OOC: I apologize in advance if this inconveniencies anyone (especially Spook), but... the ball needs to keep rolling.

Axel Silverfield
Phoenix Battalion
Castelia City, Unova
Affected RPers: @Death's Spook, whoever else is in Castelia.

Axel was about to follow Linda, trying to discern who was this "friend" the Porygon-Z was referring to. Roland the Chua seemed just as curious, not sure what this would entail, but knew it was at least a proposition worth looking into.

And that was when there was a massive explosion in the distance, rocking the downtown area. The city was lit up in a flash for a brief moment before a blast of fire consumed half a city block, causing Axel and Roland to suddenly look at where the destruction was to see what had happened.

"D-damn it!" Roland shouted, shielding his eyes from the light.

Both of them were taken back, but as soon as Axel noticed where the explosion had occurred and the exact building that had been caught in the blast, he realized something. It didn't take him very long to make the connection at all.

"That was the Greymane building!" Axel shouted to Roland as he pointed at the destruction. "Someone's trying to stop the High Magi Council before it gets a chance to resurrect!"

"We've got to get down there!" Roland shouted. "The Repressors might be behind this and we might be able to catch them this time!"

Axel had no choice but to abandon Linda, who Axel knew she would probably understand given the circumstances. However, as Axel quickly grabbed Roland, spread his wings, and swiftly flew as fast as he could toward the destruction, he could already hear signs of panic, alarm, and chaos the closer and closer he flew toward the destroyed buildings. He knew the Greymane Building was one among several in the city that was set aside for trying to reorganize the High Magi Council, and the fact someone targeted it meant it couldn't have just been a coincidence.

As they got closer, they could see the fires, and their strange, blue color of the flames implied some kind of magical explosive has been detonated to cause the destruction. It was a different kind of attack than before, but Axel wasn't about to rule out that it wasn't the Repressors. However, he was just hoping to find one of them and make them talk. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, as it was going to require catching one of them alive... one of the highly-skilled assassins that not even some of the most powerful and influential leaders in magic could stop.

It was still too early for emergency personnel to be on the scene, but Axel knew they would be there in time. However, as much as Axel wanted to help the civilians that might be in trouble, finding and stopping whoever was responsible for this attack was a priority. For all he knew, this could have just been the first of many magical bombs set to detonate throughout the city. If there were more, he needed to find whoever set this one off in hopes of stopping the others, or else the number of casualties would be even higher.

As he flew closer, both Axel and Roland were on the lookout, trying to find something that looked out of the ordinary, such as someone pushing through crowds or acting unusual. However, considering the chaos, it was hard to make that distinction as there was general panic in all directions as emergency workers were already on the scene, trying to douse the spells with whatever water magic and water Pokémon they had on them.

"Damn it, whoever did this could be anywhere!" Roland shouted, frustrated that the search would probably turn up nothing. "They might have even used a Metro Portal by now!"

Axel was really hoping that didn't happen, but it was true. In case of emergency, the portals were kept open for evacuation purposes. Locking them down to stop one assailant could have resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands. However, if the assailant knew that the portals would remain open, they could have used it as well and be long gone.

Among the shouts, screams, and commotion, Axel tried to use whatever detection spell he could to try and weed out any possible assailant among the crowds of panicking people. It was then that one thing came to mind:

Lie detection.

In the midst of a panic, people would be confused, bewildered, and would be trying to escape. Some would be frightened, others might be ready for a possible confrontation, and some would be trying to improvise protection or escape. But only the assailant would understand the situation, and only they might tell a lie to cover their escape or leverage help from unknowing emergency workers that would only allow them to escape further.

Very often, lie detection was a very risky and unpredictable spell, as in normal circumstances, exaggerations, tall tales, and even some kinds of pranks were considered lies and would trigger the detection magic. However, in a time of commotion and panic, those elements were rapidly weeded out and suddenly fight or flight response kicked in. Using the spell required concentration, as Axel was made aware and could hear lies that were within the nearby immediate area. For him, he got the magical version of static at the moment. But there was one that really stood out from all the others.

<I need help! What's the fastest way...>

And then it faded out as it was no longer a lie. But to Axel, someone lying about needing help was a serious red flag for a possible assailant trying to act like a panicked civilian to any kind of emergency worker or city employee that would know the layout of the city and possible evacuation routes. And the fact the liar was likely asking for the quickest escape route out of the city only further confirmed his suspicions. To Axel, it was definitely a lead worth pursuing.

Axel was able to detect the lie was coming from one of the nearby city Portal Metro entrances. Immediately, he flew toward the entrance, which was already swarming with rushing and shoving civilians. However, Axel needed to hurry, as every passing second likely meant the assailant was moving further from where they lied, and Axel wouldn't be able to detect them again unless they told another lie.

Axel tried his best to fly over the mad rush of people in the Portal subway trying to take the fastest way out of the city, and he knew he was getting closer. However, he wasn't sure what to expect once he got to the lie location. He didn't know what to look for besides trying to find something out of the ordinary that stood out from all the others. Among a crowd like this, it would still be difficult to visually separate an assailant from the rest of the frenzied civilians.

He was going to need to think hard and fast... and hope he still had his luck.