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(14 characters. 5 vines. 25 HP total's worth of vines)



"I-how- it's-" Crown stared with shock at the mothim hovering in the doorway. The last time she saw him had been nearly two years ago, and even if he had been but a burmy then, she would recognize the wings of the Ulysses family anywhere.

"My queen! You're alive!" The Mothim cried happily, flying forward towards the Butterfree. "We thought you had di-"

His words were cut off as the room began to shake violently. A shrill scream could be heard from the ceiling as a certain Cherrim was thrown off her hammock. Before the grass type could hit the ground, a blue blur caught her and Veritas lowered the Cherrim gently onto the ground, all four legs spread wide to keep her balance.

"What's going on!?" Morana cried with alarm, getting up from where she had been curled up in her bed just as the first of the vines burst through the floor.

The door between the the two rooms Team Polaris owned banged open to reveal Acer, looking distressed. Through the open doorway the team could see more vines breaking up through the floor and walls in the room beyond.

Without hesitation Morana charged across the room through the doorway.

"Incultyr!"

"I'm OK! What the bloody hell is going on!?" A Pupitar called back from the corner of the room. A vine broke through the floor right next to him, but with a strong jet of air the Pupitar propelled himself several feet away, closer to Morana.

"I don't know! I think we're under attack!"

From the sounds they could hear from down the hall, it seems like the entire West Wing was under attack. The vine that had been after Incultyr previously whipped around towards them, but the Houndoom foresaw this and ducked at the right time, turning around to blast it with a concentrated stream of fire. The last several feet of it withered away.

The rest of the team had made their way into the room now, Veritas taking up the rear to discourage any of the vines following them with quick snaps with her fire-encased jaws.

"What do we do?" Veritas asked, surprisingly calm considering the fact that their home was being destroyed all around them. The Jolteon looked to Morana and Incultyr for guidance. In fact, all of the rest of them except for Skye seemed very calm, if forced, and were waiting for an answer. The Mothim fluttered as close to Crown as he could, looking very much frightened.

"We have to get out of here. If the walls and ceiling become weakened enough the guild could collapse on us and trap us in. We have to get out and find the other guild members." And no doubt this had something to do with one of those pendants. The Sheer power needed to cause such an attack...

"What about Incultyr?" Chronicler asked, pointing towards the mostly-immobile Pupitar. Morana hesitated. No one here was strong enough to carry the Pupitar.

"Just get out of here! I'll catch up." Incultyr growled, as more and more vines filled the room. Veritas sent a strong shock through one that came closer, frying it. She whipped her head back, baring her fangs at Incultyr.

"Forget it, we're not-"

"OK. Team, let's go! Veritas, you lead. Acer, stick close to Crown and the Mothim. Chronicler, keep close to me." Morana barked out orders, surprising everyone in the team.

"But Anna-" Crown began to protest, then clinched as he Houndoom blasted away another vines that had come very close to swatting the Butterfree out of the air.

He will be fine, let's go!" It hurt, it really did. Morana wanted nothing more than to stay by Incultyr's side and protect him until her very last breath. She shouldn't have to leave her partner. But getting the rest of her team, especially since they were mostly nonfighters, out was more important. But she had to trust him.

Veritas frowned, but turned around and headed out for the door, blasting another vine out of her way with an Icy Wind. The rest of the team followed close behind, and Morana took one look back before following behind.

(-5 vine HP)



Team Absolute Indignation's room was dealing a little better, with all three occupants being very skilled fighters. When the first vine exploded up from a corner of the room, Zero had barely realized they were under attack until after freezing the plant matter solid. Zosee and Zora were awake within a heartbeat, and all three very quickly made the same observation that Morana had made; they can't stay here, not while the vines keep coming out from the floor and walls.

Just as Zosee knocked the door down to leave another Vine that had in the main hall came in towards her, but was stopped in its tracks as a very large, very scary, violent Umbreon appeared in a burst of shadows, ripping the vine to shreds until the stump retreated back into the floor.

And then the family proceeded to charge their way down the hall, stopping at the first door the passed which was Team Azalea's. Zosee knocked it down, and ran in.

"Zora! Check to make sure your auntie and her team is safe!"

Zora growled an afirative and dissolved into shadows.

"Atra! Melissa! Lillium? Are you here!?" Zero called out.

(-4 Vine HP)



"Help!" Melissa cried, trapped in a corner of the room as several vines surrounded her, one having grabbed a hold of her own vine and was dragging her out from the relative safety of being wedged next to a desk. She unleashed a razorleaf at the vine, where it embedded deeply but did not loosen its grip. Her own vine had reached its limit of extension and she felt herself pulled off her feet, and she cried in pain. Her vines were not meant to be pulled out so far- it was being ripped off.

A moment later the door to her room was blown off its hinge and she was surrounded by a torrent of fire. She cringed, but a psychic glow surrounded her and shielded her from the flames. When the fire died out the room was filled with the charred remains of the vines, but she was fine. She ginerly pulled her left vine back into her bulb, knowing that she would not be able to use it for a while.

Atra and Hope stood at the door.

"Come on, we're getting out of here!" The Flareon urged and Melissa ran for the doorway, where both of her teammates turned and headed down towards the main room of their Team room.

A vine shot out from the wall to their side was was immediately deflected by a strong Psychic, courtesy of the Jirachi floating by the two of them. They broke their way into Katara's room just in time to see the Ditto-Skarmory shredding an attacking vine to pieces.

The Ditto joined them and as they reached the living room they saw Zero and Zosee enter.

"What the hell is going on!?"

"We're not sure. Where's Lillium!?"

"Not here, thank god. Let's make our way out."

Atra destroyed another vine that was creeping its way across the floor closer to the group, everyone headed out into the hallway, and made their way for the Main Hall.
(-4)

Since the festivities during the holidays, things had been going rather smoothly for Team MistMelody. They still couldn't quite shake the feeling of some impending crisis waiting to swoop down at any moment, but it couldn't be helped when one belonged to a Team in this Guild. Regardless, they made the best of the time they had, staying together more often than they were apart and coming to appreciate what remaining days of peace they had left. None of the adults let any sign of their pressing worries show for the sake of the children, and the younger members bought it without care. All in all, those days were short but sweet that led up to this day: a day that the Team would likely not soon forget.

As was the norm with these situations, there was no warning before the trouble appeared; even the all-too-familiar clanging of the alarm didn't accompany the arrival of the menace this time. It is often the pride of a Guild member to say that they are always ready for anything that will come their way, but in this case the Team was far from prepared. They were caught off guard as the earth suddenly began to tremble beneath their feet, a sign that clearly bespoke trouble. Celus was the first to snap to attention, something that was rather unusual for the older Ivysaur. "Something's coming," he stated bluntly, his eyes wide with something rather like fear. "Era, Ethfael, something's coming!"

The Dragonair looked up from the papers he was sorting and his winged partner pricked her ears to listen as she turned her head, halting her conversation with Riley. The entirety of the room grew very still as the tremors began, rippling through the earth as they went; each one held their breath in anxiety and anticipation, hoping beyond hope that it was nothing more than a passing quake. That hope was shattered with a sudden crash and a shriek that pierced the air as a massive vine burst through the picture window, dashing the glass to bits and knocking Erinn (the originator of the shriek) into the opposing wall. That was all it took to send them to action, everything bursting into motion at once. Sereni was over to Erinn in an instant, pulling Rivia by her small paw with her; Faran's hackles rose in fear and he bolted over to Riley's side as the Eevee stepped forward defensively; Irilyss sucked in a breath, her eyes straying down to her pocket before she shook her head and began to channel her energy in preparation for a fight; Eon hurried over to Era's side, the two Pikachu taking one another by the hand and speaking in hushed voices; and Ethfael and Celus both moved toward the penetration, to deal with the problem. The Dragon Type released a Dragonbreath at the plant, purple flames licking at the vine fiercely, even as Celus lashed a Power Whip of his own at the vine. "Sereni! Leave Rivia with Erinn. Erinn, when the first chance comes take her and the eggs and run, do you understand me?" there was a powerful tone in his order that left no room to be argued with, and Erinn's eyes widened with shock as he he realized Ethfael was scared. He'd never seen the Dragon so unsettled as this; if Ethfael was saying that they should run, things must be bad indeed. The Paras nodded shakily and Ethfael breathed a sigh before using a Slam to push the massive vine back again. "Good!" he shouted over the noise, "Make sure you get everything out that you can Erinn. Everything. The rest of you need to come with Era and I; we have to get to the bottom of this, whatever we happen to find there."

Ethfael's words were taken to heart by the entirety of the Team. Erinn pulled Rivia to him whispering thanks to Sereni before she left, and scuttled over toward the egg nest with the child where he began trying to figure out how to rescue all of the delicate creatures that still slept within the shells. The remainder of the Team present (Phione was still away, as was Avaria) came up beside their Dragonair Leader. Faran, excited to be included on his very first "grown-up" mission eagerly sent a Fire Spin at the vine, his fear fading like the morning mist upon standing with his Team in battle. With a concluding Trump Card from Riley, the Ace of Clubs piercing through the vine, the huge plant fell to the ground in a cloud of dust, unmoving. "Alright!" Faran yipped, jumping up and down on his paws with delight, "We did it!"

"It might be a bit soon to say things like that Faran," Riley said warily, looking about at the wreckage all around them. Arceus knew how they were going to clean their home up after this, and if the rest of the palace was in any situation similar... "Who knows how many of these things there are." The magician pulled his top hat more securely over his head and looked about, expecting another vine to arise at any moment. The rest of the Team, looked to their Leaders also, worry evident in their eyes. This was the first time their home, the one place they could consider safe in this world, had been attacked-destroyed. With what little of a safe haven they'd once had gone the world itself seemed a far more dangerous place. Given the damage done, the Team made their way to the door and out into the hall, looking around at the damage already done with shock and dismay. The vines were certainly doing their job, creating cracks all up and down the hall. The West Wing rounded out, so from either way one could make their way to the Main Hall, but both ways had unknown perils awaiting them. Riley was the one to break the stunned silence that the Team shared, somewhat tentatively. "...Era, Ethfael-what should we do?"

The Pikachu and Dragonair exchanged a look and Era stepped forward. "Alright, everyone listen to me," she said, her calm voice a soothing relief to her worried Team. "Here's what we're going to do. Erinn, you heard what Ethfael said: take Rivia and get her and the eggs to safety. I know it will take multiple trips but we need you to do this for us, alright?" The Paras nodded determinedly and scuttled off back inside with one parting look at the rest of the Team, Rivia watching on curiously from his back. "Good," Era said quietly once they were gone, "Now Sereni, Celus, Eon, you three come with me. Riley, Faran, Irilyss, go with Ethfael." She looked up at her co-Leader who appeared displeased at this arrangement and she smiled slightly. "Don't worry, we'll be fine," the Pikachu reassured him, "But we have to get there one way or another, and if anyone needs help-"

"Era!" Ethfael said, "We have to get down there. The other Teams can handle themselves but we'll all be in trouble if we don't get to the main body of this...whatever it is."

Era smiled ruefully, placing a fond paw on Ethfael's tail. "Just trust me," she said softly, her gaze gentle but determined. The Dragonair made a disgruntled noise and turned his head, knowing that he had already lost this battle. The Electric Type nodded once and gestured for her group. "We'll go left, you go right," she instructed, looking at the four she was leaving steadily. "We'll meet you down there, I promise." Without another word she turned and hurried off down the hallway, the three going with her hurrying to keep up. "It'll be fine," Era murmured quietly to herself, "It'll be fine." The wings on her back glowed brightly in answer to her search for anyone who might need help. It was an instinctive response-light wouldn't really help in this situation since it was broad daylight-but soothing to the Pikachu herself.

They made their way onward without much incident for some time, until a vine burst out of the wall without warning, separating Era and Eon from Celus and Sereni. Both Pikachu spun around in shock only to be swatted back by the enormous vine, the wind knocked out of them. Eon recovered first and helped Era to her feet as he called out, "Celus, Sereni! Are you alright?"

"A little shaken but fine!" came the answer from behind the writhing vine.

"We have to pin it down so you both can get over!" Era called, standing shakily with the help of her look-alike. "Eon...together?" she asked him. The male Pikachu nodded and both of them charged up an identical Electro Ball which they pushed together and sent flying toward the plant from a safe distance back.

On the other side, Sereni bit her lip with worry as she looked down at Celus who'd been knocked to the ground. "I'm fine, don't mind me!" the Ivysaur said gruffly, bracing himself to get back up. "We have to fight its vines! That's far more important right now!" Sereni nodded uncertainly, her antenna pulsating with her worry. The Lanturn turned back toward the writhing plant and took a deep breath before charging the vine and slamming into it with a Take Down. The plant-like appendage writhed and pushed her back, but that was the worst of it. She breathed heavily, her breaths coming in gasps more out of fear than anything else. This was not good at all.

In the meantime, the group of four led by Ethfael had turned their paths the other way. The Dragonair moved quickly but the energy of Riley and Faran and the sureness of Irilyss' steps ensured that no one was left behind. The quartet made good time as they went, but Irilyss suddenly paused mid-stride. "There's a problem," the Gardevoir murmured softly, a comment that only Riley's ears caught. "Please, we have to help." the Psychic looked somewhat distraught as she said it. "They're just kids."

The other three stopped gradually, Ethfael's expression rather dark. "Who needs help Irilyss?" he asked her firmly.

"Listen," the Gardevoir replied, "You can hear their cries." Sure enough, when the other three grew silent they could hear the muffled sound of shrieks from somewhere nearby. Ethfael's gaze narrowed and he silently cursed the creature that had set upon them, Irilyss took his expression for an affirmative and quickly led the other three onward.

They arrived at the door of a room and, politeness on hold all things considered, the quartet burst inside and made their way further in to find a trio of Pokemon being accosted by yet another vine. Irilyss remembered this Team and the young Ralts who had come by one day, the Team who had left them a Christmas present; three young and kind Pokemon didn't deserve to be left alone in a situation like this. The shrieks, they found, seemed to be coming from a Rattata who was clinging to the vine for her life. "Hold on!" Irilyss called to the small Pokemon, using her Psychic to lower the Normal Type from the vine safely to the ground.

Ethfael, Riley, and Faran watched nearby where Irilyss stood, ready to move at a moment's notice. The Eevee's eyes glimmered with recognition as he too recalled Beatrice and he grinned apologetically across the room. "Sorry for barging in but it sounded like you could use a hand!" he called, sending a Swift Attack at the vine that still swung about the room.



The elusive Team Night Mirage was spending time to themselves as usual. It was truly a wonder that someone hadn't looked into them yet because, aside from the odd Guild issue that involved everyone, Maestro really didn't let the Team do much of anything. Tris hardly thought of it was a "Team" anymore really; it was what Maestro wanted, always what Maestro wanted and what Maestro wanted to do more than anything was plot the downfall of everyone but himself. It sickened the Ditto really, he often cursed the day that he'd paired himself with the Zorua. What Tris wanted was to help people. He'd joined the Guild because of it and he'd been prevented from doing that from day one. The problem was that the Ditto was terrified of his partner. Only Arceus knew what sort of thing Maestro had put his poor partner through, but Tris was well and truly beaten by whatever it was. He had courage plenty when it came to everything but the Zorua. So it was that Tris was sulking in his room as he had been for months, trying to drown out the sounds of Maestro's claw as it transcribed the Dark Type's thoughts to the paper before him in shining crimson ink.

At that moment a tremor coursed through the entire palace, causing Maestro's inkwell to fall over and spill ink onto the paper he was using which elicited a sharp word from the Zorua as he hurried to wipe the ink clear but to no avail. "Hellfire," he spat, "What business do they have disturbing my peace?" The Dark Type shifted his form to that of a Sneasel and stood to exit the room, his dark eyes flashing with displeasure. "Tris, we're going." The Ditto rose reluctantly and melded into the shape of a Farfetch'd, walking after Maestro with a stormy look on his face. "Oh why so glum?" the Zorua said, his mouth twitching to a malicious smirk as he lifted a claw to grab Tris by the bill. "Isn't this what you're always asking me to do? Go outside? Well here's your chance." The latter comment twisted into a snarl at the end and he released the Ditto with a bored expression.

The duo made their way out into the hall where it was evident that something was amiss. It was loud, rumbling and groaning of the foundations of the building mixed with crashes and the sounds of things crumbling to create a symphony of discord. "What's going-" Tris began tentatively, but he was silenced by a warning glance from Maestro. The Zorua led the way further down the hallway, looking to locate the source of all the commotion. This continued for a time until... "Maestro look out!" The voice belonged to Tris, and the Farfetch'd shoved the Sneasel to the ground just as a vine burst up from the ground where they had been standing not a second before and soared up through the ceiling.

"Get off me you fool!" the Zorua snapped, shoving Tris off of him and getting to his feet. The Ditto recoiled, wounded that his rescue had gone practically unnoticed; for all that he hated his partner he wouldn't stand by and watch him die. Maestro stepped forward, looking oddly at the vine as though it had intruded up his space and he expected it to apologize. "This is rather large..." he murmured quietly, "I wonder what sort of Pokemon it could possibly belong to." His eyes danced with the cold fire of fascination which made Tris' blood run cold. Whenever Maestro got that look he was thinking nothing good. Before much more could happen though, the vine's head plunged back down from the ceiling and it began to circle the Zorua. He cursed and shouted over the creaking of the ceiling, "Don't just stand there you idiot! Do something!"

Tris blinked in shock and astonishment, taking a moment to collect himself. Pulling himself out of his daze, the Ditto dashed at the vine and began to peck at it with a Fury Attack. Every second seemed to tick on too quickly, there wasn't enough time: there was no time at all.

((Let's see let's see. 10 characters total; 4 vines

MistMelody
Vine 1: 0
Vine 2: 2
Vine 3: 5 (Still hasn't appeared yet)

Night Mirage
Vine 4: 4

-1 to Wonderland's vine and Irilyss gave Emily a hand))

"What the--"

Oliver looked around in the team room as the floor shook. While he did not find out what the source was, he did notice something that was rather more deserving of his attention. The bunk bed was rocking, and looked as if it was about to fall over. This was a problem largely because Imiti was on the top bunk, and Chuck sitting in the armchair right beside it

Trusting that Imiti would be alright (he was a Psychic type and on top of the bunk bed, after all), Oliver grabbed Chuck's arm roughly and yanked him out of the way, heading away from the bunk bed. Not half a second later the entire construction fell over. Imiti caught himself mid-fall, hovering in midair before he or the bunk bed hit the ground. The middle bed landed across the armchair's arms, right where Chuck's head had been. The top bed's supports splintered and broke, and that part fell to the ground.

Chuck got up and dusted himself off. "What on earth was that about?"

There was another rumble, and several vines sprouted from the ground to lunge at Oliver and Chuck. An aura shield materialized in an instant, protecting Oliver against the first attack. Chuck was not quite as quick; he was bound by a pair of vines in seconds. Imiti charged, a heavy psychic blade appearing in his hand. He hacked at one of the vines, severing it, and Oliver turned his shield into a blade to cut the other one. Chuck was still quite unable to move, but at least now the vines weren't taking him anywhere.

"Get rid of these quickly. We have to join the others."

Vines 3/5 HP

~Aidan & Nadia~Kyle~Finian~Ein
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help!"
A wail of pleading sorrow came from the corner of Team Kusa's rooms wherein a lone Flareon sat curled in upon himself cringing in fear at the towering monstrosity which literally sprouted from the floor before him. As it seemed for the moment, the tendril, flailing about and aflame thanks to Kyle, just barely couldn't reach the fiery canine but if he were to move out of his position the fox was done for. As it seemed he was the first to arrive on the scene which entailed a large, vine-like, monster coming up from the floor below and tearing its way into his team's shared rooms, the Flareon immediately reacted by setting it ablaze with a not so well aimed Flamethrower attack. This, in turn, lead to the beginnings of destruction for the enemy and the immediate scenery which was apparently equally flammable. In short, no member of Team Kusa has yet to show any interest in flameproofing any of their living area despite past experiences.
"Wake uppppp."
In the next room over, Finian was forced awake by a rather irking tugging on his head scythe. He had become rather accustom to letting as little as possible disturb his sleep anymore, just figuring any ruckus in his lodgings to simply be not worth his attention, however, this time seemed the slightest bit difference.
"Seriously. Disaster Pokemon and you can't see s**t like this coming?"
Ein continued his onslaught, tugging as hard as his miniature body powered by fluttering pairs of wings would allow. The Absol at his feet still not appearing aroused awake by his efforts in the slightest; the particular entity buzzing around his head being something that he trained himself to become oblivious to as a pestering factor also.
"What do you want?..."
Finian finally groaned out, rolling into a position which better made his face revealed for speaking rather than mumbling directly into the floor.
"Per usual, the place is on fire, but this time we got company, and I'm not getting a good vibe from it. There's something attacking the guild. I'd abandon ship but I'd miss bugging the ever living hell outa' you~."
Ein noted in response, giving one last, violent tug with the succeeding intention of causing pain to the Absol's head scythe before letting go.
"I'm up. I'm u-...What the hell is that?"
Finian took to his feet with a bit of pep after he was informed of the severity of the situation and took notice of it for himself. The canine proceeded to dash into the adjacent room and let loose a blizzard upon all that resided within. Granted this much included a particular Flareon which was probably cowering in a puddle of his own filth by now but such sacrifices would have to be made. At least the flames were out now by means of a brisk breeze but the giant tendril seemed as angry and flail-y as ever. Ein, who followed along for the fun of it, donated his own Magical Leaf to the cause, a set of golden, psychically enchanted blades slicing violently at the air around the enemy.
Two more members of Team Kusa would have been more than glad to contribute their aid to the troubles at hand if it weren't for the fact that there was an equally threatening vine invading their own, separate room. Aidan, in this moment, finding himself pinned up against a wall by the mentioned plant-like object of unknown origin while his sister gave her best attempts to set him free, the fiend did not necessarily have the lack of girth enough to actually wrap itself around the Riolu, rather it seemed to be unconsciously going for the second best thing and pressuring him still with rib crushing force.
Words needed not to be shared between the twins, there was clearly something more pertinent at hand like making sure neither one of them took to death throughout the course of this violent interaction against an unknown enemy. So far things were looking in their favor though, the enemy at hand clearly not having all that much cognitive skills going on to keep track of two lithe bodies who had the ability to attack and fend for themselves; it merely being luck that it had Aidan in the situation he was now. However, that even wasn't meant to last long it seemed as all it took was a Force Palm from Nadia to stun the vine just long enough for it to loosen its grip on her sibling.
"We have to get a collective together. I don't think this problem is unique to us."
The Riolu proceeded to fall to the carpeted floor below as he was let go of, speaking between gasping breaths of a gameplan, a statement which seemed logical enough. They had better chances if the guild was being attacked as a whole to, well, act as a whole. At least now they had an objective set, get the hell out of their room, even if that meant leaving it in ruins, get to safety, and find allies.

(Two vines, 4HP and 3HP left for each)