Kuhaku stopped his sprint and skidded to a halt, kicking up dust around his boots. Whipping around, his eyes and ears locked onto a new source of noise coming down the length of an unexplored tunnel. Freezing up, his ears slowly flattened and pinned against his head in terror. Kuhaku's eyes glanced to the ground, small rocks and pebbles leaping up into the air as whatever-it-was continued its advance towards them. Looking back up as a massive, hulking Mech came into sight, Kuhaku swallowed dryly. A nervous bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Whatever concerns he had before regarding the unknown voices had vanished and were forgotten. Now, there was a much bigger threat to be worried about. 

"[B]PERIMETER HAS BEEN BREACHED! INITIATING PROTOCOL TR-7803K, LIMITERS DISABLED[/B]" the Mech mechanically bellowed out. 
Kuhaku winced and jumped, startled at the sound of its voice.
"[I]Machines...What's with all the machines![/I]" Kuhaku cursed to himself.

His Semblance wouldn't be much use here either. The faculty of Beacon were surely testing his nerve. Slowly training his eyes on the Mech from bottom-to-top, he began to realize exactly how gargantuan this Mech was and how small he was compared to it. He could feel a sense of fear crawling up his spine causing him to shake and tremble, shrinking even more ever so slightly. The Mech saw Gren first. Lights from its chest snapped on and Kuhaku winced again, bringing his gloved arms up to his face to shield himself. The sudden light burned his sensitive eyes, causing them to water and tear up. Kuhaku then gasped and his eyes widened and trembled from behind his arms for what was coming next.

"[B]TARGET ACQUIRED[/B]" the air then erupted from the hail of automatic machine-gun fire aimed at Gren.

For a brief moment, Kuhaku thought he was going to have to say goodbye to his new friend and partner already. For a brief moment, his heart ached painfully from a familiar loneliness, his breath halting in his throat and lungs. He had cried out to Gren, reaching an arm towards him, but his voice was drowned out by the gunfire. Realizing that Gren still stood and was still alive, his breath returned to him and he nearly smiled again. Gren had been prepared and saw what was coming and he was still okay, returning fire on the Mech. For now, at least. However, Kuhaku had to act and soon if the two of them were going to make it out of this alive.

Gritting his teeth and shutting his eyes tight, he shook his head furiously. "[I]Courage...Have courage![/I]" he told himself. Reaching behind his head, he grabbed the hilt to Kladenets. In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword and slung Perun, brandishing them. [I]I have to think. I have to think fast![I] He steeled himself as Gren suddenly jetted up to him.

"[B]We got trouble! A big mech, it's got heavy machine guns and who knows what else. I took some shots at it but I don't think I did much more than scratch it's paintjob. I believe it's protecting the artifacts given how tough it is.[/B]" said Gren. Seeing the Mech approaching, he then ducked behind some cover.

Also seeing the Mech's approach, Kuhaku turned to face it, squaring off. Growling, he raised Perun and slammed its edge into the ground, digging it in. Angling Perun slightly, he then put all of his body weight against it to prepare for what was coming. Angrily, he looked back to where Gren had hidden himself and yelled after him.

"[B]OBVIOUSLY WE 'GOT TROUBLE' AND OBVIOUSLY I CAN SEE HOW BIG IT IS, OKAY?![/B]" Kuhaku vented briefly.

"[B]I have an idea! I'll try and attract its attention and get it to turn around! See if you can target those two cables that seem to be powering its guns and take them out! Once we've effectively disarmed it, I'll hide and you get its attention next! That thing's center of gravity is going to be delicate and sensitive. I'm going to come out of hiding while you distract it and I'll use one of my Aces to attack its joints at the hips and take out its legs! With that, it should come tumbling down due to its balance being thrown off. When it hits the ground, you and I literally disarm it and attack its shoulder joints. When it's completely hacked apart, we'll end this by crushing its head! Sound good to you?![/B]" 

Kuhaku was panting and sweating as he spoke, he was obviously nervous about fighting such a large opponent, especially a machine. Nonetheless, he had summoned up the courage to come up with a plan and coordinate with Gren. He was definitely going to fight. He won't freeze up again. He wouldn't allow them to lose and fall here. Catching his breath and calming down, he managed a smile at Gren.

"[B]Sound good, partner?[/B] he said softly, still behind his shield.