{âš} â IT WAS THE ANSWER THE HERO had been expecting and all he needed to jump into action. He trusted that the bear wouldnât let him, or the children, down and that meant the hero only had one job: to keep the robots at bay. Fortunately, he happened to be quite good at that. He didnât know who the gorilla was or what their plan was, but he would leave that for Bark to find out.
   All of the hedgehogâs attention was on the machines. He was a periodic blur as he moved from one group to the next and the next, leaving metal scraps and abandoned weapons in his wake. The lances couldnât touch him, he weaved in and out of them so effortlessly in a silent song and dance that it was almost mesmerizing.Â
   All the more reason the gorilla had a look of scorn on his face, and watching the bear barrel towards him? There may have been a glimmer of fear until he realized one thing. That he was the one in control here. He had what they wanted and he knew, thought, that as long as he held that over their heads he would live to see another day.Â
   That wasnât to say Barkâs intimidation didnât have some effect because it certainly did. That stare, the red eyes, had shocked the villian to silence, at least for a moment before he scoffed.Â
   "Iâd like ta see ya try,â he grinned, somehow both nervous and confident as a gold tooth shimmered in the sun even as he was nearly lifted off the ground. "Hurt me and youâll never find out how ta release those brats. Besides, weâve got plans for them and weâre not going ta let anyone ruin them.â
   The next action was quick, betraying the gorillaâs size with the swiftness as a fist was launched at the bearâs stomach. He wasnât going down without a fight.Â
He was right. If he killed him, what if the children were impossible to safely release? What if just punching the thing would damage them, as well? He was angry, but there was also little he could do. In the end, all that mattered was the children. He had to protect them first and foremost. And if that meant not immediately ending this worthless scrap of waste, then he wouldnât. Bark wasnât a fan of killing, but it was the nature of his work.
Then of course, came the punch to one of his most sensitive areas. Heâd left it wide open, and it brought him to his knees, dropping the gorilla in the process. It was going to take him a moment to recover, but he wasnât going to let that beast get away. Bark grabbed his leg, and squeezed.
Breathing heavily, his voice is low.
âI tried. To be nice. And let you go.â
His squeeze becomes even tighter. It wouldnât be hard for him to shatter someoneâs bone.
âI can break. Every bone in your body. Without killing you.â
The pain in his stomach was intense, but heâd been through worse. Pain came with the job. He normally protected his middle, and nose, as they were his most sensitive areas. Now recovered, Barkâs able to stand up, holding the gorilla by the leg. Looking at him, upside down.
âRelease them. Or you will wish I killed you.â
This time, heâs covering his midsection with his other arm. No more surprise blows.