a larger man in red pants and a donut shop uniform step out. Pete whistled a friendly tune as he carried a large trash bag full of old donuts to the dumpsters, only to stop in front of them and look around.

"That's weird, usually those two kids are hanging around. Hopefully, they're not in a jam." He chucked the bag into the dumpster and proceeded to make his way back inside. Both Marco and Star crept down the alley and hid behind one of the dumpsters and watched. As if on a silent cue, a woman in a tattered green dress burst out of the other with the donuts in tote. She had a warrior helmet on her head sat between two buns of purple hair, holding knee length pigtails. She wore a spiked boot on her left leg, was barefoot on the other, and clambered wildly to observe and study her prizes.

Star stepped out slowly and approached the one and only, Mina Loveberry. "Heyyy...Mina! How are you? Not ready to destroy everything and take over the world right?" Marco jabbed Stars arm and shook his head as Mina continued to inspect every donut. "Mina. My name is Marco Diaz. Do you know where you are?" She waved to both of them and began eating one of the donuts centers first. "Well gaduh, Barco, Im clearly on Earth! Doctors orders of course!"

Star held Mina's shoulder and knelt down. "Mina, we need to talk to you about why you're here. Are you okay?" Mina rolled backward down the alley and picked up a handful of donuts, rubbing them against each other. "Im chip as a tipper missy! Im on vacation here and Im studying the human being in its natural habitat!"

Star stepped closer and held out her wand. "Mina, Im Princess Star Butterfly. I just want to know why one of my mom's soldiers is the only nonroyal Mewman to come to this planet. And why you're acting this way." Mina stopped for a moment and stared at her. She was about to say something but held up two donuts over her eyes and waddled towards the dumpsters.

"Ya caught me, yer majesty! But I told ya everythin' already! But what's your reason for being here? Are you on vacation too?" Star sighed and put her wand away. "No, Im here to train my magic skills. I sorta broke the kingdom when I got my wand" There was a short pause before Mina jumped up and dusted off her dress and stood proudly before the two. "Well, you and your friend Barco in luck your royal missy! I'm quite the expert on magical training myself!" To prove her point, Mina threw a small fireball at a dumpster, causing it to immediately catch fire and explode.

Star looked worriedly to Marco, but he simply groaned and walked towards it. "Just keep an eye on her and play along or something. Ill handle the damages." He ran into the donut store and came out with a fire extinguisher. Star sighed and grabbed Mina's hand. "How about we go to the park and train?" Mina locked eyes with the princess of Mewni and for a moment, her ditsy nature wavered to give way to an intelligent stare. "That sounds like an excellent idea! The park provides plenty of space for more stringent trainin'!" She rushed forward but Star held her back. "No, no magic. We can go over basic combat, and you can tell me about how you got here okay?"

"Hmm. I suppose the basics would be a good start for an inexperienced warrior. I shall go easy at first so you can grasp the difficult concept." Star let a small gruff sigh escape her lips as she walked beside Mina to the park. She remembered how they had once destroyed it and terrorized the mud pits, but struggled with the smaller details of their escapade. Keeping the people around her safe was a top priority, but helping Mina was a close second.

The two made their way to a small clearing by the mud pits as Mina took a fighting stance and eyed Star. "Now, trainee, the key to winning any battle is by knowing your opponent." Mina took in a slow breath and eyed Star with intent, allowing only a few choice movements of investigation on her part. Star stood uncomfortably and stared back at her, wondering what strange things were going on in her old idols head. After a brief moment, Mina relaxed her fighting stance and spoke.

"I can see just by observing you, you are of royal blood." Star groaned and smacked her hand to her head in annoyance. She knew that Mina was a little out there, but this was beyond ridiculous. She took a step closer to Mina and was about to hurl a sarcastic comment when Mina continued.

"-Or so you believe. You are far more mature than others would perceive, and you have a plethora of combat experience in an environment not known to me. You've slain foes big and small, yet you carry the fear of failure wherever you go. It will be your undoing, trainee."

Mina punctuated those words by taking a seat in the freshly cut grass and plucking blades of it out one by one. Star had since stopped dead in her tracks and now stood rigidly, staring at her so-called teacher. She took a moment to process those words before taking a deep breath. "Mina, how do you know all that?"

"Oh, I have been far and around, trainee. I've seen it all. But now Im seeing Earth. On doctors orders of course!"

With that, she stood sharply and eyed down a hot dog stand just down the hill before crouching low to the ground. "I've spotted some sort of ritual the humans are partaking in to obtain food. We will now move in, and take them by surprise!" Mina began sneaking forward but Star grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Mina, they're paying for food. You dont have to take anyone by surprise." Star spoke with a growing tone of annoyance for her former idol. As she let out a gruff sigh, she noticed Marco making his way over to her. "Hey, Marco. Did you take care of that dumpster fire?"

"Yeah. Hows trying to help Mina going?" he asked. Star bit her lip and tried to avoid eye contact as she began kicking around tufts of grass. "Well, I didn't exactly get a lot out of her. She's just, gone, up there Marco. But she guessed things about me that almost nobody could know." Marco held his chin and thought about that for a moment. "Maybe she's just acting dumb?"

Star shook her head before rubbing her temples. In truth, dealing with Mina, even for a short time, was a drain in it of itself. "I doubt it. It's more like she has moments of thought but then it just... 'phew'. Ya know?"

Marco nodded and slowly took a look around, letting his eyes widen before turning back to Star. "Uh, where did she go?" Star whirled around, throwing her gaze at anything resembling purple in the distance, but found nothing. "I don't know! She was just here!" She ran around frantically while seemingly scanning every degree around her as Marco strolled over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Star, we'll find her. She can't have gotten very far. Maybe she went to the top of the hill from last time." She maintained a worried look but slowly nodded. The air at the park was calming and peaceful, which was a stark opposite to the crazed mewnian warrior they were searching for. The two made their way around the muds pits, continually searching for Mina, as Marco spoke softly.

"Im sorry she turned out to be this way again, Star. I know its hard seeing someone you look up to turn out to be completely different." Star smiled gently at him as they walked along the sun-baked sidewalk and patted his back. "It's okay. I know what to expect this time and I'm more excited to help her out than to idolizer her, you know?"

Marco nodded and scanned around the playground to his left. "Hopefully we can keep her from destroying things this time. Like your party for the monsters," he noted. Star chuckled at was about to speak when a woman's scream sounded from just over the hill next to them. Both teens nodded in affirmation and took off running towards the disturbance.

When they crested over the hill, they surveyed the lush green field and simultaneously laid eyes on Mina. She was standing in the middle of a group of people, all tied up and looking quite horrified. She turned and smiled at Star and Marco before waving to them with grandeur.

"Lesson two, Trainee! Always be one step ahead of your enemy. If you want to take over a species, you have to first take them, by surprise!" She tightened the ropes on an elderly man's bindings before observing her handiwork.

Marco and Star skid to a stop several yards away, before Star stepped closer to Mina. "Marco, help them. I'll keep her busy." He nodded and took slow steps to the side as Star continued her advance. "Mina, why do you keep doing this? These people are innocent and you're scaring them. The world doesn't need conquering!"

Mina shook her head and jumped closer to Star, causing her to flinch instinctively. "Trainee, these humans can't be trusted with their own fate! They need a ruler, strong and powerful. And I'M looking at royalty in need of a kingdom! Help me take over this dump!"

Star glared at her and gripped her wand precautiously. There was a dangerous unease to Mina's voice, like she would snap at any second. If she hadn't already. Marco had made his way to the civilians and began untying them as Star spoke to keep her 'Teacher' distracted. "They dont need a ruler, Mina. They're doing just fine. I dont know what happened to you, but... attacking innocent people makes you just as bad as the monsters you fight!"

Mina let her wavering smile drop to a serious and annoyed expression. The calm and sunny air of the day slowly began to change to a dark and seemingly colder atmosphere, radiating from her. "A lot happened to me, Trainee. But I am no Monster. They are vile and heinous creatures that deserve no mercy and are owed only the burning impact of my fury! I can keep these humans safe from that, so why wouldn't I?"

With each passing word, the sky grew darker until it seemed to be sunset during the middle of the day. Mina slowly began floating off of the ground as the wind picked up, whipping Stars hair around and shaking trees to their roots. Star squinted through it all and watched as Minas form changed from a frail, skinny woman, to a hulking, muscular warrior. Hot purple fire radiated from her burly body and her eyed turned glowing white as she spoke in a voice much deeper than her own.

"What makes you think these humans are innocent anyway? They NEED someone to rule over them! And I will keep them safe from monsters, just as I do for Mewni!" She breathed a deep breath and turned to face Marco, now standing alone where her captors once sat. He had both blades at the ready and stood in his usual battle stance as he looked at Star. "Where are the prisoners?!" Star looked at Marco and shook her head before taking a step towards Mina.

"Mina, please, let me help you. You're confused and you need to see a... helpful person. Just calm down. We're here for you." The wind had slowed a bit but the dark clouds above were just as thick as before. Mina grit her teeth as she stared at Marco, then turned her attention to Star.

"I don't need help. Im going to show you just what it means to be a Mewman. I won't rest until every monster out there is destroyed and these humans are safe!" There was a short moment of silence before Star put her wand away and spoke just above the wind. "We don't need you to protect us from enemies that dont exist. It's time to rest, Mina. You've done your job and its time to come home." Star took a wary step towards her, reaching out with one hand, but Mina frowned and shook her head in disdain.

"It IS time to come home. Lesson three, Trainee: Never. Let your guard down." Marco took his chance and made a dive for Mina. He brought one blade back and was prepared to cut a portal behind her when she abruptly spun about. A massive arm swung outwards and clotheslined him to the ground. Mina stood above him and wagged a finger. "You've got a lot of practicing to do, Flame giver. Keep her highness safe while I fight the forces of evil on the home front!"

Star rushed Mina from behind and launched a narwhal blast right for her back. But it too was easily deflected as Mina held a hand up and swatted it aside. "No! Stop her!" Star yelled above the wind. But it was too late. Mina roared through the air leaving a small trail of fire as she flew across the park. Star ran after her as fast as she could, only to see the massive hulking warrior zoom straight into the old dumpster just outside the park. With one flash of searing heat, she disappeared.

Marco caught up to Star, only for the two to stop at the entrance of the park, watching the now silent dumpster helplessly. For the second time, they had let Mina escape to who knows where to do who knows what. Star let out a groan of defeat and flopped down onto the grass, closing her eyes against the returning sun. Marco sat beside her and spoke calmly as he put his scissors away. "It's okay. We did our best but, maybe we aren't meant to help her. Maybe shes beyond help, Star."

She shook her head and glared at the sky as if it was its fault for letting Mina escape. "But we HAD her. We could have ended her crazy train right here. I couldn't help her and people are going to get hurt." Marco helped her up and hugged her softly. "It's not your fault, Star," he said quietly. "Sometimes there's only so much we can do for people. We just need to be ready for when she shows her face again."

Star said nothing and kept her eyes locked on the alley behind the donut store. Marco let his smile waver but he pressed on. "I know you try to help everyone you meet, but you did your best. Just dont give up, and dont stop being you. Now cmon. We should probably get out of here before someone calls the police."

She smiled slightly and hugged Marco again, this time with the force he had grown used to. "Thanks, Marco. For helping me out today." He smiled as the two began making their way out of the park, the sun now at its full glow and the wind as calm as ever. "You know I've always got your back, Star. You're my best friend." She grabbed his hand and smiled. "Well, Boyfriend' we should head over to that restaurant that thows out their bread. I remember those baguettes being amaaaazing. If we hurry, we only have to wait two hours for them to be thrown out!"

Star beamed at him and took off running down the street as he bolted past her in a dead sprint "Well hurry up then! I bet I can eat more of them than you!" "Over my dead body!"

As the two ran down the street, a now normal sized Mewnian warrior watched them from the rooftops and smiled. She held a small donut in her hand and chomped down on it as she turned and began walking away. "Lesson four, Trainee: Never forget what you're fighting for. And who stands in your way."

To be continued in: A Good Mother

AUTHORS NOTE

Howdy, everyone. Sorry for the hiatus and also that this chapters a little bit fast paced. I had to introduce Mina's character but there really wasnt a lot of inspiration for this one, and Mina doesn't have much of anything going for her besides being crazy and battle hungry. And almost nothing is known about her, so its a bit difficult to keep it canon lol. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this intermission chapter and I look forward to seeing you next time! Buh BYYYEEEE

Mr. Ronald Reagan