Several months after the destruction of the Loyalists, Corvo is contacted by the Outsider once more... And sent on a mission to save a new empire, a new world...
Some time after Emily is firmly on the throne, Corvo is contacted by the Outsider once more... And sent on a mission to save a reality... Of talking ponies?! But was he the only one sent to Equestria?
I found the cover image on the Internet, I claim no ownership of the image or of the Dishonored or MLP franchises. Image by vicious-mongrel on Deviantart WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DISHONORED 1 AND ASSOCIATED DLC Contains strong language Rated Teen due to adult language and adult boo-boos UNDERGOING REWRITE
I have left this story to gather dust for long enough, I have once again picked up my laptop, and the story is back in business!
Due to my admittedly poor first attempt, I will be rebuilding from the ground up. The chapters will be longer, the story more structured, and overall better if I do it properly. However this increased effort will take time, so the first remade chapters should be up by Christmas, but not before that.
Some side notes: - I understand that Dishonored was bigger at the time when I first wrote this, so if the first few chapters fail to get a positive response, this will be scrapped once more. - This story (for now) will be in no way related to Dishonored 2; as I sadly will be unable to run it with my crappy computer. Should this change the story may once again be rebuilt, hopefully for the last time. -
"All hail Empress Kaldwin!" "All hail the empress!" Loud applause broke out in the hall, several people whooped, and in the corner, a few began to weep. The party went on long into the night, and a number of drunk guests had to be escorted off the grounds by admittedly tipsy guards. The lord protector Attano watched the post-ceremony proceedings from a window in the tower.
Corvo turned away from the window with a small smirk tickling the side of his face. He prowled in silence, alone with his thoughts, the guards on duty knowing better than to bother him.
It had been a number of months since the so-called "loyalists" had been disbanded, it had taken an enormous amount of work to restore the city to even some semblance of functionality. The majority of the upper crust had been destroyed, either by the plague or by Corvo's own personal efforts, the working class had been scattered and angry, and crime ran rampant almost as much as the plague. The work became significantly easier once Sokolov and Pietro pooled their resources and minds to eventually create a cure and vaccine for the rat plague. After that point, their efforts managed to move from damage control to recovery. Now, Dunwall was almost ready to go back to being a major power again. Yes, life was good.
Of course, it wasn't all sugar and apricot tartlets. Corvo hadn't fooled himself into believing that. A number of parties, seeing to claim power in this time of weakness after another leadership switch, had had to be dealt with, many by Corvo's own hand.
That was something at least, he thought, as a sardonic smile appeared on his face. Prior to his incarceration, his specialty had been mainly in hand to hand combat, swordplay, and firearms. Not stealth. But the journey he had been through was responsible for giving him the very skills that let him deal with the incarcerated Lord Regents supporters.
How's that for karma?
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"Goodnight your royal highness." "Oh stop it Corvo!" Playful banter was easily exchanged between the newly crowned empress and her most faithful protector. Corvo had known her quite literally since birth, so they were more family than anything else, but alas, even royalty need their sleep. It had been a long day of ceremonies and an even longer day of celebration, and Emily was almost dead on her feet. He was just about the step out of the room when his charge reached out and grabbed his arm by his coat cuff.
"Umm.. Corvo?" This was odd, Emily was always a very confident girl, she knew what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. Seeing her so uncertain grabbed his attention. "Emily?" "...Now that I'm empress, for real now... will what happened to Mother happen again?" After a brief moment of shock, Corvo recovered his composure and knelt down to Emily's bedside, his coat settling around the two of them like a shield from the world.
"Emily. I promise, I swear on my very soul that what happened that day will never repeat itself." He smiled down at her as they both leaned forward into a hug. The words he spoke had been said with such conviction that the young ruler did not think herself capable of doubting herself. And, unbeknownst to either of them, a certain mark flared briefly with a cold light.
Corvo strode from the room, a casual wave of his hand and a pointed glare being all that was needed for the guards outside Emily's room to stand to attention and step in front the doors. These men and women hand been hand selected by Corvo himself, he would spare no effort in protecting his empress.
Not again.
Alas, even the man who some guards swore wasn't human, but instead a golem of Sokolov's, given life to serve the Empire till the end of time, needed rest. Corvo had drilled all of the staff on security for this very night, and for the first time in a long while, Corvo felt that the hardest part was over.
How wrong he was.
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"Corvo..." A whisper carried into Corvo's ear was all that was needed for him to spring to his feet in a surprising gesture of agility from a man of his size. His hand immediately went to the side of his coat where Pietro's folding blade was held, his hand was halfway to the handle before he realized that it was both unnecessary and useless in his current situation.
The Lord Protector stood upon a platform of roughly hewn rock that appeared to have been scooped from the ground by some mad god, which, Corvo's lips twitched, it had been in a way. The rock was suspended in a cloud of endless grey fog that stretched out as far as Corvo's eyes could see, all of it lit in a light that imparted neither cold nor warmth, just illumination. Corvo found the place deeply unsettling, almost as much so as its name. The Void. The realm that housed the timeless being of "The Outsider". Hawk-like eyes pierced through the eternal nothing around him in search of somewhere to go. Spotting another platform suspended like some malformed marionette, he drew upon the well of power within him to speed across the gap, his hand outstretched, bright magic curling, smoke-like from the back of his outstretched hand to reveal a glowing mark, shining through his fingerless glove.
His mark.
Corvo darted through the void for an usually long length of time, normally the Outsider simply appeared in front Corvo the moment he stepped foot in the void, but today he seemed to want to make Corvo work for it. His apprehension grew with every step.
It came to his attention that the usual debris of the void seemed to be thinning as he approached his apparent destination. The globs of water, the shards of metal, the images of men, women and children, all appeared less and less until it was just Corvo alone, walking down a long pier of bone stretching into the void.
Eventually Corvo encountered, to his knowledge, the only other "living" thing in the Void. The Outider. Corvo doubted that this was his reall form, or if he had a form altogether, but he appeared before him as a man with rather plain features, with the exception of his eyes, which were black as night, floating in the air. And then he spoke with erie slickness. "...welcome, once again." Spreading his arms wide. "To the void." Arms again returning to his side, he eyed the man before him with something akin to amusement. "You think that just because you have completed your own goals, that you were free of my presence for the rest of your days? That mark on your hand" Corvo found his eyes drawn to it despite himself. ",that marks you as one of my special few, I gave you the power to change the course of history, and in return, you are bound to me for all eternity." A slight smile. "Some would call that a fair trade."
"...what do you want?" Traitorous words crawled out of his throat, but knowing that one way or another, they would have to be said, damn his pride.
"That's what I want to hear." Suddenly snapping into motion the outsider vanished, only to reappear, along with a large platform made entirely of whale bone, carved into an elaborate tapestry, with a large spiral on top, where the Outsider now stood. His heart in his throat, Corvo ascended the steps, as the Outsider gestured to a painting of a woman dressed in all her finery, and oddly enough, roses. "This is Delilah Copperspoon, an old enemy that you never had to face. She was in fact dealt with by Daud, your old nemesis." His head tilted to the side. "I am still surprised that you let him live."
"Wait what do you mean 'enemy'?" Corvo was gifted with a fine memory for images, and he was certain that he had never seen this woman before in his life. Here, the Outsider's mouth twitched. "Oh, of course, you don't know... well, while you were bringing down the Lord Regent and saving Emily. Daud was not idle. He brought down Delilah, and saved Emily's very soul." Ignoring Corvo's startled face and bubbling panic, the Outsider turned to the portrait. "Delilah is one of the most skilled in the usage of her abilities, and even amongst those I have marked her powers are certainly unique. She was able to imbue her power into paintings, and through them perform a permanent possession." At this point, he turned back to face Corvo, perhaps to gauge his reaction. "She sought to take Emily, and eventually bend the entire Empire to her will."
Here he smiled chillingly "And yet, Daud, the man who slayed an Empress, and plunged Dunwall into chaos, was the one to stop her. He replaced her painting at a critical moment with one of the void, and Delilah was sealed away... or so it seemed." The shadows curling around the Outsider pulsed, and the Void seemed to sing. "The Void is not like most realms, it exists outside and within all plains of reality, and so, can be used to get to any one of them. Before her soul was trapped, she fled the Void into the first realm she saw. Normally I would simply leave her be, but this world she now finds herself in possesses forces that should she harness, the Void could be breached." Here the Outsider's voice became cruel", she seeks to usurp me, and become a Goddess." He made no movement but Corvo could have sworn he heard a scoff, and the aura of amusement around the Outsider was impossible to miss. "In reality, the Void would simply rush through the portal and consume her, along with the entire world behind her, plunging them into hell."
"Yet she is completely unaware of this and thus will continue in her plan. She has spent some time there learning, analysing and recovering the strength she lost when fleeing. Soon, her plan will be put into motion, and this new world, this new Empire will fall." Ignoring Corvo's noticeable flinch of discomfort, the Outsider continued. "Your latest vow to the new Empress, this gives me the ability to shift you through the worlds with no unfortunate consequences for you... provided you accept. I think that you are exactly the person needed to shift the balance away from Deliah's failure. You swept through Dunwall like a phantom, avoiding bloodshed, yet not being afraid to spill it when it was necessary, and your vengeance on those who had wronged you was most entertaining for me to watch."
Corvo tensed when the Outsider's gaze became piercing and expectant. "So what will you do now Corvo, will you condemn an entire world, underindustrialised and underprepared, and break your recent vow to young Emily, or will you abandon all you know, and fight for its protection? Make your choice."
