The same grinding noise that caught Kuhaku's attention alerted Abel that, predictably, the mecha was still online. Abel supposed that he had never really thought that simple rocks could penetrate its metal armor, but had fooled himself into believing so to focus on Bridgett and Kuhaku instead. Now that the mecha was online, he finally had something breakable to vent at.

[b]“TARGET ACQUIRED[/b]

Before Abel could begin his assault, however, Kuhaku had already reached him. The guardian rolled his eyes; courage was admirable, but if this Faunus had no self-preservation instincts, both protecting and sympathizing with him would be a lot harder. Abel sprinted forward when his new partner effectively disarmed the mecha by forcibly realigning its miniguns into the ground. As he approached, he attentively watched the Faunus embed his sword in the fearsome machine's torso, ram it in deeper with his shield, and push himself off the thing's armor to flip through the air. His urgent request echoed through the tunnel. If Gren and Bridgett weren't already on their way, they would be now.

Eager to help any way he could, Abel had already leveled the Ampere at the stuck sword before he realized just how terrible an idea it was. The guardian guessed that his comrade wanted him to supercharge his sword with electricity, channeling the energy to the machine's core to fatally disrupt it, but a lightning bolt wasn't so easily directed. In conditions as dry as these, Abel had minimal control over where his electricity went once discharged, meaning it would seek the nearest conductive material in an effort to find ground. The chance that the bolt would behave perfectly and hit the sword was unattractively slim. Worse, since humans are more than two-thirds water, the bolt could just as easily strike Abel.

Deciding not to take his chances, Abel flipped the Ampere over in his hand and held it like a javelin, though it was still in staff mode. He then allowed his remaining aura to surge through it. By the time Kuhaku landed, confused as to why Abel had not yet unleashed the wrath of the heavens upon the robot, Abel had sufficiently charged the dust crystal at the Ampere's core—but the mecha had also pulled itself together. As it rose to its full height, scattering debris everywhere and readying its miniguns to reduce Abel and Kuhaku to bloody ribbons, the guardian saw the Faunus's sword glint in the radiated azure light. Grunting, he threw the Ampere and guided it with his semblance. The weapon sailed over Kuhaku's head and weakly bopped against the inserted blade.

That wimpy impact proved enough for the Ampere to discharge, however. All at once, the electricity stored in the weapon flooded through Kuhaku's sword and into the mecha. The robot's circuits in its torso flash-fried, and the machine guns span to a halt, unable to fire. 

Abel raised his open hand, and threads of energy flashed between his fingers and the Ampere. The falling weapon shot toward him, spinning like a boomerang, and landed in his glove with a [i]smack[/i]. He took the last few steps separating him and Kuhaku and stood beside him. He switched the Ampere to blade more, and it clanged into position with a metallic note of finality. “Let's get this over with.”