Firewall Repairs

Now with an aerial advantage, Recon whipped out both of his special weapons simultaneously, firing the two at the shield-carrying viruses. Both hit flawlessly as the IronShields were caught completely off-guard, and the tower shields were immediately raised to protect their heads. Unfortunately, the gunner had already landed beside them, ready for a beating. The Boomers had already locked on to his position, and threw their larger boomerangs at him. One missed as it shot above his head, and the other hit his Guard, reflecting the weapon back at its master.

IronShield A: 80HP (Solar) (Shield Raised)
IronShield B: 80HP (Solar) (Shield Raised)
Boomer A: 50HP (Metal)
Boomer B: 35HP (Solar)

Recon.EXE: 80HP (Solar) (Guard1 Broken)

Terrain:
-- 50% Glass (Recon's general area)
-- 35% Solar (Small pathway leading forward)
-- 15% Metal (Sides of pathway)

Twist left, jump, swing Shield, jump back, knockback, duck. Recon did his best to be the hardest target to hit, and even that didn't stop one of the boomerangs from finding its way to the navi's position. Luckily for Recon, the Guard did its job, and pelted the blade straight back at its source. Recon turned around, back towards the IronShields. In their moment of distraction, they'd raised their shields to cover their heads. Recon grin grew even more; he'd hoped for this.

I've got your back, downloading now, Steve reported. He'd seen what had happened, and made the same tactical decision Recon was about to make. The chip that would hopefully turn the battle in Recon's favour transformed his arm, thinning and extending out to become a small white blade; his trusty Sword.

Recon began his run and started dashing forward, moving his sword to a ready position behind his head. If he didn't execute the attack quickly, at least one of the two would realise what was going on and slam their shield back down, cutting off Recon's final chance. As he lined up the first one, Recon ducked down to avoid catching the lower half of the shield and swung upward as hard as he could. Quickly pivoting on his left foot, he changed trajectory and repeated the same process on the second IronShield; he lined up his swing, pulled back, and thrust below the shield towards its cradler behind.

Recon was pretty sure that the Boomers were ready for another assault, and knowing his luck, they were probably adapting to his unusual methods of evasion. You got anything special for me, Steve? he called out to his operator.

Back in the real world, Steve wasn't sure anything he had left at his disposal would be effective in blocking the next wave of damage. Selecting chips for Recon's use wasn't his primary concern, however. You'll just have to make do with what you have, Steve replied; the good news is that the network security has been cleaned and is active again. Just survive this battle and come back through the portal.

Well it's about time, Recon sneered at him as he began evasive maneouvres. Watching the Boomers intently, he kept his goal in mind as he moved. Twist left, jump, swing right, jump back, pivot, duck...

==========

[R1] Sword [80 Damage + Slashing] [#####<] @ IronShieldB
[R2] Sword [80 Damage + Slashing] [####<~] @ IronShieldA
[R3] Dodge / Evade (hopefully) incoming Boomer fire.

[Recon] 80 / 100 HP
>>>>> Equipped: Sword [####~~]

[Sigs in Cooldown]
[>~] S-99
[>] D-01

The two IronShields literally began to panic when they saw Recon land right besides them. Their first reaction was to lower their shields and back away from their foe ASAP...However, it seems like there was a cooldown period for their shield servo that stopped them from excessively raise and lower their shields whenever they wanted...

Recon's sword upward swing cleaved the first ironshield in half, causing the other one to panic and open fire with its machinegun. It was a hit, but it changed very little about the fact that it was deleted the moment right after. The Boomers tried to assault Recon once more and it was no match for Recon's evasive 'dance'.

IronShield A: DELETED
IronShield B: DELETED
Boomer A: 50HP (Metal)
Boomer B: 35HP (Solar)

Recon.EXE: 65HP (Solar)

Terrain:
-- 50% Glass
-- 35% Solar (Small pathway leading forward)
-- 15% Metal (Sides of pathway)

As the IronShields began crumbling into nothing, their Shields reverberated a massive wave towards the darkness of the net.

What was that? Recon wondered out loud.

Steve analysed the signal. Oh no, he gasped.

What? Recon asked.

That was a rally signal. Your position will be flooded with virii in around... 3 minutes, he confirmed.

Well, we'd better finish this battle by then, shouldn't we? he replied. Wiping the Sword from the remains of the IronShields, he set his EAAS onto the first Boomer. The best line of attack was quickly co-ordinated, and set out by an otherwise-invisible gray road.

Wait until it fires, then catch it with the blade, his operator instructed.

What makes you so sure it will fire again? Recon inquired.

It's attacked during every clock phase. I doubt it's going to stop now, Steve pointed out.

Nodding in agreement, Recon watched as the curved weapon sat in the blade. Steve was right, it had attacked in every clock phase since the battle started, and with the other virii deleted, it was even more likely to attack in order to preserve itself. Recon ran towards the Boomer, playing the defensive game and twisting left and right to help reduce the chance of retaliation.

Stopping only a few paces from the virus, Recon calculated how long it would take for the Boomer to confirm a lock and fire. It was essential that the Boomer had fired the boomerang before he moved it to strike. How long it would take, he wasn't sure. Counting the seconds, Recon took his chances and jumped forward and over the Boomer, almost skimming it as he passed. Landing on the other side, Recon twirled around, Sword extended, piercing the air as its arc moved out to include the Boomer's body in its swing.

==========

[[[Battle end in 3 more turns, or forced battle #3]]]

[R1] Lock onto BoomerA - anticipate attack by dodge
[R2] Jump BoomerA while distracted / unarmed
[R3] Sword [80 Damage + Slashing] [###<~~] @ BoomerA

[Recon] 65 / 100 HP
>>>>> Equipped: Sword [###~~~]

[Sigs in Cooldown]
[#>] S-99

With the crude grace of a ranged-weapon specialist, Recon brandished his sword and headed for one of the viruses, evading its sudden attack easily with a smooth leap. After that, the blade found its place, firmly lodged in the Boomer's vulnerable head. The result was a deleted virus, and an abandoned one. The last Boomer saw that it was about to be defeated quite handily, and launched its boomerang at Recon while he was in the air. However, the shakes got to the poor critter, and made the arc of its weapon far too large to hit anything at all.

IronShield A: DELETED
IronShield B: DELETED
Boomer A: DELETED
Boomer B: 35HP (Solar)

Recon.EXE: 65HP (Solar)

Terrain:
-- 50% Glass
-- 35% Solar (Small pathway leading forward)
-- 15% Metal (Sides of pathway)

All this running, swinging and thrusting was taking its toll on Recon. Although his attacks had been precise, one thing was certain: he wasn't meant to be a fielder. Dismissing the Sword and retaining his right arm once again, Recon took some solace in the fact that he only had one enemy left to destroy. Watching it shake in presumably fear brought back some satisfaction.

Time to finish the job. With his arsenal ready to go once again, Recon positioned the two ranged weapons and brought their sights down upon the remaining boomerang-wielder. Pausing again for effect, Recon waited a few moments, hoping to distract the second Boomer as before. But as the time passed, the black navi got tired of waiting, especially since he was now on a deadline. Leaving the S-99 for the moment and taking up arms with the D-01, Recon launched the first rocket directly at the boomerang, hoping to either dislodge it or force its holder into attacking with it. With the launcher depleted, he swung it back to its placeholder and again took aim with the S-99. The arcs of assisted aim quickly locked onto their target, or at least faster than he expected. Recon didn't bother with tactics this time: he simply pulled the trigger and let the pellet fly.

==========

[[[Battle end in 2 more turns, or forced battle #3]]]

[RP] Marksmanship (Accuracy +1 rank w/Shot Attacks / Can Surpass A Rank)

[R1] Anticipate / Wait for attack
[R2] D-01 Rocket Launcher [40 Damage] @ BoomerB
[R3] S-99 Sniper Rifle [40 Damage + Phasing] @ BoomerB

[Recon] 65 / 100 HP

[Sigs in Cooldown]
[<<] S-99
[<] D-01

Switching back to ranged weaponry, Recon made a powerful counterattack to the Boomer's offenses, with the D-01 paving the way for the S-99 to make a mark on the virus and finish the battle.

IronShield A: DELETED
IronShield B: DELETED
Boomer A: DELETED
Boomer B: DELETED

Recon.EXE: 65HP (Solar)

Terrain:
-- 50% Glass
-- 35% Solar (Small pathway leading forward)
-- 15% Metal (Sides of pathway)

-- BATTLE 02, VICTORY!! --

Rewards:
-- [Boomerang1] Battlechip
-- 420 Zenny

Upon being shot, the Boomer exploded, sending parts of his body flying at Recon. Quick thinking and an accurate swipe meant Recon caught the bladed boomerang as it passed by. Gotcha.

Quick, hurry up and get out of there, Steve urged. With his new weapon, Recon ran back to the portal and disappeared onto it. The portal entrance faded away as the security system hid its presence once again. Which was a good thing, because within minutes the area was flooded by assorted virii, searching for a target that wasn't there anymore.

As the black navi returned to the PC, he uploaded the new battlechip data, shortly followed by his own core. Glad that's over, he sighed from the security of his home.

*Jack-out: Recon.EXE*

==========

[[[ENEMY DEFEATED]]]
GET ZENNY: 420 (1920 => 2340)
GET BATTLECHIP: Boomerang1 [60 Dmg @ Group/Arc] {B}

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