Another test run. (Mod Locked by Grim)

Broadside, changing which thrusters controlled his momentum, turned away from the Gunners. He was reflexively making sure to interpose his body between their fire and his sling-bound arm. He continued his spin, brining his gun-arm to bear once more as he blasted sideways on a burst from his jets. He then leveled his gun, and fired a shotgun blast at the remaining gunner viruses.

That was also his last slotted chip.

"Reload!" he said as he flipped his gun upside down, allowing the spent shells of the last 3 battles to clatter to the ground.

Jared started slotting in whatever he could get his hands on as fast as he could get it... "Already on the way."

Not wanting to be made a target again, Broadside braked his movement to throw the enemy off, then dashed towards the disabled CanoGuard. As he did so, chip data started flowing to him from his link to the PET. It was a random mess of data, too. He picked out the Guard1 from the jumble, and activated it. As he did so, he brought his gun arm before his body, and allowed the shield to materialize on it. He wouldn't be able to attack like this, but given that a solid hit or two from the ElecOgres would delete him instantly on metal terrain, he wasn't really worried about attacking at the moment, anyway. Once he was close enough, he moved to interpose the CanoGuard between himself and at least one of the ElecOgres.

It would hopefully buy him a little time for the rest of his chips to arrive.

----Summary----
-- AddBreak (Shotgun)
1: Shotgun @ GunnerC, Spread @ GunnerD (50 Null + Spread 1)
2: Sideways Boost (Dodge)
3: Guard1 (Reflect 60)
4: Dash for cover (Dodge, possible Cover)

---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: 2 TCD
Broadside dispatches the two Gunners with a shotgun round and dashes out of the way of a ElecOgre's electric blast. The second ElecOgre attacks, only to have its own attack deflected back. If it weren't floating a foot or two above the metal floor below, it would have been zapped to a crisp.

GunnerA: DELETED
GunnerB: DELETED
GunnerC: DELETED
GunnerD: DELETED
CanoGuardA: DELETED
CanoGuardB: DELETED
CanoGuardC: DELETED
CanoGuardD: INACTIVE (Still an obstacle)
ElecOgreA: 90HP
ElecOgreB: 120HP

Terrain: 70% Normal, 30% Metal (The metal panels become more frequent as one gets closer to the viruses.)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Barrier Destroyed)
Broadside countered against the ElecOgre that had zapped his shield immediately. He swung his arm out, bringing the gun in line, and fired a homing energy bolt from the Guard Rifle's oddly squared barrel. As soon as the first was in the air, he rapidly triggered a second energy blast, then dodged for cover behind the disabled CanoGuard virus. Once there, the pointed the gun up, and at an angle, and fired a mortar shell up and over the CanoGuard at the second ElecOgre. The energybomb went off a moment later, obscuring Broadside's sight of the ElecOgre.

He had no clue if either were still functioning after that.

----Summary----
1: Thunder1 @ ElecOgreA ((40+15)Elec + Stun + Homing)
2: Thunder1 @ ElecOgreA ((40+15)Elec + Stun + Homing)
3: Run for cover. (Dodge/Cover)
4: EnergyBomb @ ElecOgreB (40 Null x 3 Hits, from Cover)

---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: Last TCD
The two ElecOgres are readily dispatched.

Victory!

GunnerA: DELETED
GunnerB: DELETED
GunnerC: DELETED
GunnerD: DELETED
CanoGuardA: DELETED
CanoGuardB: DELETED
CanoGuardC: DELETED
CanoGuardD: INACTIVE (Still an obstacle)
ElecOgreA: DELETED
ElecOgreB: DELETED

Terrain: 70% Normal, 30% Metal (The metal panels become more frequent as one gets closer to the viruses.)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Barrier Destroyed)
Rewards: ElecReel1, 250z
((That was an inventive way to handle a CanoGuard's defeat. Kudos.))

With the ElecOgres dealt with, Broadside slashed the remaining CanoGuard, making sure it was completely deleted before moving on. "Enemy targets dispatched." As he finished speaking, he deactivated his sword, and continued his hunt for viruses. He never once mentioned the strange thoughts he was starting to have.

Jared's expression was a little on the worried side, but he held his peace. I got those same strange readings again.... That's twice now. He rubbed his chin and considered asking again if Broadside had been experiencing anything abnormal, but... No, I'd better just observe for a little while longer.

((Requesting battle 4))
As Broadside continued forward, he saw smoke on the horizon. Several pillars of black smoke and ash traveled several hundred feet in the air (so to speak). Broadside quickens his pace to investigate, wary of what he might find. As he got closer to the pillars of smoke, he saw the occasional piece of shrapnel, cracked panel, destroyed virus, impact crater... wait, what?

He reaches the smoke coming from a flaming hulk of a very large virus surrounded in utter devastation. The entire area in a 100ft diameter was pocketed with blast craters, shattered metal, and missing panels. As he continues forward, he finds some crippled viruses and then a small group on the horizon. They immediately swoop in, ready to kill!

Warning! Viruses Identified!

RedUFO: 80HP
RattyA: 60HP
RattyB: 60HP
RattyC: 60HP
RattyD: 60HP
YortA: 90HP
YortB: 90HP
Kabutank: 1HP
Billy: 5HP
Metool: 0.5HP (what a trooper!)

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Metal Panel)

-<Battle #4! Ready, Fight!>-
((I'll post when I get home from work, tomorrow morning. This is getting interesting.))

I'll be waiting...
As Broadside entered what appeared to be a war zone, he began communicating over the secured channel to his own PET, and his Net-Op... "Jared, I've entered a live combat zone. Damage to the local network environment is moderate." As he spoke, he began actively scanning the area ahead... "Damaged and defunct viruses are present. Threat level is null." Then he picked up the Ratty viruses scurrying about. "Hostile reinforcements detected. Moving to engage."

From the time Broadside mentioned entering a live combat zone, Jared minimized the windows he had been using to monitor Broadside's status, and began observing the situation instead. Oh lord... The last thing I wanted to hear from my Navi was 'I've entered a combat zone.' Knowing him, that means he's neck-deep in it, and none of us can see it yet. And... what the...? Jared's last broken thought came when he noticed the airborne viruses diving from the air. "Heads up, Broadside!" Jared began as he started slotting in battlechips. "The rats have allies above you."

"Acknowledged. Adjusting tactics." Broadside replied as he materialized a chip-clip magazine in his left hand for his Guard Rifle, and slotted it in place by bringing the rifle to the hand holding the magazine.

You're in danger... Be careful. a worried thought passed through his mind. As it did so, his Aegis triggered itself again. He began to wonder why....

There will be time enough later to ponder this. he thought as banished the other distracting thoughts from his mind, and focused on the situation at hand. "I've not encountered any of the hostile virus types before. However, I do have data on the Ratty Class virii already loaded into my database. The others are entirely unknown to me." He said as he began tracking a Yort. "I will exercise caution while gathering combat data."

A somewhat surprised thought suddenly invaded his mind Oh? I didn't know you had it in you.... It ended on a somewhat teasing note, then disappeared.

He shook his head, clearing his head again, then began a careful pattern of evasive footwork among the normal and metal panel types around his immediate location. As he did so, he took aim at the first swooping virus, braced himself, and cut loose with his Vulcan1. The battlechip executed as a series of three rapidfire 10-shot bursts of machine gun fire. Each burst of vulcan fire erupted from the gun almost as a single stream, instead of 10 individual bullets. Casings flew from the right side of the rifle and disintegrated mid-air, their data self-deleting.

Broadside then lept back, and jetted sideways towards another patch of metal panels. He tried keeping track of where all the viruses were on the field, but found he could no longer manage it as he had in the past. Something is wrong. This many targets should be simple to localize and track on my sensors. He frowned. He honestly did not know which targets to prioritize tracking on, as he'd never had to do so before now.

He chose to watch the sky, and hoped his evasive maneuvers would be enough....

----Summary----
1: Aegis Defense self-activates again? (120 HP Barrier, 3TCD)
2: Dance like your life depends on it! (Dodge)
-- AddBreak (Vulcan1)
3: Vulcal1 @ YortA, Spread @ Any Airborne Virus (10 Null X 3 Shots + Spread 1) [+ Break]
4: Feint a back-jump, and boost sideways. (Dodge)

---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: Triggered
Broadside's shield activates again, and he opens fire on one of the Yort viruses. The stream of bullets pelt the virus, launching bits of shrapnel that hit it's counterpart. He continues to dodge as the two Yorts counter attack and miss, and two of the Ratty viruses launch Ratton Missiles. The first bounces harmlessly off the Aegis Defense and the other misses. However, it turns back ready to home in on Broadside again!

The RedUFO, formerly off in the distance, zips in to Broadside and emits an odd light. The beam covers Broadside, but seemingly has no effect whatsoever. After a second or so, a small bright packet of data emerges from Broadside's core and is levitated back to the saucer-shaped virus. What was that all about? The three crippled viruses attempt to crawl away and occasionally stumble to the ground without attacking.

RedUFO: 80HP
RattyA: 60HP
RattonMissile: 50HP (Dodge it or kill it, it will be destroyed after your turn)
RattyB: 60HP
RattyC: 60HP
RattyD: 60HP
YortA: 60HP
YortB: 60HP
Kabutank: INACTIVE
Billy: INACTIVE
Metool: 0.4HP (what a trooper!)

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (70HP Barrier) ERROR: TwinFang1 BattleChip Data Missing! Recovery Impossible.
"The UFO's a data-jacker. He just took off with your TwinFang1." observed Jared as he ejected the useless chip, and dropped it into the chip pack. "Kill that thing, quickly, or it'll steal more of your battlechip data."

"...." Broadside had no response. He already knew what needed to be done, but the other viruses would tear him to shreds while he did it.... And he knew that too. His strategic and tactical processing protocols were hard at work analyzing the data he'd collected from this brief encounter. And they all quickly came to the same conclusion....

His net-op continued speaking "You may want to switch to your Mecha form and--"

"Negative." Broadside interrupted as he materialized a Guard1 on his fore-arm, and activated his Sword-bayonet. He then began to share his analysis of the situation with JT over their secured link... "The defunct virus and the damage to the local network environment are beyond the abilities of the viruses I now face. The culprit is either a higher order virus, or a net Navi. In either case, revealing my combat capabilities to an unknown foe is not advisable." He paused to let that sink in, then continued... "I will pursue an alternate course of action."

"I see...." Jared said as he watched Broadside step towards the Ratton, and swung his shield at it in an attempt at a good old fashioned Shield Bash. Looking at the line on that swing, if it connects, those Ratty Viruses are in trouble. Good thinking.

Here they come. a mental warning sounded in his mind....

And here I go. he thought in response as he jumped into the air, and ignited his boosters. He waited for a second or two, then channeled his AirShot1 through his thrusters.... and blasted through the sky like a missile. He flew straight for the UFO riding on the brute strength of his brightly burning AirShot-powered boosters. He clenched his teeth at the sudden accelration, and thought This must be what it feels like to be fired out of a cannon. Most unpleasant. As he neared his target, he readied his blade... He swung at the virus, and hoped for the best.

----Summary----
1: Shield Bash w/ Guard1 @ Ratton, Beam Attack @ Ratty(s) (Reflect 60)
2: Mirror of sideways dodge. (Dodge)
3: Use AirShot1 to OVERBOOST! (Advanced Dodge)
4: FLYING Sword Slash @ RedUFO (80 Null + Slashing)

---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: 3 TCD
((Hmm... Using the Guard1 Battlechip as an offensive weapon? I'll allow it since you are essentially targeting an attack, not a virus. I gotta try that sometime.))

Broadside smashes the Ratton Missile against his shield, causing a large explosion. Instead of covering the area, including Broadside, with destruction, the shield absorbs all of the explosive energy and releases it in a concentrated blast. Broadside's aim is good; the Ratty virus is destroyed by the counter blast. Broadside avoids some enemy fire from the Ratty viruses and jumps into the air. The two Yort viruses target Broadside and each launch a blade-laden yo-yo that drop Broadside's shield. Broadside then uses an AirShot1 chip program to augment his jump and cleaves the RedUFO virus in two. He drops to the ground as the two halves of the UFO virus fall to the ground in a pair of metallic thuds.

RedUFO: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: 60HP
RattonMissileA: 50HP
RattyC: 60HP
RattonMissileB: 50HP
RattyD: 60HP
YortA: 60HP
YortB: 60HP
Kabutank: INACTIVE
Billy: INACTIVE
Metool: DELETED

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Barrier Destroyed) ERROR: TwinFang1 BattleChip Data Missing! Recovery Impossible.

((You still alive, Pally?))
((Yeah, mostly... Last couple of days were really messed up.. Also, this will be a Split Turn.))

"ALRIGHT!" Jared cheered, forgetting he was in an apartment for a moment. (The neighbor knocked on the wall to remind him.) He immediately quieted down, his face turning bright red for a moment in embarrassment. "Oops."

Broadside spoke up with a request... "Jared, send me a RageClaw." As he stood up, he explained his plan in shorthand. "Those Ratton ground torpedoes are very powerful, but they're still objects. I'm going to attempt to turn the tide of this battle by turning their own weapons against them." Broadside stated as he began to run from the pursuing Rattons.

"Errrrr... what? Jared asked, thinking he'd misunderstood... "You want to pick up a live bomb, and hurl it back at your enemies. the question came out as a statement.

"Affirmative." was not what Jared wanted to hear, but knew it was coming anyway.

Jared sighed, then began speaking in an exasperated tone "Well.... I don't suppose you have many survivable options..." Jared mentally recounted the events from a couple of months back... Last time I tried sending you something stronger, like a MagBolt, ElecReel, or BigHammer while you were in this form, your processes rejected the inputs. Neither myself nor Alex could figure out why the chip data was rejected, but it was, nonetheless. Our best guess was something during the Twi fight corrupted your programmed limiters, expanding their governance from just your special attack functions to include powerful chip data as well.... And nothing we tried could reverse it. It was all shotguns and busters after that. He slotted in the chip as he mentally returned to the present "...so here goes. Good luck."

Broadside began to remove his left arm from the sling it usually rested in, and activated the rageclaw. A powered gauntlet appeared over his hand, the fingers ending in sharp talons. The gauntlet extended as far as his elbow, thanks to the bracer that appeared with it (which conveniently hid the markings on Broadside's arm). Armed with his new weapon, Broadside wheeled upon the Ratton, rageclawed arm swinging down to try to scoop up the scurrying projectile, and hurl it at the nearest Yort in one fluid motion as his arm came back up from the ground.

----Summary----
1: RageClaw Grapple @ RattonMissileA; Throw @ any Yort (20 Null + Slashing; 20 Null + Impact)
<Turn Split>
2: ---
3: ---
4: ---
((I see. Don't worry about it.))

As the Ratton Missile rushed his position, Broadside uses his RageClaw to scoop the scurrying projectile from the ground. Without much time to react, the RattonMissile is catapaulted towards the Yort viruses. The missile finally reacts to contact with it's target and explodes. The explosion catches one of the Yort viruses, inflicting moderate damage.

RedUFO: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: 60HP
RattyC: 60HP
RattonMissileB: 50HP
RattyD: 60HP
YortA: 30HP
YortB: 60HP
Kabutank: INACTIVE
Billy: INACTIVE
Metool: DELETED

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Barrier Destroyed) ERROR: TwinFang1 BattleChip Data Missing! Recovery Impossible.

((3 actions remaining))
((Second, and last, Turn Split))

Broadside advanced towards the second Ratton. He twisted his body to get the right angle, and swooped down to scoop it up and hurl it into the sky in much the same manner as the first. His movements this time were just a hair more fluid than the first attempt, but not by much.

----Summary----
1: RageClaw Grapple @ RattonMissileA; Throw @ any Yort (20 Null + Slashing; 20 Null + Impact)
<Turn Split 1>
2: RageClaw Grapple @ RattonMissileB; Throw @ any Yort (20 Null + Slashing; 20 Null + Impact)
<Turn Split 2>
3: ---
4: ---


((I'll complete the turn based on what happens here.))
Success!

RedUFO: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: 60HP
RattyC: 60HP
RattyD: 60HP
YortA: DELETED
YortB: 60HP
Kabutank: INACTIVE
Billy: INACTIVE
Metool: DELETED

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 170HP (Barrier Destroyed) ERROR: TwinFang1 BattleChip Data Missing! Recovery Impossible.

((2 actions remaining))
((End of Turn))

Broadside, in a continuation of his hurling motion, steps forward, and begins to turn. He brings his clawed arm down before his body as he skirts a cracked panel in his turning motion's path. He summons a clusterbomb, and clutches it tightly with his taloned hand, out of the sight of his foes. He completes his full-body turn with a larger step, a twist of hos torso, and the sudden sweeping arc of his rage-clawed arm. The bomb flew from his hand, and sailed through the air towards the remaining Rattys... only...

He threw it too hard. It's going to miss. observed J.T.

Indeed, Broadside had thrown the bomb with every ounce of strength he possessed in his current form. It's trajectory would eventually take it far beyond the Rattys if left alone. However, he had no intention of letting the cluster bomb travel that far... Instead, as the bomb neared an invisible point in space that Broadside had been aiming for with his throw, he turned and raised his Guard Rifle... He took aim at that point, and fired. The single bullet, a tracer round, burned it's way straight to the bomb, striking it and setting the weapon off as it was designed to do...

It began to rain countless miniature explosives.

----Summary----
1: RageClaw Grapple @ RattonMissileA; Throw @ any Yort (20 Null + Slashing; 20 Null + Impact)
<Turn Split 1>
2: RageClaw Grapple @ RattonMissileB; Throw @ any Yort (20 Null + Slashing; 20 Null + Impact)
<Turn Split 2>
3: MagBomb1 @ Rattys ((30+10) Elec + Stun + Blast 2)
-- AddBreak (DoubleBomb)
4: DoubleBomb @ Rattys (20 Null + Blast 2 x 2 Bombs) [+Break]


---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: 2 TCD

---Gear---
Sword: 14/15
RageClaw: 13/15
Broadside's MagBomb explodes, damaging and stunning all three of them. The double bombs finish them off without much trouble. The Yort, taking full advantage of the opportunity, launches a blade covered yo-yo at Broadside. The blades and force of the large metal cylinder knock Broadside to the ground with a thud before the cylinder returns to the Yort.

RedUFO: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: DELETED
RattyC: DELETED
RattyD: DELETED
YortA: DELETED
YortB: 60HP
Kabutank: INACTIVE
Billy: INACTIVE
Metool: DELETED

Terrain: 50% Normal, 25% Metal, 15% Cracked, 10% Missing (scattered in random pattern)

Broadside.EXE: 110HP (Barrier Destroyed) ERROR: TwinFang1 BattleChip Data Missing! Recovery Impossible.
Broadside hit the ground hard. He was knocked silly by the hard landing for a moment, and lost control of his melee weapons, which evaporated instantly. He shook his head, and blinked a few times to banish the fog.

Jared, seeing Broadside take the landing badly, started slotting in Thunder chips... "Shoot that thing down quickly, or it's going to pound you mercilessly."

Broadside complied with the order. He raised his Guard Rifle, pointed the odd squared weapon at the virus, and pulled the trigger. A charged ball of electricity issued from the square-barreled weapon, and flew towards the virus. A round shot from a square barrel. How odd... A second followed, then a third, and a fourth.

The quartet of lightning orbs began homing in...

----Summary----
-- AddBreak (Action 1: Thunder1)
1: Thunder1 @ YortB ((40+15) Elec + Stun + Homing) [+Break]
2: Thunder1 @ YortB ((40+15) Elec + Stun + Homing)
3: Thunder1 @ YortB ((40+15) Elec + Stun + Homing)
4: Thunder1 @ YortB ((40+15) Elec + Stun + Homing)

---Sigs---
Aegis Defense: 1 TCD

---Gear---
Sword: Broken
RageClaw: Broken


((I'll post again tomorrow morning, after work.))