Dishonored

Chapter Twenty Two: The Conspiracy Ends

"His mind is fracturing and splintering." The heart said, moving in Corvo's chest. "A broken man who sees the end, but is now more dangerous than ever."

"Look, I say, look, my friends, at all we've accomplished." Havelock's voice said as Corvo crept silently up the stairs. "Martin, a man whose talents were wasted until the discovery of faith, leading to the mantle of High Overseer… and Pendleton, born youngest to a great house, only to dominate the seats of Parliament… and me… the young nobody who seized command of a ship, turned a group of more nobodies into sailors… formed a navy… and for a brief fleeting moment, was called Lord Regent."

Taking a moment to recognize the contributions of Calista, Pierro, and Samuel, all of whom he figured were killed by the City-Watch, the new Lord Regent almost sounded proud of them, before suddenly stopping… gritting his teeth, and letting out an angry growl, Corvo reached the top of the stairs just in time to see Havelock rip down a large map of Dunwall that was hanging on the wall.

The rest of the room was dominated by a large kind of conference table, where Martin and Pendleton were seated, but something was wrong… both men were not moving or speaking, sort of just leaning back in their chairs, while their cups that they had apparently been drinking from were lying on the floor nearby. Poisoned? Had the new Lord Regent gone so far out of his mind that he poisoned his fellow conspirators as well.

"Damn it, Martin, this is all your fault!" Havelock yelled, walking up to the corpse and shaking it. "If you hadn't broken Corvo out of prison… and if he hadn't been so damn good at his job! Yes, yes, I know, you're going to tell me that this is my fault… that I got greedy, and impatient, right? Admiral Havelock, the man who leaps before he looks, right? Well, from nothing you were born, and to nothing you shall return!"

Roaring with anger again, this time the Lord Regent shoved the corpse and chair over, so that his dead friend fell to the floor, next picking up plates and other objects from the table and tossing them down on him. Kicking the body of Martin several times, Havelock stopped again, now glaring angrily at the corpse of Pendleton as it sat motionless on the other side of the table… and that anger only seemed to grow.

"Oh, you think this is funny, do you, Treavor?!" He screamed, rushing around the table and getting right into the corpse's face. "Oh, how we used to laugh about everyone knowing that Corvo was screwing the Empress, but what good does that do me now, huh? We've screwed up bad, and now Corvo's coming for me… I can feel him getting closer, can't you? Crossing this island fortress as easy as anything else… what, offer him money? You're broke, Treavor, and now Corvo's girlfriend is taking over Parliament, so what do you have to say now, you spineless pomp?!"

Getting ready to strike the corpse, Havelock stopped, freezing in place when Corvo finally came out of hiding. Well, at least the deranged ramblings had stopped, but now the former Lord Protector had to deal with his former friend, and Emily was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, the new Lord Regent started talking again, this time going on about the Loyalists starting out with noble intentions, but getting used to power, and blah, blah, Corvo had enough of all these people.

"Shut the hell up, Farley." He ordered, slowly approaching. "I don't care about your reasons, or your ideals, or anything… so just tell me where Emily is, and if she is unharmed, you might just come out of this in one piece."

"Certainly, Corvo." Havelock replied, taking something out of his pocket. "Your daughter is locked in the storage room right over there behind me… this is the key, right here."

Now walking over to him, the former Lord Protector pushed the new Lord Regent so that he fell into a nearby chair, before picking up the key from the table. So far it looked like this was all going to end without violence, since Emily had been through enough to last a lifetime, and Corvo was turning toward the storage room, when Havelock grabbed a knife from the table, stabbing it into the back of Corvo's leg.

Swinging his sword at his former friend, the clash of their weapons resulted in a deep cut on Havelock's arm while the knife flew from his hand, just as the former Lord Protector fell to his hands and knees. Holding his wounded arm, the new Lord Regent grabbed the key from the table, running over to the storage room door before Corvo could get back up, and using the key to unlock it.

"What are you doing?!" Emily yelled when Havelock stepped in and pulled her out by the arm. "Let go of me! You're hurting…

Stopping the little girls words by backhanding her so hard that her feet left the ground, Havelock then grabbed Emily by the hair, pulling her to her feet, and forcing her to run behind him up a nearby staircase. Corvo knew that from this place, there was nowhere to go, as did Havelock, so where was he going? Limping significantly due to being stabbed, the former Lord Protector followed, being more than a little surprised when he reached the top of the stairs, and found himself outside.

Ahead of him were the maintenance catwalks, used to access the outside of Hiram's sanctuary, but still, there was nowhere for Havelock to go, so why was he running all the way to the end of the catwalks with her? Forced to stop where only a very long drop back to the island awaited, the new Lord Regent picked up the little girl, and slung her over his shoulder while he backed up to the very edge.

"Not another step closer, Corvo!" He warned while Emily screamed and covered her eyes. "I promise you I'll jump with this little brat, and won't that be a delight for the historians? Farley Havelock, the man who commanded nobles, and brought down tyrants… and Corvo Attano, the man who was good at everything except saving Empresses."

"You really are an idiot, Farley, you know that?" Corvo replied. "With everything you all did to stop Hiram's conspiracy, Pendleton and Martin would have still gotten their positions, and you… you could've been Royal Spymaster. Instead, I'm going to give you a choice… release my daughter, and I'll let you leave… you get the hell out of Dunwall, and you never come back… deal?"

Remaining still as if considering the terms, Havelock didn't say or do anything for the longest time, nor did Corvo make a move on him. The former Lord Protector no longer cared about revenge, or justice, or anything like that, and he really was going to let him simply leave in exchange for Emily's safety. After all, exile was a lot better than death or a lifetime in prison, but would he take the deal?

"You'd like that, wouldn't you Corvo?" Havelock eventually replied. "Then you can put your daughter on the throne, live in luxury for all your days, and marry Esma Boyle… but the thought of living in a world where you have everything, and I have nothing… you lose, Corvo."

There was no way to stop the new Lord Regent from stepping backwards from the catwalk, but Havelock didn't know that Corvo had the mark of the Outsider, or that thanks to his fight with Daud, had a much better grasp of how to use it. Vanishing, and reappearing in the air with them just as Emily was starting to scream, the former Lord Protector pulled her from Havelock's arms, and vanished again, with both of them reappearing back on the catwalk while the new Lord Regent fell down into the darkness.

"Emily, are you all right?!" Corvo asked, putting her down, and getting on his knees to hug her. "I'll never let anything happen to you ever again!"

"Is… is it over now?" The little girl asked as they hugged. "I wanna go home… can we please go home now?"

The answer to that question was yes, and picking up his daughter in his arms, Corvo walked out of Hiram's sanctuary. With all those who conspired against the Kaldwin family dead or gone, it was an easy thing for the little girl to pardon him for everything he had been falsely accused of. Thus began the reign of Emily I, with her father, and reinstated Lord Protector at her side, shielding her from those who might seek to harm or manipulate her.

No longer hunted by the City-Watch, Pierro and Sokolov were able to concentrate on their combined work to cure the Rat Plague, and upon the distribution of the new remedy, a golden age was begun in Dunwall. Although uncomfortable with her father's continued relationship with Esma Boyle… eventually Esma Attano, Emily was happy that he was happy, and chose to spend most of her free time with her governess, Calista.

True to his word, the assassin Daud left Dunwall, and did not return, although it was said that he had a brief encounter with Thaddeus Campbell many years later. The former High Overseer was alone and penniless, but seemed to have learned the error of his ways, content to live out his days in simple isolation… like a kind of penance. Waverly Boyle, however, did not accept her fate so generously.

Agreeing to marry Lord Brisby immediately, her smitten husband mysteriously vanished during their honeymoon, and with no trace of him ever found, Waverly inherited all of his land and fortune, deciding not to return to Dunwall. And as for the Outsider, his curiosity into the actions and motivations sated, moved on, searching for new subjects to study, and genuinely happy that all had worked out for the best.

"Enjoy the golden age brought about by your hand, Corvo." The floating figure said during their final meeting. "And now… farewell."