Notes:

We get the resolution of the demon adventure this time! Janna had a plan all along, right? Who knows what that crazy chick is thinking! Unfortunately, Marco does suffer, as interactions with Janna inevitably end badly for him.

Chapter 11 (EDITED 12/22/2020)

"Quid ego faciem exitium?" The demon asks again, less patiently this time. That turns his already room rumbling voice into what feels like a miniature earthquake, causing me to stumble and take another cat punch, this time to the head. As you might expect, with my brains rattled I'm pretty much out of the fight from that point forward. I slump against the door I've been thrown against, all the strength seeping out from my limbs as my chest cools down.

"Marco!" I hear Star's worried voice moments before she slides in between the creature's frog-like legs, ending up right in front of me. She calls out, "Translucent Bubblegum Dome!" and a pink tinted bubble pops up over the two of us. I'd love to thank her for being such a hero, but all that comes out is slurred mumbling. She calls out, "C'mon Janna, do your weird witch stuff!" The demon slams its lion paw into the barrier, which shudders. I'm not sure how long that'll last…

A snap rings out through the room as Janna closes her book of Latin soundly, and begins finally saving the day (?), "Corpus capillus exitium!" The beanie wearing girl yells, pointing directly at me. Welp, I guess this is it, Janna planned all this just to finally kill me off. My premonition is quickly given weight when the demon dissolves once more into black smoke and slithers through Star's shield like it's not even there, heading directly for me.

Star doesn't even have time to spell up a counter before the black smoke hits, engulfing me completely. I feel what most closely resembles a hundred thousand static shocks, not super painful for each of them, but the sheer amount almost makes me feel like I'm on fire for all of half a second. I let out a strangled scream, but then the pain stops. The smoke dissipates almost immediately, leaving only three sweaty teens, a destroyed room, and candles in the closet that mysteriously light up again.

I'm feeling much more clear headed after that *wonderful* experience, and slowly push myself to my feet. Star allows the bubble to disappear and slams me back into the wall with a worried hug, "Marco! Are you cursed?! Are you dead?!" she begins patting me down in a way that would be quite nerve wracking in a less stressful situation, but doesn't appear to find anything at first, "Wait- what's this?"

I blush and look down, wondering what she's managed to see. Unfortunately for me, I find myself face to face with a giant centipede. It has crawled out of the collar of my shirt and currently has its little feelers waving at me, which is far too much after the events of the past ten minutes or so. I feel my consciousness leave me in a rush, darkness overtaking my vision for I'm not sure how long.

The next thing I know, I hear the squeaking of wheels and a few grunts of effort. My body vibrates with the uncomfortable feeling of bad suspension over concrete, which has my head feeling like the gong of a particularly enthusiastic musician. I let out a pain filled moan, murmuring, "Stop…" But unfortunately for me, my rest is further disturbed. I feel the evil motion finally stop, but that discomfort is replaced by a massive bash against my chest. My eyes fly open to see a worried looking Star staring right at me, her face so close that our noses nearly touch.

Her knees remain firmly lodged on my ribs, however. Couldn't she have aimed for a less painful awakening? Still, I do my best to play it off and give my new friend a shaky smile, "Hey, Star."

She finally relaxes, spreading her knees and plopping her butt onto my stomach instead, which is wonderful in about six different ways, "Oh, thank Glossryck. You don't have brain damage. Some of the things Janna said... Marco! I was worried about you!" As usual, concern quickly changes to anger. Usually I'm the one doing the lecturing, though.

"I, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry for worrying you, Star. Where -is- Janna anyway? Where are we?" Star grabs the metal sides of the box we're in and pushes herself up and out, allowing me a full view of what I'd been riding in. Apparently Janna has lent Star a wagon to carry me around in, unless Star stole it.

I'm not sure which would make me more comfortable, honestly, "Oh, she's back at her place cleaning up. You reaaaaallly made a mess of things."

"I made a mess of things?! Her crazy demon destroyed her room! Which, I may add, should not have been summoned at all, because Earth magic doesn't work!" I can't believe what I'm hearing. I push myself up into a sitting position, nearly hysterical at this point.

I'm not sure what I might have said next if she hadn't shocked me so badly by saying, "Marco, you know it wouldn't have attacked us if you didn't punch it? Those things look like monsters, but usually they just have a job to do after a summoning like that." I flap my lips for a few moments, completely flabbergasted.

I caused all that chaos? Oh, my god, Janna's revenge is gonna be the stuff of nightmares, "Wait! I was unconscious in front of Janna, what did she do to me!? Star, you protected me, right!?" I reach up and grab at the front of Star's dress, desperation in my eyes. Has she gotten revenge already? Now that I think about it, I do feel a bit different! Damningly, Star looks away with a sudden blush on her cheeks, staying silent, "Star!" I repeat, shaking her while my voice cracks a bit.

She sighs, still refusing to meet my eyes, but at least answers, "Ah, um, we didn't do much. I wouldn't have let her do anything too terrible to you. She just...checked to see if it worked. And maybe took a few pictures, since she said losing the ones she had was part of her payment." I let go of the somewhat embarrassed girl and start patting myself down. I jump up out of the wagon and keep looking, before eventually finding out what the demon took away from me.

"Rodrigo…" I whisper in horror. My first chest hair is gone, along with every single other hair I had below the neck. That's what feels different, my pants, my boxers, my hoodie...they all feel different, without that thin layer of protection.

"Hehe, you feel really smooth now." Star takes advantage of my grief to pull up my hoodie sleeve and rub her cheek against my forearm, giggling out, "Smoooooth."

Once I recover enough to move, I yank my arm away from my new friend, fall to my knees, and call to the sky, "WHYYYY?!"

Star simply pats me on the back, saying, "You know, she said she was doing you a favor. Apparently some girls like their guys clean shaven?" She just can't understand. As much as I despise seeing my parents giggling over each other, a lot of my understanding of manliness comes from my very, very hairy father. Will I ever grow hair again? Will I be able to get a girl? What will Jackie think?! I flop myself back into the wagon, pull up my hood, and curl up in the fetal position. My bike will have to wait, as it is very much time to mope.

"Marco! I do not want to drag you all the way home in that thing. Are you listening to me!?" I'm too lost in despair to respond, of course, which ends up with her just sighing, "Guess I'm doin this." Squeaky wheels and grunts of effort sound out once more, and I find myself longing for the sweet time when I was unconscious and had no idea I'd been cursed. Cursed with utter smoothness.