[GrayGriffin]

Well, it wasn't like the three were any stranger to traveling through the sewer systems. Error marched ahead of the other two, skipping through the muck without much of a care, while Vane picked her way through a bit more cautiously. Codex, the member of the group with the least mechanical augmentations, had shrunk down and was perched on Vane's shoulders currently, though her nose still wrinkled at the scent permeating everything.

"You can st---reathe o--ay, right?" asked Vane, turning her head to look at the Kuhna perched on her back as they descended deeper and deeper into the sewers.

Codex nodded, patting the Mekkayena on the head with a paw. "Don--wor-----fine," she said. Vane nodded, neither of them bothered by the random cutting out of their voice boxes. This happened all the time, it wasn't a sign of any particular issue with the atmosphere.

[GrayGriffin]

"Hey, there's a room up ah--d!" noted Error, claws clacking as he hurried forwards. "Looks pret--right too!" He was about to run right in, when Vane's nose wrinkled and she darted forward, paws slipping hard on the sewer water and just managing to scoop up the Velix in her jaws.

"Shhh!" she hissed. Error twitched and sulked, but after a moment calmed down, stopping her struggling. Vane set her down, and the trio paused at the entranceway to get a better look at the people who were already inside.

They did not look like the kind of people you'd want to ask for directions. There was something sinister about them, about their chanting and their talons. Not to mention the runes that were now glowing beneath them.

Oh, and there was something about that golden thread too. That definitely didn't feel like a coincidence.

[GrayGriffin]

"So-what do we do?" asked Error, his voice volume purposefully turned as low as possible so as not to alert any of the cultists in the room.

"We're n--t bei---aid for th--s," noted Vane. "Le---ts just sneak on by." She crouched a bit lower, some of her glowing mechanical parts dimming.

"Yeah!" agreed Codex. "And I don't thi---ll get an---us for deali---th cu---ists." She burrowed further into Vane's neck fur, shrinking down even more to make herself much less visible.

"That's all true," said Error. There was a pause and a whirring sound as his mind worked at the situation, though. "But-what if this ritual would aff--ct us too?"

They all paused to consider that. The world was still where they kept all their stuff, after all.

[GrayGriffin]

"You think we can take---em?" asked Error, turning his head towards the group of cultists. His eyes flashed, scanning the situation and their potential opponents. They were outnumbered, and there were those claws to worry about, but the cult was distracted by the ritual they were performing.

"Maybe," muttered Vane. "If you go ma---imum size, Codex, co------ou do it?"

Codex frowned, crawling forward a bit more. "Maybe," she muttered. She padded forward, hopping off Vane's head and landing lightly on the ground as she started growing. "You g---ys back m---up?"

"Of course," murmured Vane. "No way w---ldn't." She reached out to place a paw lightly on Codex's shoulder.

Codex nodded, still growing, now Vane's size and still getting larger. "Alright. L---t's go, then."

Error started tapping his claws lightly on the ground, counting down as he went. "Three. Two. One. Go!"

And then he and Vane darted forward into the throng.

[GrayGriffin]

Error rushed forward as the cultists startled and started spinning around, trying to get a good look at the intruders. He lunged upwards, sinking his teeth into one cultist's hood and yanking down as hard as he could. The cultist startled and choked, reaching up to grab at their throat, golden thread tangling around their claws as they flailed for a moment before they came crashing down to the ground, right on top of Error. He felt some of his parts crack, but as far as he could tell it was only chassis damage. Easy enough to patch up.

"One down!" he cheered, stomping down on their head to make sure they were utterly out.

[GrayGriffin]

Vane had charged at another of the group, simply counting on her full weight to bring them down. She landed hard on their back, pinning them to the ground, but they continued to struggle. One of their arms flashed upwards at her, nearly taking a strip off her side. For a moment, her teeth flashed and she seemed about to bite into their throat, but after a moment's pause she simply grabbed them by the back of their hood instead, lifting them and slamming them into the ground, leaving them unconscious as well. That was when she heard Error's chirp, and grinned.

"Two down," she added.

[GrayGriffin]

The other three cultists had been momentarily startled by the attack on their compatriots, but were now gathering and regrouping. The runes beneath their feet had dimmed as two of them were taken out, but they were now waving their hands and chanting once more, and this time a different set of runes seemed to be lighting up in a completely different color. That probably wasn't good.

"That's prob----bly not good," said Error. He crouched low, as if preparing to charge again, before the runes flared, and he found himself dropping to the ground with a crash. Next to him, Vane was similarly pinned in place, growling and struggling to move.

[GrayGriffin]

"It---s some anti---obot---ield!" snarled Vane, still struggling, frothing at the mouth. She wasn't fully mechanical like Error was, but she'd had enough various parts installed that the pull on her was still strong. "Damn---! Why wou---ey have th---ind of sp---l?"

It was then, as they struggled and the cultists started moving in, claws glinting in the light of the runes, that Codex finally arrived with a roar.

She wasn't yet at her largest size, simply because it wouldn't have fit through the opening, but already she was towering over the cultists, teeth bared as she growled at them. She took one slow step forwards, eyes fixed on them as saliva ran over her lips.

[GrayGriffin]

The cultists seemed shocked for a moment, perhaps simply at the sheer size of the Kuhna now approaching them. Codex's tails twitched behind her as she stalked forward, placing her paws down carefully and slowly. The runes flashed as one of her paws touched the edge, but she barely seemed to notice.

"T---bad," she rumbled, the first words she'd said since entering the room. "All I've got is th---oice box. Can't restr---e with jus----at." The cultists started chanting a different chant, the runes dimming once again as they started to panic, and Vane quickly took the moment to dart to the side, scooping up Error in her jaws as she got him out of the way.

[GrayGriffin]

Codex smirked as her teammates got out of the way. Now that they were safe, she didn't have to worry anymore. She crouched, and then she pounced, knocking all three of the remaining cultists to the ground. From the sounds they made when they hit, none of them would be making trouble for a while. She raked her claws along the stone for good measure, making sure to mess up the runes, and finally scooped up the golden thread in her jaws and carried it over to Error.

"You thin---e can ge---xtra for this?" she asked, even as she started shrinking back to her miniature size. He took the end of the thread in a claw and started spooling it up.

"Maybe," he said. "I'll see if I can fin---uyer." With the cultists handled, the trio set off once more, a bit battered but also proud.

[GrayGriffin]

[Prompt 2 Begins]

The trio continued on their path, and as they walked they started to notice the dampness beneath their feet increasing. At least it seemed to have been joined with fresher air, a wind untainted by the scent of the sewers. Finally, they reached the source of that fresh wind, a gap in the wall easily large enough for them to pass through.

Error skipped through, Vane squeezing her way behind, picking their ways a bit more carefully as they noticed how slippery the path had become. Vane's claws clicked loudly against the stone, and Error's talons reached out to dig in just the slightest.

[GrayGriffin]

Soon, the path twisted and started leading downwards. The group continued on, though by now they all had their suspicions for what they would encounter-and indeed, they soon stood before the end of the trail, right before it led down into the water.

"At le----t's clean," muttered Codex, hopping off Vane's back and padding forwards, starting to grow larger again. "Loo----ke it's up t----e t---ave you----uys again." Vane frowned, reaching forward to place a paw on Codex's leg. The Kuhna paused, looking back at her curiously.

"Th----ot of siz-----ging," she noted. "You----eed mo----rgy, right?" Codex tilted her head to the side.

"I'll be---ine," she muttered, still growing.

[GrayGriffin]

Vane sighed, but backed off for now. If Codex wanted to insist on doing this herself, it wasn't really her place to try and stop her. And she was their best bet of getting through this challenge safely.

As soon as she was large enough, her tails reached out to scoop up Error, wrapping the Velix in fluffy layers of protective fur. She crouched down, and Vane, still murmuring in worry, crawled up onto her shoulders in a reversal of how they'd been traveling previously. Codex's wings folded inwards to shield her from the water, and she took a step forward and dove in.

[GrayGriffin]

It was a small mercy that the water ahead was clear and clean, instead of the grimy sewer water they'd had to wade through previously. Plus, at least they could still make out the path, continuing to wind along even on the floor of this underground river. Codex paddled along, following it as it twisted and turned, occasionally surfacing when there was enough space above them to take a breath.

Vane didn't mention it, but as they continued on she could also feel Codex's movements slowing down just the slightest. It was clear that this was putting stress on the size-changing Kuhna. She stayed crouched in place, praying that they would soon reach the end of this leg of their journey.

[GrayGriffin]

Finally, as Vane was about to break the silence and tell Codex to get out through one of the side ledges she'd noticed, the path finally started upwards again. Codex pulled herself out of the water, setting Error down before unfolding her wings. Vane hopped off as she started shaking herself off, before suddenly dropping to the ground, panting hard. The Mekkayena darted forward, concern written deeply on her face.

"Codex?" she asked, leaning in. She lifted her leg to the Rejection Kuhna's mouth, knowing that her blood would work best for rejuvenating her partner.

"---fine!" hissed the Kuhna. "Just nee----ttle rest! Th---t's all!"