The whole ride Corvo and Axton planed what they were going to do. They where two men with only one invitation, and the party was invite only. No plus ones.

"I thought most parties had plus ones." Samuel chimed in. Corvo shrugged. "Usually they are. But since the death of Lord Boyle."

"Oh, so, have you been to any of the Boyle's parties Corvo or Axton."

"No." Corvo replied as Axton replied. "Yes."

The ex-Royal Protector frowned and turned to the Whaler. "Really? Why?"

"The same reason the parties became 'invitation only.' sorry about that..."

Samuel just said, "Oh." And turned away as Corvo stared at Axton. He could just tell his father was gaping at his son. 

"You killed Lord Boyle?" He asked. 

Axton nodded.

"But you would have been... 13, a few days shy of turning 14..."

"Yes. I was." Axton replied with a shrug. "My first contract was a day after I had just turned 13. And when I was in my mid 14's, I had a contact at one of the Brimsley's estates in Tyvia. Again, it was a party and they invited five people who had owed them but never paid back. As far as they knew, they where searching for a chest laden with jewels and gold. I was young and I gained their trust, no one suspected I was the killer. The last two fought each other. The last man standing was actually a woman... I have to admit, she was probably the hardest for me, she protected me but I had no choice..."

He paused, then added. "I also learned twenty different ways to slit a man's throat when I was 6."

"Well Daud had just earned a father of the year award for that one..." Corvo muttered as he glanced off into the distance. 

"Says you." Axton muttered. Corvo turned to him, pulled a bonecharm from his belt and threw it at Axton's head causing it to hit him right between the eyes. "And now you had just proved my point."

Corvo rolls his eyes underneath his mask as he turned away. "Psh, shut up."

Samuel smiled during the whole exchange. He heard of the fallout between Pendleton and the Whaler, and heard about how Corvo had chewed him out then left to comfort his son. And he saw how the whole affair seemed to draw the father and son closer, which was now great for him. That meant less awkward boat trips now.

They continued their discussion and finally concluded that Corvo would be the one to enter the ball with the invitation. One, because Corvo's mask is less infamous than Axton's. As far as they both know, no one had seen the mask except maybe his targets, a few people on the streets, and the Bottle Street Gang. Other than that, that mask still had a clean record, though there have been a few posters up recently but they weren't really certain of the crimes he's committed. So, they concluded that Corvo will be 'Bunting.' Axton will be the eyes and ears above, as well as the one to infiltrate the top level of the mansion and sift through their items. Starting with Waverly obviously, and also picking up anything of value he could find. After all, you need money to fund a rebellion.

"Good grief!" Samuel exclaimed as they rode under the large metal gate. "The Lord Regent's pulling out all the stops for the Boyle Family. I didn't think there'd be tallboys patrolling here tonight. Watch yourselves they don't fool around."

In the distance, people ran across the bridge. The Dunwall clock tower stood watching as the tallboys started shooting at them. Axton wondered if they where weepers or just plague victims. Or perhaps just the poor and homeless who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps even all of the above, with or's or and's. 

"The good news is, once you get into the party, that mask of your's will let you blend right in."

The screams finally reached Axton's ears, or perhaps they where of those few who where still alive. Being crushed under the metal feet of the Tallboy. Axton found himself clenching his fists as he watched, the callous disregard for human life for an assassin was one thing. From the men who where supposed to protect the people, however, was abhorred.

"Enjoy your evening out with people of Quality Corvo, better you than me. And good luck on the stealthy part of it Axton. But knowing what you are, I doubt you even need my luck." Samuel parked and Axton and Corvo got up.

"One more thing, I think that old woman they call Granny Rags used to live around here. Makes sense that a lunatic like her would be neighbors with Lady Boyle." They jumped into the river and swam to the stairs on the opposite side of the moat. 

Corvo then blinked to the direction of the Party while Axton crouched and made his way up to the buildings to his right. He used his mark to locate a rune on the top floor. He blinked into a house and eavesdropped on a guard, and a civilian. 

"This place gives me the creeps. Didn't old Granny Rags used to live right here?" The civilian said with a nervous tone in his voice.

"Who? That crazy old lady?"

"They say she used to be a noblewoman until her whole family died off. They say she sold them to the Outsider."

"How about this: You do your damn job, and I'll watch for scary old ladies." 

Axton backed into the shadows as they finished, not wanting to risk being seen and blowing both his and Corvo's cover. He stealthily made his way towards the stairs, then stopped when he heard a faint moan. He hid behind the threshold and leaned slightly to peek under the stairs. Indeed, right there, in the corner under the stars, was a male weeper. He moaned pitifully, his features seemed to be nearly begging for death. Axton would have obliged to, if it weren't for Corvo's words under the sewer not so long ago.

"There are geniuses in this world, geniuses that will make a cure. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, why take their life when there might be a way to save them still?"

"Hope is hope Axton..."

So instead, he pulled out his wrist bow, but he turned and started making his way out the door. Axton could feel the ground shake as a Stiltwalker, or Tallboy as they are more commonly known as, came closer and closer.

If he walks out onto that street, he's as good as dead. Axton was about to turn around, ignore the Weeper, but something pulled him to the victim. Next thing he knew, he was behind poor bastard, suffocating the air out of him and letting him fall limply against him. Unconscious. Axton yanked him inside, both falling down just as the Tallboy was right outside.

"Pappa?" A child's voice called. Axton froze and turned towards the stairs. A little girl, ragged and filthy. She stared at him with large, green eyes, like two large emeralds. Beautiful, sparkling, innocent. He couldn't believe that this child was still well, not sick and dying or even dead. 

Some people are immune, he thought with awe. I've heard so, but she's so young, I thought all children died from it. Guess I was wrong. 

He gently pushed the man off him and rose to his feet. The girl ran to his side and knelt over the Weeper. 

"He's sleeping." Axton said, rigidly and on edge. The little girl turned to him, then crawled over and peeked out the door. The Stiltwalker remained for a few minutes, then turned and made his way back down the street. She turned to back to the assassin, a look in her eyes that he's never seen on anyone who beheld a Whaler. A look of gratitude, true gratitude, not the false and disturbing form nobles give when their opponent was eliminated.

"You saved Poppa." She said, making her way  towards him. "The tall man would have killed him. Thank you, sir."

She is skin and bones, Axton realized suddenly. He immediately dug in his bags and produced a small loaf of bread. He handed it to her without hesitation, knowing the repercussions of hangryism but willing to give up his food to a child in need. After all, he remembered quite clearly how it is to be a starving orphan. Her father might still be alive, but he was a Weeper, and will be dead sooner or later.

She was hesitant at first, eyeing the bread then Axton with a wary look in her eyes. 

"Well? Go on, I won't bite." He said patiently. She reached a small hand out and touched it, snatching it from his grasps and wolfing it down ravenously. 

"Axton, where are you? Are you on the rooftops?" Corvo's voice suddenly appeared causing Axton to frown. He wasn't touching his mark, but some how he can still hear Corvo. Perhaps I only need to touch it when I am responding...

He touched his mark and said, "I'm inside a building... feeding an orphan girl."

There was a pause from Corvo, then he replied in a gentle tone. "Okay, I think there is a rune in the river, and a bonecharm in an apartment on the side where we were dropped off. I'll tell you when I'm ready to go inside the estate, okay?"

"Okay, thanks dad."

Corvo's mind faded and Axton returned his attention to the girl. Her hair was oily, and caked with dried mud and dirt, but he could tell her hair was black and curly. Her skin was dark, like Billie's, but lighter. He knelt to her height. 

"What's your name?" He asked kindly. She hesitated, obviously a smart kid. Determining whether he was a threat or not, then finally concluded that a person who brings food is a good person to her (after all, they would be to me).

"Rosline, Rosline Amberson." She replied with a smile.

"Well, Rosline, will you be safe here? I have something I have to do."

She nods, then comes closer to him. "I'm twelve."

He chuckled as he rubbed her head. "Ah, a big girl then. No wonder you're so smart. I guess I won't have to worry about you-"

"What's your name?" She asked. Crossing her arms and smirking. "I gave you mine, it's only fair you give me your's."

"Axton." He replied, standing straight again as he turned his attention upwards. He activated his Void Gaze ability and noted that there where three more Weepers in the building. He could tell by their hunched figures, and how one looked as though she where heaving.

"Will I see you again Mr. Axton?" She asked, cocking her head at the assassin. Axton canceled his power and returned his attention to her. "Perhaps." He replied.

She then came forward and hugged him. "I hope so."

"Stay safe." Axton said, untangling the girl. 

"You too sir."

~☆~

He knocked out the Weepers, and had a short chat with the Outsider while trying to get a rune and collecting a bonecharm. Now he was on the roofs, keeping a watchful eye on the streets below. He noticed a Tallboy staring an exceptionally long time in the place Samuel's boat was parked. He felt a woosh of wind and immediately knew who it was.

"Yes Pierce?"

There was a moment of silence, Axton turned and cocked his head at his uncle-like figure who stared at him with a small look of surprise.

"Your clothes... their red again..."

"Yes... indeed." Axton paused for a little, not knowing what or why he hadn't changed them back. Was it because Corvo complemented on it? Or Cecelia? 

Wait, why do I care what she thinks about the color of my coat? He though, then shook himself. 

"This is Granny Rags' old place..." Pierce observed. "Never like that crazy old woman... anyways, I hear you are going after Lady Boyle, but have no idea who is who? Well, I can help. The other day, some of the Lord Regent's servants came by to deliver the Boyle's outfits, I heard talk that the one who is his mistress is wearing red. If I had to guess, Waverly. Red is her favorite color, but then again, it's a guessing game and that might be too obvious. But nobles are no philosophers. They might have that fact go right over their heads. I doubt that this will be a party any of them are soon to forget, especially the specific Lady Boyle who's the target. Good luck, Axton. Oh, and my I recommend neutralizing the Stiltwalkers? I think that one has grown suspicious of your friend..."

"Yeah, like always, thanks Pierce, and it's good to see you again."

"You too." He then vanished. Axton turned his attention back to the Stiltwalker who was now making his way towards Samuel.

"Can't have that buddy." He then stood and took a few steps back. He placed his grappling bolt into his wristbow and took a few deep breaths. He then crouched, opened his eyes and darted. He flung himself off the roof, the air whistling past him as he plummeted. When he was halfway, he flipped on his back and shot at the building farthest away, and closest to the walker. It planted it'self between an iron cage and expanded the hook, making it stick. He grabbed tightly onto the wire which caused the reel to stop and jerk Axton into place. He swung his body to create a wider arc and proceeded to propel faster towards the walker. He lifted his legs towards it and slammed right into it. He then stopped time, he and the walker falling until it hit the ground. He knocked out the man, threw the legs into the water and threw him into the garbage before time resumed once more. To everyone else, it'd have seemed that he had just vanished into thin air. 

Axton grabbed onto his wire again and used it to scale the building that his grapple was stuck on. He firmly grabbed onto the metal bars and dislodged his bolt, then glanced down at the ground below. Shrugging, he threw himself off, did a back flip and landed crouched, his right hand touching the ground, his left out to keep his balance.

"I'm going in." Corvo said.

"Alright." Axton replied. "I'll make my way over there once I deal with the next Tallboy. One had already almost spotted Samuel."

"Okay."

When they finished, Axton turned his direction towards the second Tallboy across the river. A guard was on the far other side, while The Tallboy was closer to the Boyle's front gate. Axton ran forward, at full speed, blinking up to the light closest to him and launched onto his back. He jammed a sleeping dart into his neck and stopped time again. And again, he discarded of the metal legs, the unconscious body, and hid himself before time resumed. 

"Hey!? Where did you go?" The other guard exclaimed as he ran towards the spot the Stiltwalker had just stood. 

Axton didn't stay long enough to hear more of his puzzled dialogue, for he vanished onto a rooftop closer to the manor and crouched low.

"Hey Corvo?" He called mentally. 

"What? I heard you and I wasn't-"

"I am sure I can talk to you, but unless you are touching the mark I gave you, I can't hear your responses."

"Alright, anyways, what is it?" 

"I'm in position and I'm going to infiltrate the the top floor now."

"Alright, I had just finished a Duel with Lord Shaw. Yeah, a duel. Wish Pendleton would have warned me about that... anyways, I too am heading inside right now."

"Oh, also, I got a tip that the one we are looking for might be Waverly in red. But again, I'll check to be sure."

Axton then blinked to the balcony and slipped through the door, undetected by the guard who leans over the railing.

~☆~

"Indeed." Axton said, picking up the note in Waverly's room. It turned out that he appeared in Esma's room, he took all the valuables there. He made his way into the attic and found the Boyle Cameo, stole that and a spirit elixir, then made his way to Lydia's and did the same. He found himself having to knock out the guards and proceeded to steal even more possessions. After all, they could just buy more, they seemed wealthy enough. That's when he finally arrived in Waverly's, and found her journal and a note from Hiram Burrows himself."The one we are looking for is Waverly, and she's in red."

"I know, I had just spoken to a noble who called himself Lord Brisby. He had just informed me that  the Lady Boyle is in red... and is Waverly. He doesn't want me to kill her. He wants me to deliver her to the basement..."

"Oh, that's not creepy at all." Axton joked as he jumped onto the balcony and surveyed the area. Corvo was holding a glass in his hands below. He saw how a guard was eyeing him suspiciously, and Corvo seemed aware of it too. He spoke to a few guests that came his way, but it seemed that the guard wasn't buying it. 

"Shit!" Corvo mentally exclaimed to Axton. The guard made his way towards him with suspicion in his eyes.

"Do you need me to come down there?" Axton asked, already readying his blink. Eyeing his father worryingly from atop the stairs.

"No, not yet. I think I got this." Corvo assured as he came closer. The assassin crouched lower, making sure he'd unable to be seen while also being able to keep an eye on his father.

"Excuse me sir, may I ask your name?" The guard asked when he was right before him.

Corvo stared at the guard for a few minutes, then stumbled slightly to his right, as though he couldn't stand up straight.

"I'm an agent of the Outsider!" He declared in a slurred, yet confident tone. Raising his hands in the air and stumbling again, though to the left this time.

"*sigh* obviously you are drunk. I'll let it slide, this time." And with that said the guard walked away.

Axton had to pull up his mask slightly and cover his mouth, he could feel the fits of giggles rising in his throat. He couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed. His father acting drunk was probably the most beautiful thing he's ever witnessed in his entire life. When he returned his hand to Axton's mark, he couldn't help but ask once he was calm enough. "How did you know that would work?"

Corvo shrugged, but to the bystanders it'd look like he was shrugging over the scene that had just unfolded. "I didn't. You where going to be plan B if things went wrong."

"Well, that's reassuring... Let's just finish this and go before any more suspicion falls upon you."

"Agreed."

~☆~

Corvo made his way down the hall and towards the serving area. Waverly Boyle was standing to the side, observing everyone around her as she did so. He approached her, hoping that he could convince her to go down without much of a hassle.

"Well, what is it?" She asked, noticing Corvo staring at her.

Well, now or never...

"I think I know who you are." Corvo said. "Oh really? Tell me." She replied.

"Waverly Boyle."

"Well done, but you'll have to name all three of us for the Cameo."

"I know how this sounds but..." Corvo lowered his voice as he continued. "I can save your life if you'll just listen."

"What do you mean you'll save my life... did Esma put you up to this?"

"Someone wants you dead, but I can offer you a way out-"

"This is not funny. You better be drunk, or I'd think you're threatening me."

"Shit, Axton! What do you think?"

"I don't know... But I'm a Whaler, we can use that to our advantage." Axton replied as time stopped around them. "However, there is one drawback, I have to kill a few guards to make it authentic, do you know anyone especially nasty?"

"Axton, no, there are Overseers with the music boxes-"

"Then I'll deal with them first."

"This is a huge risk son..."

"I know. But right now, it's the only way. Say anything else and she'd raise the alarm."

And before Corvo could say anything else, time resumed. Almost immediately afterwards, people started screaming.

"DAUD'S HERE!!!" A man in a Whale Mask exclaimed as Axton blinked in view of Waverly and Corvo.

"RUN!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist and made a run for it. The Overseers started to play the music boxes, and it took all Corvo's willpower to resist the urge to halt and crumble to the ground. It was like sapping his energy, but he had to push onward to keep up the appearance of a helpful party guest.

"By the Outsider! By the Outsider! By the Outsider! Someone really does want me dead!" Waverly exclaimed, fear lacing her voice. The boxes stopped and Axton appeared before them.

"And where do you think you're going?" He growled in a non-Axton voice. Corvo almost thought that this really was Daud, but then he realized the stance he was in and knew it was his son.

"We have to fight, you have to wound me. Badly."

"What? No! I am not going to hurt my son!"

"Come on dad! It's the only way! And don't worry, I can handle it!"

"Go! Waverly! I'll hold 'Daud' off." Corvo yelled. She nodded and ran down the stairs. He then turned and locked blades with Axton. The two where a whirlwind, dodging and slashing, parrying and retaliating. Eventually, Corvo drove his blade into Axton's side. He gasped in pain and vanished. The guards watched in stunned silence. "You- you killed him?" 

"I don't think so, but I believe I wounded him pretty good."

"Where's Waverly?" One of the Boyle women asked, she was wearing black, Lydia.

"She should have made it to safety. I think she might have ran upstairs-" Corvo said quickly. The Boyle pushed past him and ran up the stairs.

"Let's look around, see if Daud isn't still near by, licking his wounds." With that said, the guards departed, with no eyes on him, Corvo was able to blink into the basement, knock Waverly out, and throw her into the boat with Lord Brisby.

"At last! Oh my love, someday you'll understand." He mumbled as Corvo lay her down. "You'll never know how happy you've made me! Some day, she'll learn to appreciate me. After all, she'll have her whole life!"

As the boat departed, Corvo had a sinking feeling that he had just delivered Waverly Boyle to her stalker.

~☆~

"By the Abbey, what happened to you?" Samuel asked as Axton and Corvo appeared. The younger was holding his side as the older gently set him down opposite of himself before sitting himself. "Raise an alarm did you?"

"Not me, but Axton did. As far as I know, everyone thinks I'm a hero."

"Oh, and... who got you? Overseers? City Watch?"

"Corvo."

Samuel turned to Corvo with a raised eyebrow.

"We'll explain everything on the trip back." Corvo said.

"Okay, I'm expecting a good story then boys."