I do not own Worm or Darkest Dungeon.

Darkest

Clockblocker gingerly picked up the shrunken bomb with all the care in the world. It did not explode. He and Vista let loose a sigh of relief.

"Alright, time to bring this out for disposal," said Dauntless as he kept his eyes peered to their surroundings. He then motioned them to follow him.

"Was she bluffing earlier? There's no way that Stalker took out Bakuda and some flunky by herself," the clock patterned Ward pointed out as he followed after the Protectorate hero carefully, "Maybe we should foam this thing and let me freeze it."

"You heard Armsmaster. She wasn't showing any signs of lying," the older man reasoned, "All that is probably embellishment. Now, let's get this..."

"SHIT!"

They looked up and saw Shadow Stalker materializing on the metal walkway above, facing the upstairs office. With a loud crash, the door exploded outward and sprayed broken glass all over. She then shifted to her shadow state and flew down the stairs as a huge horned beast charged out after her. He snapped at her as she flew past but bit only empty air.

"Vista, Clock, retreat outside," Dauntless ordered as he readied himself. Trusting them to listen, he charged forward, just as the beast leaped after the reforming breaker. She caught sight of both of them and shifted again, going through the nearest wall. His shield slammed into the landing beast, sending it crashing to the side.

"Armsmaster, I think we found the Brockton Bay Devil," he spoke aloud after pausing to tap the earbud in one ear.

"I see. I would presume that the follower Shadow Stalker was talking about was a cape too, based on what she is shouting about here," was the reply, "Is there any way we can bring him in?"

"Not sure," the former answered as the Devil got to his malformed feet and shaking his head, "I don't think he's in a talking mood. So far, he was very aggressive towards Stalker with harmful intent."

"Very well, I shall enter the building to assist you," the latter said before he cut the connection.

"Better make it quick," he muttered as he prepared himself, the beast roaring aloud before running straight at him.

The two Wards ran out of the hole in the wall, with the time-themed cape clinging on to the bomb for dear life.

"What in the world was that thing?" Clockblocker breathed out as they came to a halt near the nearest PRT van.

"What makes you think I know?" Vista retorted, scanning for a familiar face among the troopers here. She scowled as she spotted Shadow Stalker, who was facing Armsmaster. "Hope she's getting a chewing out," she muttered under her breath.

"Hell, I wanna know how that thing appeared. You think she could explain again," he asked adjusted his grip on the bomb, his line of view catching the same thing.

"No time like the present then," she quipped as she watched Armsmaster move out towards the hole, while Shadow Stalker walked off the other way, towards them.

"Er... ok. Stalker?" he mused before asking the other Ward as she neared them, "So... what's up with the flunky-turned-monster?"

They couldn't exactly read her face, but she replied harshly with, "I don't need to tell you anything."

"Well, so much for finding out what happened," the former muttered as the masked Ward turned her back on them and leaned hunched over against the van. Turning back to Vista, he asked he held up the bomb, "So... what do we do about this?"

"If she was telling the truth, hold on to it? Even if Bakuda was taken out, maybe be ready to freeze it just in case?" she reasoned. She looked around and said, "Maybe there's something you can use to cover it and then you can just prepare to freeze it.

Meanwhile, when the Wards ran through the hole like their heels were on fire, Assault had gone over to Battery and nudged her for attention. "Bakuda supposedly taken out and another cape springs out of nowhere? I'm getting bad vibes here," he commented as he looked over to the hole in the wall.

"You heard what Shadow Stalker told Armsmaster," she replied seriously, the electric blue lines on her costume beginning to glow, "Just be ready. We may have to jump in."

"I dunno..." he muttered in thought, "You know how she did things before the Wards, right? What's to say she isn't going back to that behind our backs?" After a pause, he declared softly, "I think I'll have a talk with Bakuda. Catch you later, Puppy."

"How many times did I tell you..." she started to say before Dauntless crashed out of the hole in the wall, drawing everyone's attention.

The grotesque hand fell, the nails-turned-claws raking across the forcefield. The Devil then took a few steps back and paused to look at his tingling hand. He growled loudly as Dauntless stood firm, shield raised and on the defensive. He then stepped forward and threw a punch with its smaller arm, the electrified field sparking and causing slight electrical burns on the skin. He repeated the cycle of stepping back, pausing to look and punch another time before the PRT hero heard someone step through the hole.

"Status report," Armsmaster enquired as his leader took position behind him.

"He is surprisingly cautious," he stated as he kept a close eye on the Devil, "He doesn't seem to know his way about tinker tech. Doesn't seem to want to back down either. I'm guessing Changer with Muscle Brute level Four."

"Then we have to take him down now before he decides to escalate," former replied as he heard him electrify his halberd.

The later couldn't reply as another punch impacted his shield. With the Devil seemingly distracted, Armsmaster charged forward to try and stab him. It took a few steps back and ducked under the blade, the electrified field sparking against his horns. He then sprang forward, go past the team leader and rammed headfirst into his shield. Surprised and unable to muster a counter, he couldn't do a thing as the changer continued his charge unhindered, both of them bursting out of the hole. The hero flew back and skidded on the floor back first while the enemy halted and looked around. It started growling as he found the target of his ire. He was only able to take a single step towards Shadow Stalker when he roared in pain and grabbed his ears.

A cape wearing a golden lion head stepped forward as the PRT squad took cover behind the vans, his mouth open. Triumph paused to take another breath, his opponent shaking his head. He unleashed another sonic roar and the beast fell to his knees, grasping his head again. He then focused on the PRT cape with a growl. Triumph took a few more steps before he pushed himself off the ground with his legs and sent his horned head into the golden lion's mouth. Disrupting the cry, he then grabbed the cape by the throat and threw him on the van. He then roared out in pain when Armsmaster struck him from behind.

"Stand down, Devil," the cape leader ordered as he blocked a backhand to his chest, "You are outnumbered. There is no escape. Should you greviously harm anyone here, you will be adding to the body count that could send you to the BPCC."

The monstrous human roared in reply as he lunged at him with open mouth, revealing a row of dagger-sharp teeth. Calmly, he put his halberd in front to block. The abomination clamped down on the metal shaft and with a surprise move, broke it apart as his malformed hand slammed down on one end. Coincidentally, he also slammed Armsmaster to the ground. He opened his mouth to let the pieces of the shaft fall out and then turned around to look for the main target of his ire. Before he could get an eye on her, a blue-white and dark grey streak slammed into him.

Assault only paused to look at Dauntless before racing to the nearest van to retrieve a jet injector with the counteragent for Stalker's tranq bolts. then, he whizzed past the troopers, the charging Battery, into the hole and up the stairs. Entering the small office, he came upon an unconscious Bakuda.

"There you are, bomber girl," he muttered as he knelt down and gave her a shot, the injector hissing in response, "Now, let's see if..."

That train of thought got interrupted by the shudder of the building as well as the faint sonic reverberation from Triumph's roar. It was then replaced by a more beastly roar. He was shaken out of it when the ABB cape lot out a groan.

"Welcome back to the real world," he greeted jovially, "Now, I didn't exactly give you a full dose, so you should still be stiff in some places."

"Urgh... pain grenade," she mumbled as she tried to get up. Catching sight of him, she growled, "What -urgh- you want?"

"Well..." he trailed off as glanced off to the side, "Your 'flunky', as Stalker calls him, is going mad outside. Now, he may or may not be known as the BB Devil and he may or may not have a body count, but whether he was defending himself or not is up to debate. Still, if he causes any deaths outside, that may not be the case anymore."

"...Damn it... hindsight... hmph," she groaned out as she clumsily tried to get to her feet, "Stupid... stupid... idiot."

"So... I guess you're gonna cooperate?" he asked with a grin, already having a good guess as to what the answer would be, "Need any help down the stairs?"

"...Fine."

Battery slammed into the Devil, sending him sprawling on his back. She ran up to him as to not leave him to much time to recover and restrain him. He was a little faster than that and she ducked and weaved between a punch and a swipe. She landed a punch on his snout, followed by swinging a left hook to the side of his head. Stunned, he wasn't able to stop the uppercut headed his way. Yet, even after the series of punches, he didn't go down. He roared and swung his enlarged arm again. She dodged and he raised his other arm to block two jabs. The abomination then clenched his left fist and punched her. She reacted in time and blocked it with both her arms. The force lifted her slightly but her footing was stable and she didn't topple over. The exchange placed them opposite each other with only a few paces between them. He growled as they slowly circled each other, somehow knowing he had to take her out if he wanted another chance to hunt down the wrong-doer.

Suddenly, the blue-white lines on her costume began to flicker a little. Without taking her eyes of the enemy, she shouted, "Running low! Dauntless, get ready!"

The abomination roared and stepped forward to punch her. She ducked and crossed him, her punch landing square on his snout. He cried out in surprise and pain, moving to swipe with his enlarged left. With astonishing accuracy, she punched it away and gave it another uppercut. She quickly followed up by stepping up, grabbing his right hand and swinging him around, right into Dauntless' crackling shield. The Spartan-themed hero had quickly dashed up when he heard her call and rammed his defense into the Devil's back. He was airborne for a few seconds before he landed on all fours.

At that moment, no one spoke a word. The stench of burnt cloth and flesh surrounded Osmond. His breath was heavy and ragged, the jolt of electricity having sent a numbness through his body. Slowly, he got to his feet, having shrugged off the paralytic effect and recovering from his stunned state. He turned around to face them, the PRT and the capes. His head twitched and took stock on them. A growl escaped his maw and put them on the defensive.

"Devil of Brockton Bay, you will stand down. Now," announced Armsmaster as he took position next to Dauntless, having retrieved a replacement halberd from his motorcycle, "I repeat. Stand. Down. Now."

In reply, the transformed man roared in defiance and lowered himself in preparation to leap at the two Protectorate capes.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to the owner of the voice. With slow and heavy steps, Bakuda walked towards the abomination, favoring her right side.

"In hindsight..."

Another step closer.

"...should have explained..."

And closer still she went.

"... PRT to you..."

Another step.

"Then this..."

One step.

"Stupid."

Another.

"Asinine."

Another one.

"Reaction."

And she was right in front of him.

"...wouldn't have happened."

She stood there, hunched over the side, glaring at him through the opaque lenses.

"Change back," she ordered.

He didn't react for a moment. Then, he started growling and opened his maw.

"I said... Change Back!" she yelled at him as she slapped his jaw, much to the shock of the spectators.

He took a step back, clutching his head. And then, he began to shrink. Arms losing muscle. Horns retracting into his skull. His jaw shortening back to his face. His feet compressing and returning back to their original length. He lost his red tint, his green blood. And finally, the clinking of knocking metal came from the window and from the orifices of the building as the broken chains flew through the air, back to his body. As the PRT watched in fascination and surprise, the links were reforming and rejoining back to their original form. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"You are... alive," he rasped out hesitantly.

"Idiot," she hissed out at him.

"Praise the Light," he rejoiced, raising his arms in the air in spite of her harsh words.

"Hmph, thanks, I guess," she muttered softly.

"Huh... I feel... sleepy," he said suddenly as he slumped forward to the ground, revealing Assault, who was holding one of Stalker's tranq bolts.

"Well, couldn't exactly have him blow up again, could I?" he said as he shrugged.

"For now," she growled out.

"Bakuda, you will be held accountable for the bombing spree as well as the deaths of several civilians," declared Armsmaster as he clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead. Take me in. I'll play nice for now," she sneered back without bothering to face him.

"What makes you say that?" Assault asked curiously.

"You see, I'm a genius. I can escape from whatever place you decide to throw me in. Whenever. Wherever," she gloated as she grinned confidently behind her mask, "And when I do, I'll be back here to spring out my friend. Then, we will leave. Nobody can stop us. Nobody. You hear me?"

The other boxes flipped off, signifying the conference call to be over, leaving a singular person on Emily Piggot's screen.

"Now that the general meeting is done with, let us speak about possible solutions to the Brockton Bay Devil," said the person on the screen.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how to go about this," admitted Piggot, a rare thing to do, "I am very leery to the idea of waking him up and conducting Power Testing. I rather not have a Changer that destructive rampaging through the building."

"True. I myself would agree. But officially... this is just a stop gap," the screen said, "Until a more permanent solution is found. If you agree to this, I shall fax this to your side later."

"I would appreciate this quite a bit," she replied as she shifted herself on her creaking chair.

"Very well. If you can't propose another solution... you will have no choice but to awaken him," the person warned, "Perhaps I should include the clause of lifting sedation after Bakuda's sentencing and subsequent incarceration." After some thought, she asked, "Anything further, Director Piggot?"

"Nothing further," the former affirmed.

"Very well. Have a good day, Director Piggot," the latter wished as the screen went blank.

"Good day to you, Director Costa."

To be continued...

His Rambling Notes:-

The Great Weapon has been disabled. Its grand payload now lay inert after much preparation. With its creator missing, all seemed safe. At that moment, the Beast was roused, its anger stoked and great. How fortuitous that our heroes are more than a match to his enduring constitution. The Spartan. The Weapon. The Voice. The Power. Still, both sides seemed to be at a stalemate, until one more entered the fray. It took Gunpowder to beat back the Beast. With a slap, he was brought down. Soothed. Sedated. In the end, he has become a prisoner of his own body, doomed to be at the mercies of the heroes and the elements alike.

Ruin has come to the Bay. It is an Abomination. Tread well.

Real notes:-

Hello everyone. Welcome back to Outsider. Today, we see the end of the fight. Yes, Vista shrunk it down. No, Clock hasn't frozen it yet. Not after what Stalker boasted about before returning to radio silence. And after Osmond appears, we get to see what nickname the PRT thought up for him. Jersey has its own Devil, so now the Bay has one too. Now, Osmond has faced electrical attacks before. But, not like this. Not how Dauntless and Armsmaster do it. Then, Triumph making like the Dragonborn. Assault? Strangely, Assault went to retrieve Bakuda. Back outside, Battery moving in like a bang! And in the end, it was Bakuda that finally diffused tensions. Anyone expect that? Also, Bakuda making a promise she won't know wouldn't be able to keep. Sorry, Bombergirl.

As for the 'to be continued line', this is the last chapter of my short outing to doing a Worm crossover. I will be back, but I wanna try something else first. So, I'll see you all next time.

Please leave a review and let me know what do you think of the chapter.