Now the darker part begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.


Chapter 53: Okcha Prime part 1

Boris and Victoria were watching the moments after Piplup's evolution.

"Wow, the boss sure was right about that. Who would have guessed such a small pokémon could be such a drama queen?" Boris muttered, watching the screens. "I can't wait to see the other reactions. Too bad it didn't work with Pikachu but we'll get other opportunities."

"Then you better don't forget to teleport me. You almost killed me, stupid idiot," Victoria complained. She was sitting in a chair nearby, holding her head. "This headache is getting worse. And voices ... can you hear them?"

"What the hell are you talking about, woman? There are no voices here except for mine. And that's the only voice you need," he replied, not taking his eyes off the screens.

"But ... they started in Viridian City and only got louder and louder since then. What kind of language is that?" She had an almost paranoid expression on her face. "This is scary. Close your eyes, can't you hear them?"

Instead of answering, he approached her calmly with his hands behind his back and a grim expression on his face.

"Say it again. Just once more and I'll tear out intestines and use them to make this place feel a bit more welcoming," he told her with such spite that it made her cringe.

"But they're ..." She didn't even know why she said it after his words and immediately regretted it.

He called out Garchomp, pushed her roughly to the ground, kicked her in the stomach and placed a foot on her head while she was still trying to recover. Gerdevoir wasn't able to protect her as it had to repel Garchomp's attack and when it realized that its trainer was at Boris's mercy, it surrendered. He kept pressing her head to the ground for a while but at least he didn't turn his threat into reality. As if to mock her, the voices got louder but she didn't dare mention it again.

"I don't believe I've ever worked with such a pathetic pussy. You disgust me." Despite his words, he was still remarkably calm. "Maybe Divine is also losing his mind, also hearing voices. After all, only madman would ever see something in you. I guess he's just keeping you around for amusement. It's pretty much the same problem with the others. Without his little tricks, Seth is nothing. He's almost as much of a coward as you are. And while Wraith is somewhat capable, she's way too young and also horribly boring. Maybe Shira was right?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. If it wasn't for her little predicament, she would've yelled at him for voicing such thoughts so she tried to reason with him even though she had a feeling that any attempt was doomed from the start.

"In that case you better remember how she ended up." Those words caused him to press her head to the ground with a bit more force but he didn't reply so she took it as a sign that she could continue. "You know how powerful he is. You saw what he did to the cities. Do you want someone like that as your enemy?"

"You don't think I made that decision right now, do you?" He asked, laughing. "No, my dear friend, I have an ally. Something more powerful than an entire Okcha-army. With the help of one of my Okcha slaves, I convinced one of the main scientists to give the code for something called the Okcha Prime. It was simple, really. All of those scientists are possessed by now but they only answer to the boss. One of mine replaced it and told me all the secrets."

He removed his foot and for a moment, she hoped that she would finally be able to stand up again but his garchomp took his place while he was working with the teleport controls.

"The Okcha Prime is said to be basically invincible as it can possess other bodies if the previous one was destroyed. It can even possess other Okcha's bodies and banish them in the process. Unlike them, its real body can stay in this world permanently. It's a perfect soldier, it's already transferred to this base and it soon will be bound to my ring and my ring alone. I don't know why Divine didn't use it already but that's his damage. He's probably just afraid. I'll use it to get rid of him." He took one of his pokéballs and called out a machamp. "Get into that tube! We will make a marvelous body for our new friend. There's still enough material from the previous experiments."

He burst into mad laughter and Garchomp mimicked him. He had always been crazy but now it seemed like he was completely insane. Then he called out several pokémon and walked towards Victoria again.

"I must admit, I didn't expect it to be this easy. Without Seth and Wraith around, it was almost too easy but that's alright. Now let me take this." At first, he pulled out a knife and grabbed her hand with the ring but when she screamed and tried to pull it away, he laughed and simply slipped it off her finger."You'll keep your hand for now. Unlike the ring, you'll need it. After all, you're my servant now."

"What?" She tried to get up only to get pushed back to the ground. "Never! Besides, didn't you say I'm pathetic? Why would you want my services now?"

"I mostly want to see Divine's face when he realizes that you're working for me now." He raised the arm with his glove and addressed his pokémon. "Emboar, Infernape, use flamethower. I want it at maximum power. Scrafty, free that girl over there and take her to the teleport square." He pointed at Eileen. "Let's give them something to play while the body is being made. Oh, wait just a second. Aw, what heartbreaking scene." He watched it and then seized a short opportunity when Ash was separated from the others. "Now you can do it."

Garchomp finally let go of Victoria and watched the body being formed inside one of the tubes when Machamp entered the other while flames were increasing the power of Boris's glove. First, the torso and the legs were done, which was good thing although they weren't sure whether it was intentional. The head and the arms followed but now the lack of remaining material became apparent as one of them just didn't grow properly and remained small. Now Boris was wondering whether he should have made set the size of the body a little smaller as it was already many times the size of the original. One of the arms even had a hole in it but he was still sure that the Okcha Prime would make good use of its new body.

It was almost ready to receive its host, as the water was pumped out of the real machamp's tube, allowing it to leave it again. However, the body needed to remain in this state to become stable, which was always the case for non-ghost-types. This was the reason Divine preferred those. Boris was about to teleport Eileen, who was standing on the only teleport pressure plate in this room, when a familiar face appeared on one of the screens. It was his former boss, Divine, and despite the recent events, he didn't look unhappy in the slightest.

"Well, hello there, Boris," he said with a grin. "It looks like I underestimated you. Replacing my scientist's Okcha with your own, not bad at all."

"Is that all? I'm afraid you don't understand the graveness of your situation," Boris replied calmly. "I suppose you know what this Okcha's capable of."

"Absolutely. However, as much as I've underestimated you, you've overestimated yourself. You're clever but short-sighted and your plan is already doomed." He raised two fingers. "There are two issues you either ignore or don't know and every single one by itself is enough to thwart your plans. Even though you probably won't listen, I highly advise you against using the Okcha Prime."

"Is that so? Would you mind telling me why?" Boris asked, working with the other teleport pads all the time to prevent Ash and Dawn from reuniting. Scrafty was also waiting next to the teleport pad with Eileen on it.

"Firstly, I'm sure you have noticed that my ring is made out of gold, while yours is a silver ring and the difference is more than just cosmetic. Mine is more powerful. Every Okcha called to this world is bound primarily to my ring so they can't hurt me and you won't be able make them do it, even if they're bound to your ring as well," he explained. "Of course, it doesn't mean you can't tell them to attack other Okcha, which you did. So even though I applaud your efforts, they're ultimately in vain."

"Cool story," Boris muttered before Scrafty pushed Eileen onto the platform and Boris sent her away. He wanted to keep teleporting her so that she would lead the others to different parts of the maze with her screaming. "She'll distract them until the body's ready... oh, you're done with the first reason?"

"Oh my, I can already see it's useless but maybe Victoria will learn a thing or two. You see, I'm sure you already know the Okcha Prime is special in many ways or you wouldn't do this. It can change bodies at will, it can remain in our world permanently but most importantly, it can unlock and use a body's full potential, even the talents the host isn't even aware of. Just imagine, an ability that usually takes years or even decades to master, can be used at its full potential instantly. Under its 'guidance' even a child becomes a force to be reckoned with. Just imagine a baby crushing a tank with its mind. Everyone can use psychic and aura powers to varying extents and that's what makes it so dangerous. I would have let myself get possessed by it if it wasn't for the second reason." His words had caught Boris's attention so he proceeded. "Contrary to your beliefs, it isn't the Okcha itself that's bound to our rings but the body it receives. Once they're destroyed, it's free. Of course, the normal ones can't benefit from this, given that they're instantly banished, but the Okcha Prime will be and once it is, it's almost impossible to capture again. This thing single-handedly brought down the Abylassagonarians and our world won't be able to put up much more resistance unless my plan is successful. Only experiments in a controlled area with every possible security measure allowed us to perform experiments on it without getting destroyed. I never intended to actually use it, so do you still want to try?"

"I don't give a shit about your concerns. Maybe you just made it up to scare me but my mind is set. I'll use the Okcha Prime against you," Boris exclaimed, certain of his victory.

Divine sighed. It was pointless talking to Boris about anything that required more knowledge than an elementary school could provide. Even if he understood the ramifications of his decision, he was unlikely to stop, either because he didn't truly believe or because he wanted to try anyway for the fun. Then again, a power like the Okcha Prime was unlikely to remain sealed for long, so he might as well make the best of it.

"Very well. Go ahead. I'll find a way to deal with the consequences of your actions." He addressed Victoria, who had kept quiet during the conversation. "Help him. And once he's done, drag what remains of him back to the main base."

"You've talked enough," Boris said, turning off this screen. "Viccy, you heard his orders. Get ready to activate the Okcha when I tell you. I'll keep those guys busy a bit longer."

A bit later, it was already impossible to do it. However, it wasn't even necessary anymore as the body was almost ready. Garchomp, Emboar, and Infernape stayed with her whereas Boris pulled out a gun and approached Catelyn. He had plans for her.

Marcus was getting tired of the game. He'd been wandering around for a long time now with only his golem at his side and there was still no sign of his sisters or his allies. Eventually, he realized that he would never make progress as long as he was getting teleported randomly. The frustration made him do something that was almost entirely new to him. For once, he thought before he acted.

"Let's see." He leaned against the wall to his left and scratched his chin. "There must be a way. Maybe a psychic-type can prevent teleportation?"

The idea was quickly dropped as he didn't have one with him. Instead, he tried to remember past battles, both those he had participated in and those he had only seen. In a recent battle against Ash, his starmie had tried to avoid Ash's krookodile's attacks with teleport but it didn't end well.

"How did he do that? What combination did he use? It was something simple." For some reason, he just couldn't remember. "I'm sure it was a dark-type move. Thief? Pursuit? Torment? Doesn't make any sense. Night daze? No, only a zoroark can use that. Dark pulse? I'm not sure, we should just try." He called out Houndoom, who was the obvious choice for this. "Houndoom, use dark pulse ... on the ground? I think that's how he did it."

The dark-type obliged and sent waves of dark energy through the ground. However, there was no obvious effect so he concluded that he had to move to confirm that it was working.

"Alright, try to keep it up. Let's move," he commanded.

After about a minute, he was sure that it was working as he hadn't been able to walk for such a long time without getting teleported before. For the first time in this base, he actually had something like hope and couldn't wait to tell the others about his accomplishment.

All of sudden, he could hear someone crying in the distance. It was the voice of a female but he wasn't able to recognize it until he was a bit closer. Then he realized it was Eileen's voice and it sounded like she was distressed. Without thinking, he rushed towards the source of the voice, only to hear the voice again from a different direction. At first he was confused but then he remembered that only he couldn't be teleported, his sister wasn't protected, at least until she was close enough to be affected by the dark field, which didn't seem to affect a large area.

After a few tries, he was sure that someone was playing a cruel game with him . Unbeknownst to him, Ash and Dawn were nearby. Lucario could feel his presence and showed them the way, on which they systematically destroyed any teleport pressure plate, thus greatly reducing Boris's capability to make use of this defense system. They also knew of Eileen's presence although they also had no means of saving her at this moment. Marcus and Houndoom were too focused on finding Eileen to notice the sound of the eruption move.

Marcus was the first to find her when Boris decided it wasn't necessary to distract them any longer. Needless to say, she was on her knees, shaking with fear but at least it didn't look like she was injured.

"Eileen! I'm here, you're safe now." She rushed at him and embraced him with a strength he would have never expected from her. "Hey, it's alright. Everything will be fine."

With a patience he had with nobody else, he waited for her to calm down, which took quite a long time. She was about to speak when something behind them caught their attention and made Eileen cling to him even more. There was a lot of noise although they could only see a stone spike emerging from the ground, penetrating the steel plate on the ground.

"Stay behind me. I'll protect you!" he shouted and got ready to battle.

Fortunately, he realized that it was the doing of Ash and Dawn in time. They on the other hand weren't surprised to see Marcus and his sister as Lucario had told them about their presence. It didn't diminish the joy of being reunited again, though.

"Eileen!" Dawn exclaimed happily but she didn't dare break up the reunion with her brother. It was Eileen who let go of him to hug Dawn. "So glad you're safe."

"It was horrible. They still have Catelyn," the girl told them. "But they let me go for some reason."

Ash had been staying in the background to guard them. After all, they were still far now. When she said that they had simply let her go, he turned around, though, and exchanged looks with Dawn.

"What do you mean, they let you go? That guy said you were the original target!" Marcus shouted, making his sister cringe.

"Calm down, she's gone through enough already," Dawn replied and much to her surprise, he understood.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he apologized, lowering his head. "This situation is just ... a bit too much."

"It's alright," Eileen interfered. "We have to find Catelyn first. I don't want her in that big man's clutches."

They were surprised that she was showing this much confidence and foresight. Only several minutes after her escape, not only did it look like she was already fully recovered, she was even thinking of her sister instead of trying to get to safety herself. However, they weren't too keen on endangering her by taking her to the center of their enemies' power.

"First, we should get you to safety," Ash suggested, always watching the corridor. "Marcus, can you get her out of here?"

"What? How about no? Why don't you do it instead? I won't leave until Cat's free as well," he replied, sounding offended by the idea.

When Ash thought about it a bit more, he realized that Marcus would never agree to it. As much as he resented Cat's treatment of him, she was still his sister and along with Eileen the last remaining members of his family. Ever since his father's death, he had become extremely protective of them, so much that he wasn't even completely comfortable with Ash and Dawn around them. It was clear that he would neither let them escort Eileen out of here nor entrust them with Catelyn's rescue.

"We can't leave either, you know you wouldn't be able to win on your own," Ash reasoned.

"And I won't leave Ash's side," Dawn added.

"Then I'll just have to go with you," Eileen concluded, earning shocked looks from the others.

Naturally, Marcus wasn't fond of the idea of her following him to dangerous places. On the other hand their enemies were unlikely to let any of them leave and as long as she was with him, he would be able to watch over her. Nonetheless, it took her quite a long time to fully convince him. Ash and Dawn were hesitant to take her with them but agreed to it in the end, albeit with a bad feeling. Boris had shown to be capable of anything and he still had Catelyn so they had to be careful or Eileen might try to free her.

Getting through the corridors wasn't difficult now that they had two ways of dealing with the random teleportation. Of course, Marcus's method was way more efficient although they also noticed that the area affected by the dark pulse was tiny compared to what they were used to in battles. Moreover, it made Espeon feel uncomfortable, which was the sign of a unrefined combination. Nevertheless, it was large enough to protect all of them and that was everything they could ask for at this moment. They were guided by Lucario, who could feel Catelyn's presence now, which wasn't necessarily a good sign. A barrier of some sort had blocked it before and its disappearance could mean that Boris was ready to face them directly.

As expected, it was a barrier and when they reached the entrance to the next room, Boris was already waiting there. With one hand, he activated the barrier in front of him again, which resembled a transparent, red wall while his other was in front of Catelyn's mouth, preventing her from speaking. Then he pulled out a knife and was pointing at Cat's head. This immediately made everyone stop in their tracks, for they all knew this guy had to be taken seriously.

"So glad you could make it. I have a few surprises for you. You better listen or Catherine is dead," Boris told them.

"Let he go," Marcus said in a menacing tone. "And her name is Catelyn!"

Deep inside he knew that it wouldn't work so he didn't even bother moving. Ash and Dawn were a bit more careful, only Prinplup got closer to the barrier. Boris looked delighted to see the pokémon, which annoyed the water-type to no end.

"Oh, aren't you grateful for my help? We managed to do what your incompetent trainer was unable to achieve. You're stronger, faster, better in every way that counts. What's not to like?" he asked with a grin. Then he addressed the trainers. "As for you. You should've stayed in the city. But of course you had to interfere, and be the heroes again. Can't you think for yourselves once? These people ... you owe them nothing. Just let them die, nobody will miss them anyway."

Despite Dawn trying to stop him, Prinplup threw himself against the barrier, only to get repelled. In addition, he received an electric shock, which wasn't to be underestimated and dazed him for a few moments. Boris just laughed at the reaction, letting his guard down for just a moment. Catelyn used this to bite his hand, making him cry out in pain. Out of reflex, the others immediately readied their attacks but Boris quickly grabbed her again and threatened to shoot her.

"You slut! You stay where you are or she'll pay for it," he shouted.

"Eileen? Why didn't you take her to safety?" Catelyn yelled, now that her mouth was free. "She's a child! Run! Escape while you can! He'll kill me anyway."

Victoria was watching the scene from afar and couldn't help but feel pity for them, especially the girl. She was still young so the whole event was going to leave a mark, assuming she survived all of this, of course, which was no given, considering Boris was involved. The boss had only told them not to kill Ash, Dawn, and their closest pokémon but not even they were safe not that Boris had taken matters into his own hands. He showed great amusement at how everything was unfolding and chose not to ruin it by interfering.

"We don't leave friends behind!" Ash replied.

"Never!" Dawn added.

"We'll save you, sis!" Marcus said, glaring at Boris.

"I won't let him hurt you!" Eileen promised.

"You're brave, both of you." Ash and Dawn knew that she was talking to her siblings. "Marcus, please take care of her like I took care of you. Just hope she allows it. Eileen, make sure he doesn't bother our friends too much. And please follow your own dreams. I hope you both find your place in this world."

It sounded an awful lot like the words of someone who didn't have much longer to live. Of course, it wasn't far-fetched, given her current situation but the others refused to accept it. They still believed they could save her.

"What are you saying? We'll get out of here together, we'll ... everything's going to be alright," Eileen cried. "What would we do without you? We need you!"

"Don't fool yourself," Cat told her. "I failed just like father did. I wasn't the one who held this family together, you did it. You are more talented and I'm sure you'll be successful."

She thought about asking her sister to tell her boyfriend something like her last thoughts were of him but that would have been a lie. Love had always been a bit of a disappointment for her and she was sure that he wasn't too loyal to her so he wouldn't even miss her too much. No, the people who truly cared about her were standing in front of her behind that barrier.

"No, no, no! It can't end like this! I don't allow it!" Eileen started crying, making the others also tear up.

"We won't leave you here," Marcus added, his voice already close to breaking.

She was still his sister, despite their arguments but right now, he was at a loss.

"Don't worry. Thinks will work out just fine in the end," Ash said to Eileen, putting his hands on her shoulders, both to calm her and to make sure she wouldn't run into the barrier.

"They always do. Just stay calm," Dawn tried to assure her with a calming voice.

The effect was limited, the crying only intensified. She was close to breaking apart, so much that Marcus wasn't even sure whether she or Cat needed his help more.

"Now go. There's no need for you to die as well," Cat said softly with a weak smile before addressing Boris again, her face twisted with anger. "And you stupid bastard, show me what you got. Come on, or are you just a sissy?"

She started struggling and while others would have considered this kind of behavior in this situation crazy, she had a clear intention. It was simple, as long as she was alive, they wouldn't try to escape, therefore she had to die. It wasn't really a sacrifice as she knew she was going to die anyway. Boris was a bit surprised by the sudden resistance and needed a few second to get the situation under control. In the end, even though she managed to make a few hits, she was no match for his strength. The result was her getting pistol-whipped and thrown to the ground. To make sure that she wouldn't stand up again, he kicked her in the stomach twice although she was already unconscious and placed a foot on her head. During the battle, the pokémon had attacked the barrier but only managed to weaken it a bit. As soon as Boris had the situation under control, they didn't dare continue.

"She has guts, I like that. Maybe I won't kill her, after all. But if you wish to save her, you have to do something for me." The way he looked at them made them feel uncomfortable. Without a doubt, it was something horrible. "Beg! Beg for mercy. Get on your knees and ask me to release her."

Nobody believed him, not even Eileen was gullible enough but everything seemed so hopeless that she truly believed it was worth a try. She was the first to sink to her knees and lower her head. The others were less inclined to do so. However, they followed her example, one by one. Marcus and Dawn were the first, Ash's pride made him hesitate a bit longer but when he did it, the pokémon followed, except for Prinplup. Kneeling in front of the man responsible for his evolution was a humiliation but for Catelyn's sake, he did it in the end. After all, he didn't want to be the one with her blood on his flippers.

"Very good," Boris mumbled with a peculiar smile on his face. "Now beg. Show me how much this girl means to you!"

"Please spare her. I beg you," Eileen started but he wasn't satisfied.

"Not like this, little. I want you to say it straight to my face," he said, pointing at it.

"Please spare her. I beg you," she repeated, looking into his eyes.

The others also repeated it and he took delight in the anger and desperation in their voices and expressions.

"Wonderful! Hey, Viccy, you got that on tape?" he asked, turning around. She was a bit surprised by the question and simply nodded without actually checking. "Good, I achieved something the boss has been trying for such a long time now. Who's the boss now, bitches?"

He did a little dance of joy, which annoyed his enemies to no end. However, they didn't dare stand up or interrupt him in any way as they feared her would change his mind in the unlikely case he really wanted to let Cat go.

"We did it. Now please let her go," Marcus finally said, making Boris freeze and then address him with a grin.

"Oh yes, almost forgot about that. I offered you to spare her if you begged, didn't I? My memory isn't always the best." He scratched his chin. "I think I won't."

"What? But you promised!" Eileen cried, trying to throw herself against the barrier, only to be held back by her friends.

"It's going to be alright," Marcus tried to reassure here, glaring at his enemy.

"It's going to be alright? How? How can you hope to break the barrier before I can finish her? How? With the power of love and friendship? I'll show you what I think of friendship." Without hesitation, he shot two bullets into her head. "Where is it now, huh? Where is it now, assholes? I don't see cracks in the barrier. Can it resurrect that bitch? No? How sad. Anyway, now that it's out of the way, let's get done to business. Viccy, call the Okcha!"

Ash, Dawn, Marcus, Eileen, and even the pokémon, they were all too shocked to do anything. Cat was dead, that was their only thought right now. Naturally, Marcus and Eileen were even more affected than the others. Not long after the loss of their father, their sister was also gone and now they only had each other. Eileen struggled a bit before she fainted on the spot. Marcus caught her but he wasn't even looking at her, his target was Boris. Fury was an understatement for the murderous rage in his eyes. No, only pure hatred could possibly describe his attitude. Boris had to die, there was no doubt in his mind, and he had to be the one to do it. Not even the most twisted mind could imagine a way he would consider appropriate in this case.

Ash's reaction was similar, but a bit more physical. He slammed his body into the barrier, which resulted in him getting pushed back again but he didn't care. Right now, he wanted to crush that guy in any way possible. The humiliation wasn't important anymore, Boris had killed one of his friends in cold blood, a hideous act that couldn't go unpunished. In fact, he thought that guy almost made Shira look like an angel but that was just the heat of the moment. Dawn's thoughts were similar although she didn't show her rage as openly as the others, trying hard to keep a cool head so that she wouldn't forget to protect the others as someone had to. It was hard, though, as not even Victoria had ever killed a good friend right in front of her. Thus even her rage earlier paled compared to what she was feeling now.

"Come back here!" Marcus yelled. "Face me, you worthless coward! I'll show you pain now even you can imagine!"

For a moment, he thought that his words had an effect on Boris since he turned around but instead of accepting his challenge, he just mocked Marcus.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about, boy. Besides, I gave her a quick and painless death, it was almost like she died peacefully in her sleep, don't you think so? There are fates far worse than death," he said.

"And you deserve nothing less. I swear by everything I hold dear, I will be your doom," Marcus shouted, shaking his fist in anger.

Boris thought the trainer was so angry that it looked ridiculous so he didn't pay much attention and just walked behind the glass tube, where the body was glowing as the Okcha was taking control of it.

"Destroy the barrier! Take it down!" Ash yelled.

Due to the barrier, they couldn't see what was awakening on the other side but even if they did, they wouldn't care. Right now, their only target was Boris, even Victoria's presence was forgotten. The pokémon used their strongest attacks on the barrier and although it took quite a long time, their combined efforts destroyed it. It gave them a full view on the hall and everything inside. Boris was already behind one of the glass tubes so they finally noticed the creature inside. It resembled a machamp, albeit about three times the normal size. Another difference was its lower right arm, which was tiny compared to the others. The other lower arm was normal-sized but it had large holes and was also thinner so it looked weaker than the two upper ones. The whole body was full of scars of every possible size. That wasn't a flaw in the procedure, though, that was simply how Boris's machamp looked like.

"Come on, get out of there! Smash the tube!" Boris commanded.

It let out a deafening roar, then it spread its arms in every direction and, with an incredibly quick spin, it shattered the glass, causing the water inside to flow out and shards of glass to spread all around it. Ash, Dawn, and the other barely noticed the water and the glass, they had other things to worry about, like the huge machamp that stepped out of the shattered tube, ignoring the sharp shards of glass on the ground. Only Victoria cringed when she saw it and heard that unnerving noise as it made her imagine stepping on it barefooted herself.

Before Boris could be brought to justice, that abomination had to be destroyed first.