Obligation To Keep Chapter 26, an Armored Core + Doki Doki Literature Club Crossover fanfic

Chapter 26 Rage and Scream

/KILL

Anatolia had brought him pain and conviction that continued to burn, long after it should have petered out to a cold ember.

/KILL

ORCA had allowed him to make good on his vendetta against The League, taking more lives than had ever been taken by an individual.

/KILL

Yet those three words had filled them with such terrible passion and absolute will; with every ounce of their entire being baying for blood, and conveniently armed to do just that.

/KILL

It had been so long since they had been whole. Now, they were only Strayed, filled with nothing but rage, and rage, and rage, and rage, and rage…

/KILL

Approaching Chrome Property

Dragging Natsuki along in a rushed and wordless manner, Monika and Yuri breathed heavily. Physically they were fine, it was the mental strain that was exhausting.

It felt like that time Strayed had been in their minds, right before it tore their souls apart. This time however, instead of the calm and indifferent demon that had methodically violated them, it ignored them, but left them drowning in it's howling anguish and insatiable rage.

They couldn't even imagine what Natsuki must have been feeling, as she had gone ghost white and catatonic, whimpering and staring straight ahead.

Though worried for Sayori, Monika knew she would be alright, especially since two of the deadliest people on the planet would be on her heels. She had to force herself not to feel sympathy for whoever had taken her, knowing they would experience something that shouldn't exist for hundreds of years.

A demon made for war, coming to take the lives of those who had wronged it.

"Get the fuck out of the car!" May shouted, pointing her gun at a random driver. Already tense and disturbed, the driver acquiesced without a struggle, allowing May to steal their vehicle.

The good news was that she knew exactly where Strayed was, and that was about it. She couldn't understand why it was screaming so loudly, setting the entire city of Tokyo into a state of silent panic with it's hateful, vengeful rage.

She had one guess, that technically made sense; Strayed was listening for a psychic response from that tiny bit of itself that it left inside of Sayori, helping it track her down. That didn't explain why it felt the need to put out so much energy that every empath in Tokyo was catatonic, passed out from the killing intent it gave off. It was so extreme that empaths continents away were probably wondering what kind of monster was howling with the voice of a billion slaughtered souls.

Regardless, she had an obligation to the girl, to see her safely returned to the arms of her friends.

Private Airfield / Outskirts of Tokyo

She shouldn't have held back.

The fragment of Strayed that lived in her soul knew how to kill, and how to do it easily…so she held it back. She felt as though she were holding the chain to a rabid hellhound, that would so gladly throw itself into the fray. A mind and a will that knew the fragility of men, that could turn a small, frail, eighteen-year-old girl into a hardened killer and veteran of wars yet to come.

She kept telling herself that that wasn't her, that wasn't what she wanted to become, that her innocence was something precious. She told herself that these men likely had families and loved ones that would be sad if she were to so easily take their lives.

Now though, she knew she had condemned them, she had condemned everyone.

She knew it would come, as it always had, as it always would, seeking battlefields to call it's home, filled with a terrible rancor, and a barbarous desire to bathe in blood.

Because it was coming for her, and it would kill everyone who stood in it's way.

The speeding van came to a stop, the sore and tired men within roughly dragging her along. Resisting the desire to dislocate her own fingers to get out of the handcuffs in front of her, she followed along, head bowed tiredly, tired of hearing it scream as it came ever closer.

At the terminal at the side of the airfield, a large group of men, about a hundred in total, worked to move weapons from four parked business jets and a prop-driven cargo plane. The six men from the van escorted her to two older men who had been standing around, one shouting orders, the other watching passively from beneath his old-styled hat.

"Colonel!" One of her escorts shouted, stopping to salute.

The Colonel and the other man turned to regard the men and their prisoner.

"Team Two…? This is all of you? What of your target?" The Colonel asked in disbelief. "Were you able to terminate the target?"

"N-No, The Devil killed everyone else." The man answered solemnly.

"Fuck! So, both teams failed to eliminate the targets then?" The Colonel questioned, knowing the answer. "Either way, they are only two soldiers. They cannot stop the coming operation from proceeding."

"I see you have captured one of the secondary targets." The man in the hat noted. "What of the other civilians?"

"Sir, The Devil protected them, and tried to save this one as well." The soldier shoved the girl, causing her to stumble slightly.

"I see…" The Colonel nodded. "Very well. I assume you will take custody of the prisoner then?" He asked the other man.

"Of course." The man nodded. The other soldiers were dismissed, and the man stepped towards the girl. "Greetings, you may call me 'The Investigator'. You are Sayori, yes?"

"…" She nodded in surprise, wondering how the man knew her name.

"Tell me…he will come for you, yes? The boy you call James?" The Investigator questioned knowingly.

"…" Nodding again, Sayori shuttered as it got closer, ever dangerously closer at an alarming rate.

"Hmm…" The Investigator hummed grimly. "Colonel, I believe The Butcher is heading his way to us now, in order to rescue his friend."

"Impossible. While I believe that would be his intention, it is impossible for him or anyone to know of our exact location."

"Colonel…even you cannot ignore the…change…in the air, that dreadful feeling of death?" The Investigator pleaded.

"That is just…the anxiety of this mission, after having so many of our plans ruined the last few months." The Colonel countered. "Even if I did believe you, The Bu-…TARGET ALPHA…would be walking into his own demise. We have over a hundred men here and twenty more about to land. Then, once every man is armed and ready to move, we will be disappearing into the city to complete our mission in support of the Navy. Too much has been invested in our success to stop for a single, admittedly dangerous enemy who certainly doesn't know the nature of our mission. Once the last plane arrives and is unloaded, we move forward with the mission."

"You continue to underestimate them…I can only hope that you are right." The Investigator nodded grimly as he grabbed Sayori by the shoulder, leading her to the airfield terminal. From down the runway, another passenger jet was within fifteen seconds of landing.

A loud crash at the edge of the airfield caught everyone's attention, as a speeding semi-truck with a trailer of fuel burst through a brick wall, it's engine block partially crushed and steaming, while the engine revved violently, driving towards the runway.

"…O-Oh my god! It's going to hit the plane!" Someone shouted.

"Hurry! Tell the pilot to pull up! Pull Up!" The Colonel ordered desperately.

Either the message got through to the pilot, or he saw the speeding truck, as the sound of jet engines powering up was overwhelming. The nose of the plane pointed skyward and it looked as though it might survive. Except that the landing gear was still down.

The truck crossed underneath the private jet, the cab passing by unscathed, but the trailer being caught by the landing gear of the plane, flipping the truck onto it's side and forcing the plane to 'trip' in midair, slamming it's nose back into the ground.

The clash of metal must have caused a spark as, between the fuel in the plane and the fuel in the trailer, a large fire ignited, consuming the entirety of the plane, beginning to burn a platoon's worth of men alive.

As for the truck cab, it separated from it's trailer and skid sideways towards the terminal. As it was coming to a stop, it was torn open from the inside, a single man stepping through.

Sayori's eyes widened at the state that Ja-… Strayed was in. It's expression was neutral yet tethering on maddening rage, it's body tense and ready to kill, and a blackened hole in it's abdomen, that looked as though it's insides had been on fire.

The many men around her might have noticed these details, except that they were fearfully regarding it's weapons. A pair of 40mm revolver grenade launchers in both hands, and a pair of .50 caliber heavy machine guns crossed on it's back.

As it leveled it's eyes on Sayori, there was the briefest moment of still calmness, and she could have sworn that it would have smiled if given the chance. Before it could though, it breathed heavily once, readying itself for an inhumane slaughter.

/PRIMARY OBJECTIVE/SAYORI: LOCATED

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 100 METERS

/ENEMY COUNT: 130

/ACTION: EXTERMINATE ALL NON-OBJECTIVE HUMANS

/KILL

"Open Fire!" The Colonel shouted, the men immediately reacting and raising their weapons to take on the enemy.

In response, Strayed began running towards the closet enemies, grenade launchers pointed high and firing in an arch, the slow rounds coming down near the furthest jet from Sayori.

"Take cover!" The men could be heard shouting, delaying their own attack to try and survive the barrage. One of the rounds had struck the jet, starting a rapid fuel fire. With both launchers emptied of their dozen grenades and twenty men already killed by shrapnel and fire, they looked back up from their cover…

Only to find it already among them, heavy machine gun held at the hip, the trigger depressed as the weapon was held pointed at a soldiers head.

"Fall back into the terminal!" The Colonel ordered, sacrificing the platoon closest to the enemy, but hoping to catch The Butcher at close quarters with the rest of his men.

As for the few caught outside, they fired, emptied the magazines of their rifles, but were too dumbstruck and horrified to keep fighting. Strayed just held down the trigger of the heavy machine gun, cutting men in half, indifferent to the wounds it was accumulating, or the proximity to the fire it had started.

Somewhat rightfully perturbed, The Colonel kept putting as much distance between himself and The Butcher, The Investigator and the civilian right beside him.

"Colonel, I seriously recommend we release the girl and make our retreat…" The Investigator advised.

"No! We need to kill that bastard now! And if he went through such trouble for one little girl, then she is obviously important to whatever plan he has!" The Colonel countered, hoping that the sheer number of guns and men they had would kill him.

"…I think it is much simpler than that…" The Investigator remarked grimly, continuing to hold Sayori sternly, yet not roughly. The soldiers, now down to about ninety, watched all entrances for any sign of movement, but he knew The Butcher would come through one of the walls.

Sure enough, rounds from a heavy machinegun began to cut through one of the walls and into another platoon, killing men where they stood. The wall came down and The Butcher entered, the barrel of it's gun red hot, yet beneath it's notice as it's left hand burned on the weapon.

"Bullet's aren't working!"

"We can't kill him!"

"Someone find some anti-tank weapons!"

Another twenty men died under the withering barrage of lead as Strayed kept the trigger pressed down. When it's gun finally emptied, it lifted it by the barrel with it's right hand, throwing it as a javelin and spearing a man through the heart, where he spun and collapsed in a heap of himself.

"Holy shit!"

The other .50 caliber machine gun was unslung, held by the barrel in it's smoking left hand, it's right holding the trigger down, continuing to kill one after another.

"Fall back! Get back to the planes!" The Colonel led the retreat, running down the terminal with The Investigator by his side, Sayori being dragged along. Looking back, he was horrified to see The Butcher giving chase, accurately firing from the hip even while running at full sprint.

"Close the doors!" The Colonel ordered as he and his personal escort made it out.

"But sir! Most of the men will be trapped-"

"Then they'll have the honor of killing The Butcher, close the fucking doors!" He shouted again, closing the doors with less than twenty men escaping the building. The rest, having lost all hope, tried in vain to bash on the steel doors of the terminal. The sound of heavy machine gun fire continuously lessening the number of fists banging on the other side.

Meanwhile, three men were left standing, trapped with The Butcher who had just run out of ammo, continuing towards them while it spun the empty gun to hold it by the barrel like a club.

"You son of a BITCH!" The first man rushed, firing at it with a handgun. Strayed brained him across the forehead with the improvised club, his skull fracturing and spilling it's contents onto the floor.

"No no no NO!" The second man screamed, raising his arms defensively as Strayed brought the weapon down, breaking skull, neck, and collar bones in three consecutive strikes.

"Please…!" The third man begged, on his knees pleading desperately. "Have mercy!" All Strayed did was grab the barrel at the base, raising it above the man like a spear, and thrust it through his open mouth, out the back of his head, and into the concrete floor. Looking around quickly, it noticed a box that the enemy had unloaded and forgotten in the room.

Outside, the remaining men were piling into the three remaining jets and the cargo plane. Much to their distress, the steel doors they had locked their comrades behind exploded outward.

"Ah…that's where we put the RPG's…" The Investigator remarked with near mocking calmness, as The Butcher walked out onto the airfield, an RPG on it's shoulder and a backpack with three shots on it's back.

Seeing as Sayori was closest to the third jet, Strayed targeted the first, aiming for the wings, the weapon detonated the fuel tank and killed the five unfortunate soldiers who sought to escape in it. The second shot only killed the pilots of the second jet, as the men had wised up and escaped it before it had shot it.

"You bastard!" A man rushed him with a bayonet on his rifle, which Strayed dodged with a sidestep while reloading the RPG. Lashing out, it swung it's fist, knocking the soldiers head off his shoulders.

All the while, The Colonel had been formulating a desperate and cruel plan to kill The Butcher, which included an airport truck or two.

As it had been distracted by taking a man's head from his body, it didn't see the truck coming. Letting go of the RPG, it held on tightly to the radiator of the truck, only letting go when the truck had slammed it's back into a wall, falling limply against the hood.

"Hell yeah!" The soldier driving the truck shouted gleefully. Stepping out of the truck to mock The Butcher in his face, he continued to shout. "Serves you right you son of a bi-KKKKKK!" He was unable to finish that sentence as his jaw was suddenly torn off, held in it's hand while he gurgled and choked on blood.

"…" Sitting up tiredly, yet still enraged, Strayed slowly pushed the truck backwards off of it's chest.

/WARNING: BLEEDOUT RESUMED

/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 30 MINUTES

"What the hell?"

"How is he still alive?"

"Can anything kill him?"

"…" Unamused, Strayed decided to defy it's own Standard Operating Procedure, ignoring the handguns in it's coat, and using just it's hands. It's gait changing from limp and injured to deadly and unopposed; it ran at full speed, faster than the humans could react.

Looping it's arm around the first man's right arm, it's left fist surged forward, popping his head open in a mist.

"SHIT!"

Flanking the next man, it kicked his feet out from under him, then while his torso was still in the air, it grabbed him by the waist and the shoulder, folding him in half, his spine snapping and chest ripping open.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Kicking another man's knee backwards, it grabbed him by the head and shoulder while he screamed loudly, spinning his body while holding his head still, the head tore off and was quickly discarded.

"IT'S A MONSTER!"

Punching the next unfortunate victim in the chest to break their ribs, it then slammed it's other fist down on their head, embedding it in their chest with their neck broken.

"NOTHING CAN STOP IT!"

Twisting a man's arm till the bone popped out, it then slammed the jagged, broken bone through their open mouth and out the back of their head.

"WE"RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

Beneath the third jet, another soldier tried to surrender, begging for mercy incoherently. Strayed grabbed him by the shoulders, throwing him up and into the running jet engine, turning him into a plastered mess.

"OH GOD WHY!?"

A man still brave enough to hold his rifle brought it to bare, only for Strayed to reach him first, twist the gun up while still in his hands, and slam it into his face, embedding it.

"SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

The next man had the mercy of only having his head twisted around the wrong way, leaving him mostly intact.

"STAND BACK! I'LL DEAL WITH THIS!"

Digging it's thumbs through the eyes of another soldier, Strayed pulled it's hands apart, tearing the man into halves.

Only to reveal a sneering Colonel on the other side, armed with a revolver 40mm grenade launcher. The first shot caught it by surprise, kicking it back a foot. While doing little damage structurally or superficially, the explosive round did open it's wounds further.

/WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 20 MINUTES

Firing again, The Colonel's confidence grew as The Butcher spat new blood.

/WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 16 MINUTES

The next shot Strayed dodged beneath, focusing it's attention on the armed man before it. Thinking quickly, The Colonel shifted his aim to the ground beneath it, emptying the grenade launcher rapidly.

/WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 9 MINUTES

Still standing, but walking slowly, The Butcher advanced on The Colonel, who pulled out his side arm, emptying a magazine into it's chest. Their attention solely focused on each other, assured that they would kill the other.

Emboldened by The Colonel's courage, the other truck driver, who had been horrified by The Butcher's rampage, chose this moment to contribute to the battle, running over The Butcher, who disappeared underneath the truck.

Unexpectedly, there was a kick as the rear axle was torn off of the truck, flipping it onto it's side. Surprised, The Colonel feared the worst, only to smile devilishly at the results.

Laying in a pile of twisted limbs, The Butcher lay still, unmoving.

"HAHA, YES!"

"OH YEAH! WE GOT HIM!"

"YEAH! FUCK YOU!"

"N-no…no! NO!"

"…" The Investigator watched impassively, from the loading ramp of the cargo plane, letting go of Sayori who had started to run towards the mangled mass of limbs. He wasn't sure why, but he expected…more.

"Ack…" The truck driver rubbed his whiplashed neck painfully. He jumped in surprise when The Colonel placed a proud hand on his shoulder.

"Great work soldier, this was a great victory today." The Colonel praised.

"Eh…thank you sir. Um…permission to piss on the corpse of that monster, sir?" The soldier sheepishly asked.

"Hehe, sure, you earned it." The Colonel patted the man on the back, who nodded with a smile, stopping above the mangled corpse of The Butcher.

"This is for all of the good men you murdered, you fucking mon-" The man had just gotten his pants down, when a cracked, black claw reached up, grabbed him by the cock, and tore it off. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Getting sucked under a truck had been most unpleasant for Strayed. It's right arm and both legs had been entirely dislocated, it's spine twisted painfully, and wounds opened dangerously wide. It's left hand was also in a sorry state, blackened and stiff with fourth-degree burns.

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 5 MINUTES

/LIMBS DISABLED:

RIGHT ARM

RIGHT LEG

LEFT LEG

/COMBAT EFFICIENCY: 1%

/IMMIDEATE MEDICAL ATTENTION REQUIRED

Even bleeding, dying, there was still one thing it had to do.

"James! James!"

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 15 METERS

/KILL

"[NNNGGGGUUUUNNNNNRRRR]"The sound it emanated came not from it's throat, but it's entire body, a distinctly artificial, and unnatural growl. Grabbing the ankle of the cockless man, it squeezed, shattering bone and bringing him down.

"OH GOD COLONEL! MAKE IT STOP!"

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"

"HOW IS IT NOT DEAD?!"

"[GGGGGRRRRNNNNUUUUUGGGGG]" Reaching the man's head, it opened it's bloodstained maw, sinking it's teeth into the man's throat to silence him. Reaching down into it's coat, it pulled out a handgun, twisting it to shoot one of the shocked and stunned soldiers.

"Shit! Look out! He's still-" The next man didn't finish as Strayed put several bullets into him, before emptying the gun into a third soldier.

"James!"

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 3 METERS

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 4 MINUTES 30 SECONDS

The sound of her voice forced it to pause, dropping the empty gun, and sink it's clawed fingers into the tarmac, slowing dragging itself towards the source.

"James!" Sayori skinned her knees trying to reach it, her cuffed hands grabbing it's collar and helping it sit up on dislocated hips.

"[NNGGG…RRRUUU…GGGGUUU]" It moaned electronically, it's blackened hand gently tracing her cheek tenderly.

"Oh James…it will be okay! It will be okay!" She assured it as well as she could, unable to hold back her tears. All the while it stared back, unblinking orbs of bloodshot orange regarding her intently and absolutely.

A black combat boot met it's face, tipping it onto it's back. Reaching out, it grasped at Sayori, clutching her red bow and pulling it off.

"No! Stop it! Leave him alone!" Sayori shouted at The Colonel, who turned his attention onto her.

"You!" The Colonel dragged her away, out of The Butcher's reach. "What is that thing! You know! You know it!" He shook her violently, squeezing her shoulders.

"James! Please! Leave him alone!" Sayori cried.

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 7 METERS

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 4 MINUTES

"[NNNNUUUUGGGGGRRRRRUUU]" Strayed turned onto it's stomach, slowly dragging itself back towards it's primary objective on it's one good arm.

"Tell me what you know! TELL ME!"

"James! JAMES!"

"[UUUURRRRGGGGGGNNNN]"

"COLONEL!" The Investigator shouted, approaching the man and the girl. The Colonel calmly turned to regard him, brought out of his shock. "Please…we won't learn anything like this. I'll take the girl to the black site, and you can…deal with him." He pointed at the slowly approaching mass of rage and flesh and metal.

"…Very well." The Colonel nodded, roughly shoving Sayori into the grasp of The Investigator, then turning around to deal with The Butcher.

"…Fascinating…" The Investigator muttered, watching as Strayed continued to crawl towards Sayori at an agonizingly slow rate.

"…James…James!...James!" Sayori shouted, as the rear door of the cargo plane lifted, the engines already hot and turning, rolling the plane down the runway.

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 200 METERS

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 3 MINUTES

"Soldier!" The Colonel called to the only other survivor of his men, regarding him sadly and regretfully.

"Y-Yes sir?" The young man questioned, still in shock at The Butcher's ability to survive.

"Grab that launcher over there and hand it over…please…" The Colonel ordered tiredly.

"Yes sir!" The soldier moved quickly to pick up the RPG that The Butcher had dropped earlier.

While he waited, The Colonel reloaded his pistol, took aim, and emptied another clip into the side of The Butcher's head. "Why won't you die already? You…monster…"

"[UUNNNRRRRGGG]" Completely ignoring him, Strayed continued to crawl...until the plane carrying Sayori went airborne.

/DISTANCE TO TARGET: 1 KILOMETER

/*ERROR*

/TARGET AIRBORNE

/UNABLE TO AQUIRE TARGET BEFORE SYSTEM FAILURE

/MISSION FAILED

"[NNNGGGG]" Clawing at the asphalt of the tarmac, it watched the plane ascend skyward, unable to do any more.

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 2 MINUTES 30 SECONDS

Shouldering the anti-tank weapon, The Colonel lined up the rocket with The Butcher, prepared to end it once and for all. "Just die already…"

A shot rang loudly, not from an anti-tank rocket, but an anti-tank rifle. The Colonel watched blood spurt onto his face in confusion, only to look down and find his left hand hanging onto the rocket launcher, disconnected from his elbow, a fountain of blood erupting from the later. Falling to his knees, he dropped the rocket to clutch at his stump.

"Colonel! Loo-" Another large caliber round destroyed the soldier's head as he looked towards the Colonel's left.

Approaching with a limp in her left leg, May reloaded the large gun she had found. Taking aim at The Colonel again, she hesitated, as she saw what was coming, allowing the rifle to hang from her side.

Surprised, The Colonel looked back towards The Butcher, only for it to pounce on him, it's emotionless face and rage filled eyes staring back as it pushed him onto his back.

/UPDATING OBJECTIVE: KILL

"[NNNNGGGUUURRRNNN]" Strayed opened it's maw wide, aiming for the man's face.

"…" May watched emotionlessly as Strayed had it's fill of blood and revenge, the screams as a man was torn apart not even fazing her as she observed the blood soaked battlefield, tracing it's steps as best she could. When she could no longer hear the tearing of flesh and the screams of a man, she looked down, surprised to find Strayed crawling back the way it had come. Following it's path, she went ahead of it, knowing what it was after.

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 1 MINUTE 30 SECONDS

/UPDATING OBJECTIVE: ?ERROR?

It was surprised when May returned, blocking it's path. Leaning down, she placed something into it's left hand. Bringing that hand close to it's face, it opened it, revealing Sayori's red bow.

"[…NNGGUUURRRR…]" It shifted, ceasing pursuit and movement, simultaneously content and unsatisfied, tracing it's thumb back and forth over the bow.

"…" May sighed, watching as Strayed slowly died, bleeding out all over the tarmac, it's limbs twisted at odd and unnatural angles. It was…ironic.

Standing, she regarded the anti-tank rifle she still held, how heavy it was compared to normal firearms, yet how she handled it easily and with practiced dexterity.

She then regarded Strayed's dying form, and quietly wondered.

/ALERT/ALERT/ALERT

/CRITICAL WARNING/TIME TO COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE: 60 SECONDS

Author's Note: Things are going to get much worse.

If you liked this, please let me know, and stay tuned for more.

Thanks to Cyba-Fyba for the incredible cover art. Check out their other works or support them on sites such as Reddit, Deviant Art, and Twitter.