"STOP!" Vanilla yelled, and with Avrevm Bacvlvm still between her hands, she rammed the tip of the weapon against Carol's ribs, like a redden branding iron against the flesh of a cow.
But something happened, which looked more like magic than burning fire: Purple energy sprang from the hexangular tip of the pole and enveloped her body with purple steam.
Carol abruptly let Vanilla go, and her body straightened up, like a bent stick in a trap getting free from its tension. Blood dripped from her face, and her bones stiffed like frozen clay. She was like the statue of St. Bernard that was in the middle of the Cul-De-Sac.
Sitting on the brown couch, Vanilla looked at Avrevm Bacvlvm. What in the hell was it? She had her thumb pushing the amethyst on the lower part. Rowie ran towards her. "Come' ere, let's go..." She grabbed the puppy and ran towards the wooden stairs at the bottom.
No one was in the residence beside Carol and her. Being Friday, the servants and workers had left early and would not return until late Sunday, as the work regulations of the state ordered.
On the third floor and attic of the residence, Vanilla got inside her room and locked the rusty lock. Why did she, despite having her own room below on the second floor, like Carol and her father, preferred that place?
The top floor had the best vision for her telescope, and she had learned that Carol would bother her less if she was up there, for 'She didn't like to sweat and ruin her makeup', by climbing stairs, or that's what she used to say. Pretentious hag...
Vanilla could have taken that beating on her head, but no one could snatch that satisfying feeling of hitting her abusive stepmother's face and making her bleed. She deserved it for all those times she would unjustifiedly lock her up or forbid her dinner, or getting rid of her belongings.
It was night already. She turned on the light switch and put Rowie on the floor. "I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!" The puppy growled.
"Relax..." Vanilla felt the exhaustion of running a marathon. She slid her back on the door and sat, letting the adrenaline fade away. Her head hurt from the grinding whacking. Her casual dress was splashed with more blood.
Putting her hand on her head, her messy hairs were also covered with the gunk of half-coagulated blood.
"Are you alright?" Rowie approached her, putting his two front paws on her legs.
"Yeah... Give me a minute," She raised her look and breathed deep. Damn. Did she just get on a real fight with Carol? She cynically chuckled.
"What was that? That baton you found, did you see her?"
"Yes... This is something else," She inspected Avrevm Bacvlvm. If by pressing the amethyst the baton did that, what would happen if she pressed the other gems?
She put her thumb on the ruby and thrust it. A jet of pressurized fire came out from the tip and hit the wooden wall next to the window that was above her bed.
"What? Fire!" The pup hid below her desk, next to the door.
"Dang it!" Vanilla got up and uselessly hit the fire with her backpack, but the flames kept spreading on the wood.
"Try using the pole again!"
Vanilla saw a Sapphire between the rows of gems on the bottom of the weapon. She thrust it, and another concentrated pulse in color light-blue hit the wall. The fire ceased and got replaced by a rock of smoky ice taking its black, charred place.
"That was close..." The pup exhaled in relief and came out.
"This thing... Amazing!" Vanilla grinned and looked at it once again.
"What did you do?"
"The gems it has here at the bottom can do different things. The Amethyst paralyzed Carol," She felt bitter when she pronounced her name. "And the Ruby and Sapphire created fire and ice... Amazing!" She looked at Rowie with a childish smile on her face. "Amazing Amazing Amazing!"
"Please don't try it here inside!"
Her curiosity tried to be released and satisfied, but Vanilla contained herself, ignorant of the state of Carol or what she could do with the artifact. She almost set on fire the house by accident.
Having that strange weapon on her hands filled her with confidence she had only felt less than a pair of times in her life. Meditating it for a moment, if she only had it before when she confronted her bullies, or when the banshee made her bleed to death, the results would surely have been different.
Now she could protect herself, instead of having to rely on her plushes that she had restricted herself to use only in non-humans. With a second chance to live again and such a powerful tool like Avrevm Bacvlvm, she would never, ever, let anyone hurt her again.
Another strange day and all she needed was to relax. She had the luxury of possessing a bathroom inside her room. With the water heated, she returned to her bedroom. Rowie was already asleep, curling in the blankets.
She could not feel thankful enough to have him by her side. Poor thing. Being so innocent and already having to witness all of what Vanilla had to go through. She returned to the steaming bathroom.
Apple-Cinnamon candles aromatized the bathroom and her favorite interpretation of the Canon in D sounded through her phonogram. Her naked skin met the warm water and steam, making out with it and relaxing her from any concern. Through her five senses, her body inhaled peace and exhaled worries.
She closed her eyes and became one with the water. Sometimes the best way of sorting out your mind was clearing it out from everything. But she still had many things to sort out.
The next morning, Vanilla and Rowie went downstairs. Carol still stood there, standing in the same paralyzed position.
"What should we do?" The pup asked, smelling the human statue.
"Don't talk. Maybe she still can hear us."
Vanilla walked around her, inspecting Carol's frozen body. She was still staring at the candlestick on the roof, in the same position she left her yesterday as if time had suddenly stopped for her. The blood on her pink dress stank.
"Better to not do anything until we learn more about this weapon," Vanilla whispered. Both left the human statue and walked to the entrance, bypassing the armor stands of her father that bravely stood tall in the hallway.
"Where are we going today?" The pup asked.
"Rowie, stay here," Both approached the double door.
"But, why?"
"Please check Carol out. Tell me if you see something strange."
"But Vanilla! We always go out together."
"Please. I promise to bring you something delicious."
Rowie stared at Vanilla with his big, glossy eyes that always stirred her. But she had something in mind she wanted to try out. Bringing Rowie would be too risky for him.
"I'll bring you some of those oatmeal cookies you love so much. I promise," She smiled and leaned on her knees.
"Really?" His eyes glowed and expanded.
"Yes! Please look up for Carol."
"Ok... Promise to not be late."
"I promise," She stepped out and closed the door.
Outside of the gothic construction, she checked out the pockets of her new dustcoat, stolen from her father's wardrobe. Money and the objects that were going to be the main protagonists of her next experiment: Avrevm Bacvlvm and Strongarms.
Strongarms was a small gorilla plush wearing those new glasses of military design called aviators. Unlike most of her plushes, he was manufactured by a professional toymaker, a souvenir from a military man. His fur was soft and his face and hands made of plastic.
It was cloudy and humid as ever. She began her way to St. Peter street, that place of worn-down townhomes full of drunkards, prostitutes, cheap bars, and the only burdel in the town. Surely she'd find that trio right there. She'd have a chance to fully experiment with what Avrevm Bacvlvm was capable of.
For a moment she felt stupid. What was she doing looking up for the people that'd break her teeth if they saw her? But there were not better candidates available. Better to try on them rather than making new enemies. This time she felt like she wouldn't hesitate, even if she received a beating. The best way to get rid of a problem was, like a weed, to cut it from its roots.
The cracked street of St. Peter was slippery and stunk like urine and rancid beer. Tottering, drunk men of vomited suits and women of cheap colognes and mediocre concealer, so badly applied on their tossy faces wandered on, too busy with their distorted reality and trying to not trip over a car or a pothole on the broken pavemented street to pay attention to Vanilla.
'Oh... sweet lovely people...' She whispered, finding them sooner than expected. They leaned on a wheelless car in front of the Alma Vista bar, a building of colonial windows and smacked trowelling.
They saw her at the end of the street. They sniped Vanilla with the same malice they screamed at her on the day she got slashed by a banshee.
'Come'ere... I'm waiting for you...' She hid behind the corner. They would not resist the temptation of coming after her, like hungry lynxes against a hare of broken legs.
"Aaaaah!" A giant figure squished Vanilla with its massive, bulky arms. "Let me—" He locked her mouth with its sweaty and raspy hands. It stunk like a mix of alcohol, piss, and dirt. He raised her against her will to the desolate way where she came from.
A man of lengthy beards and a dirty patched complexion appeared, and together they hauled Vanilla to a gloomy alley of trash containers between two townhomes next to that corner, packed with stagnant water puddles, empty beer bottles, and the odor of fermented urine.
The two vagabonds laughed at her efforts. They kept yanking her. There was a metallic door at the bottom, coated with black graffiti. Vanilla saw the three figures she was looking for initially, confidently making their way.
"Look at who we have here," Rox said, with Jane and the fat kid, Eric, Henry? What was his damned name? behind, naively laughing like imps from hell.
Jane passed by them and opened the door. The vagrants brought Vanilla inside. With everyone in, they slammed the door and locked it.
The insides of the concrete cavern were sultry and dark, except for the windows on the second floor that let light struck inside. Nothing besides old scrap and the remainings of a dissembled car stood there. Empty bottles and a worn-down mattress laid next to the entrance.
"Hehehe... I can't wait to put my hands on this sweet bon-bon!" The hobo of mucky beards said, having Vanilla's legs locked. They snatched her to the stained sleeping cushion.
The vagabond locking her from behind let her mouth free. The first thing she did was spit at the bearded vagrant's face that she had in front. He replied with a slap of his heavy, raspy hand. Her eyes crumpled and her ears buzzed.
"Start now, we also want to have our fun!" Jane was getting impatient.
"Wait," Rox had a white bandage pasted on her nose. She approached, made her fist a punch, and whacked it on Vanilla's nose.
Stunned and blinded, Vanilla's eyes watered. Blood cascaded from her nose and reached her neck and lilac dress.
"That's nothing compared to what I'm gonna do to you next," Her face almost touched Vanilla's. She could smell her rancid breath.
The man hugging her from behind sat on the mattress, with the bleeding and stunned Vanilla between his muddy limbs. The bearded one put his hands on Vanilla's knees. He spread them. He was ready to have fun.
They were about to dispose of what she was supposed to treasure until she got married. Vanilla panicked and attempted to scream, but Jane assisted her kidnapper.
"Wha? AAH!" A cutting, pressuring pain got on Jane's hand. Vanilla bit it so hard that a part of flesh and nerves got on her mouth. Jane got up, grabbed her wrist, hopped numerous times, and checked her hand out.
It was a bloody mess. The portion between the index and the thumb was gone. It displayed part of her white bones showered in blood. Like a coyote that just killed a cat, Vanilla's mouth was also covered in red. The crooks stopped with their jaws open.
"Why do you stop? Keep going!" Rox didn't care. The bearded crook raised Vanilla's skirt and then put his greasy hands on her waist. He reached for her underwear and sliced it out.
They'd make sure to have so much fun with her body that she'd bleed to death. How stupid of her, to try to actively get into the wolf's mouth.
It was not lost! That was right! Amidst the panic, she remembered Strongarms, resting on the insides of her jacket. Without losing any more precious time, she attempted to pronounce the special words.
"Strongarms, Custos Simia, please-"
"Shut up bitch!" the homeless man clutching her tried to put his hand on her mouth, but she evaded it by shifting both front and back.
"—lend me your power and," A hand got on her mouth, but she kept moving away.
"—strength, and bring calm to where chaos exists and," Rox made an effort to put her hand on her mouth, but she moved it as she barely felt Vanilla's teeth rosing her skin. She didn't want to suffer the same that happened to Jane, who was still shocking on her knees.
"—give these lost souls the peace they deserve!"
"What a bunch of nonsense." The bandit said as he fully took out Vanilla's underwear. He sniffed it as deep as a drowning person would grasp for vital air.
"She is hallucinating." The fat hooligan laughed. "Why don't they put her inside a Madhouse?"
The vagabond sniffed the rear part and tossed the white underwear to the dusty floor. He then unzipped his pants. He took his member out.
Vanilla shut her eyes and hoped that Custos Simia, the spirit inside Strongarms appeared. The assaulter put his hands on her knees once again and spread Vanilla so hard she felt her groins cramp. She shrieked and cried for help. But Rox muzzled her by putting a piece of cloth on her mouth.
Vanilla then felt as if a herd of elephants crushed her body. Her muscles ripped apart, her nerves dismembered, and her bones got pulverized. Her lungs weren't big enough to throw out the pain away. The vagrant was about to get inside. But something stopped him in his way.
A primal warcry rumbled inside that wide and empty building. The bullies blocked their ears. He had arrived. Each of his arms was bigger than Vanilla's body, and his height doubled the size of the crook with the green jacket. A blue aura of fume shined around him.
"W-What?!" The vagabond holding Vanilla's arms let her go. The torture that using the dolls entailed finalized. She felt like she could lift a car.
"RUN!" Eric cried.
Custos Simia's warcry shook the artificial burrow. He rushed on his legs and knuckles. The vagabond that was about to violate Vanilla tried to escape, but the primate was faster. He swapped his arm and the fragile human hit the wall so rough it got a crater.
The gorilla then crossed his hands on a single, smashing punch and hammered his head. Blood, brains, and parts of his skull spattered everywhere in a red cloud. An eyeball hit Vanilla. She stepped back and checked her coat's interior pocket. Avrevm Bacvlvm was still there.
The rest of the hooligans screamed like pigs in a slaughterhouse.
"No, NO! PLEASE! AAAAAGGH" Custos Simia grabbed Jane's legs and slammed her against the floor. Screams of agony echoed in the room. The gorilla grinded. He slammed her against the floor behind him and then the floor in front.
The others cried, wailed, and screamed in desperation as they saw it. They tried to run away and escape, but thick asbestos and concrete had them trapped to their doom.
Jane stopped screaming after dozens of pulverizing slams. Vanilla could swear that every time Custos Simia banged her, she heard her spine, her pelvis, and then her skull being broken with each hit.
Was this vengeance? A bittersweet satisfaction, followed then by a sensation of empowerment, courage, and heaviness filled her body and mind.
Custos Simia stopped. He launched the bloodstained body of what used to be Jane next to the headless rapist. It rolled on the floor like an old ragdoll with all of her bones broken. He then moved to the ones left. Nothing less severe expected them.
"Wait. I'll deal with them." Vanilla ordered. They were hers.
She walked to Rox, the fat bully, and the vagabond left, moving with goosebumps of adrenaline and confidence. Custos Simia followed behind. The insignificant teenagers and the vagrant tried to fall back, despite being already at the limit of the wall.
"Vanilla, please! I'm sorry!" Rox's face was bloated. She broke down.
Vanilla inspected Avrevm Bacvlvm between the fingers of her pale hand. It was the perfect opportunity to try it off.
"Please, Vanilla. Show mercy!" Rox extended her palms and cried even harder.
"You didn't show me mercy. Tell me one single time where you showed mercy and I'll let you go," Vanilla's voice was keen and cold.
Rox expression widened, with her mouth stuttering and her eyes fixated on her, staring at what she recognized as death herself.
Vanilla pushed the garnet. A discharge of electrical thunders came out from its tip and transverse through Rox's body, frying her nerves, organs, and flesh with raw electron power.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGHH!" Rox's body uncontrollably shook, flinched, and twitched with her agonizing scream as electricity fried her up.
Vanilla then released the gem. Rox tried to move her shrieking hand with the few strength she had left, but Vanilla rewarded her with another electrical discharge.
"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhh!" She convulsed once again, with black smoke emanating from her body.
Vanilla released her thumb for the last time. Rox didn't move again, except for involuntary tremblings and twitches after being the host of pernicious voltages that gifted her a horrible death. Parts of her body, starting from her hands were charred and blackened. It stank like roasted meat.
Getting out of her head for a moment, Vanilla took a look around. The burglar left had already fainted, and the fat bully was just there, mindlessly murmuring something with his look lost, trembling, and shaking on the ground.
"Henry?" Vanilla spoke to him.
"HENRY?" She slammed the sole of her boot against his back, but he didn't respond. His mind was gone.
She took a deep breath. The blood puddles where Jane was slammed on, her body, and the vagabond's head being splashed everywhere. Rox's charred body. Did she just...?
Deep inside she could not help but feel some unexplainable, rewarding yet painful pleasure she had not felt before. Her bullies were gone... Gone. Yeah, she didn't have to worry about them humiliating her anymore. They would not hurt anyone ever again.
"Thank you... Thank you very much," She said. The gorilla was now calm, sitting on his knuckles. He returned a smile and hugged Vanilla. Despite being one of the rawest powerhouses of all of her plushes, he was also the calmest and most collected. Vanilla liked him so much for being a softie when he wasn't fighting.
She had enough. She put Avrevm Bacvlvm inside her dustcoat and walked to the entrance. A blue portal appeared in front of Custos Simia and he crossed over. It was time to return home. Experiment complete. She still owed Rowie some Oatmeal Cookies.