Chapter 10: The Tribe
Within the catacombs of Salem's Castle, Arthur Watts walked quietly while examining his scroll. He was looking through the files for a virus that he created for Cinder to use in order for their master plan to work. Normally, he would not bother checking his work after completing it, believing that it was perfect and the best. But now Watts had competition, the newest member of Salem's Inner Circle: Otto Octavius.
Watts hated Otto, not because he was the newest member, but because of his intelligence. Like, Watts, Otto was a scientist. But unlike Watts, Otto was from an entirely different dimension, one with a vast different set of fields of study, and Otto knew all of them. Genetics, technology, etc.
Now, Watts felt like nothing more than the runner-up. An aspiring scientist living in the shadow of another. It reminded him of his time in Atlas, where Pietro Polendina was the well-known man in Atlas' science division, and he was looked down upon as if he were the damned of the kingdom.
He was going to show Otto who was the superior man.
"Looking through your work?"
The voice startled Watts and pulled him from his work, "Who said that?"
"I did."
Watts turned to see Doc Ock in his Hydra uniform before being pushed against the wall by his robotic arm.
"W-Who are you!?" Watts demanded
"Now, that is not how you speak to a fellow scientist Watts." Otto said as his mask dissolved revealing your face
"Otto?" Watts muttered
"I must admit you are intelligent…but not as intelligent as me."
With that said, Otto smashed Watt's head with another arm, before taking his body outside and burning it.
Beyond the atmosphere of Remnant, Hydra Island, the mobile base of operations for Hydra, orbited the planet, unnoticed and unseen. Rumlow and Otto oversaw various Gobli-fied Hydra soldiers preparing weapons vehicles, even three helicarriers that were outfitted with the weapons and aesthetic of Hydra.
Ever since Mark Raxton's defeat, Otto and Rumlow had begun recruiting the members of Vale's underworld, save for Torchwick to avoid any suspicion. Almost half of the White Fang was under their control, turned into goblins, or simply within their sphere of influence.
"Our new order is growing my friend." Otto said as he looked at the construction of one of the helicarriers, "I have dealt with Watts, now we have an eye inside Salem's Inner circle."
"LMD?" Rumlow guessed
"They are quite useful." Otto replied, "She won't know a thing."
"A witch with power doesn't concern me Octavius." said Rumlow, "What concerns me is our lack of manpower."
"And indeed you are right." Otto agreed with him, "What do you propose?"
Rumlow went over to a nearby console, where a holographic image of Remnant appeared. Rumlow proceeded to zoom in on the southern areas of Sanus and nearly all of Anima.
"I've found two candidates with connections of lawlessness." Rumlow explained, "First we have Jax Asturias, a former huntsmen who deserted Shade Academy. He leads the Crown, an organization that wishes to restore the Kingdom of Vacuo's monarchy, bringing it back to the days of its first ruler Malik the Sunderer, which he claims to be his distant relative."
"Interesting." Otto muttered, "And the other?"
"The Branwen Tribe." Rumlow began, "The most dangerous bandit tribe in all of Mistral. They're led by Raven Branwen, they raid towns, and others who can't survive on their own. They're also nomadic moving in order to survive."
"Hmm, it seems Raven Branwen is in need of an upgrade." said Otto, "Prep the ship, I have our next objective."
Within the jungles of Anima, far from the main city, the Kingdom of Mistral was just as dangerous as any other area outside the kingdom. It had Grimm, White Fang, but one thing that made it stand out was its bandits. They were some of the most feared across the world, but the one that stood out was none other than the Branwen Tribe.
A group of bandits from said tribe were escorting a man clad in a grey cloak, who claimed that he came with a message for Raven. The leader of the small group agreed to guide him, but had different intentions. Once they arrived in a clearing, more bandits appeared.
"Are these all of them?" the man in the cloak asked not that scared
"Yes it is." the bandit replied with a smirk, "Along with the whole rest of the tribe just back that way."
"Good, now if you excuse me I'll go meet with Raven." the cloaked said as he walked off
"Now you just wait-AH!"
Suddenly, four mechanical arms emerged from the forest and proceeded to toss the bandit and his friends into each other. Soon, men in black and red uniforms and masks with red goggles surrounded them while holding silver weapons with blue outlinings. The attacker wit the four arms then emerged and the cloaked figure revealed himself to be in black uniform with a skull mask.
"Let's talk business…" the four armed man said
"AAAAHHHH!"
Otto threw the leader of the bandit group into the Branwen Tribe encampment, which startled many of its inhabitants. The rest of the bandits quickly armed themselves as Otto and the rest of his Hydra entourage entered the campsite.
"Lay down your weapons." Otto announced as he raised a hand, "Let us have a chat, unless you wish to speak with the Grimm."
A woman in a brown vest, short brown hair, and blue eyes approached Otto while glaring at him.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" she demanded
"Who I am does not concern you." Otto replied, "I seek an audience with your leader. I come with a proposition."
"Follow me." she said before turning back and escorting Otto and his gang into the camp. They eventually stopped at a large tent that looked perfect for the leader of a bandit tribe. A woman in a red and black robe, red gauntlets, and a large Grimm mask emerged from the tent with a hand on her hip.
"Quite the catch, Vernal." she said while looking at Otto, "Who are you?"
"I am Otto Octavius." Otto said as he bowed slightly, "I have come with a proposal that I assure you will be beneficial."
Raven then turned to her followers, "Leave us. Pack your things, then break down camp. We're leaving."
"That will not be necessary." Otto announced, gaining everyone's attention, "I only wish for all of you to hear our proposition. If you value your lives."
Raven remained unfazed at all and continued to glare at him, until she came up with a good idea why Otto had come to threaten her tribe, "I had no idea Salem would find me so soon."
"Ah, I see you know Remnant's residential old hag." Otto said to her, "Just how do you know about her?"
"You work for her, don't you?" Raven remarked
Otto couldn't help but chuckle, "What!? You actually believe that I would serve the likes of her!?"
"Answer the question." Raven said in a calm, but threatening voice
"No. I don't work for that bitch." Otto answered, "I serve no one by myself. Hydra and I however are partners, we treat each other as equals. As for Salem, it is quite the opposite. We are manipulating her."
"Hilarious." Raven remarked rather stoically, not believing him one bit
"Oh but it's true my lady." Otto continued, "She doesn't know I exist, nor does she know of Hydra."
"Hydra?" Raven questioned, "That's your little group's name? I'm not impressed. Besides, no one in all of Remnant can stop Salem, she is too powerful."
"Then it's good that we're not from Remnant." Otto said, "Guess that gives us an advantage."
"Wow, you are just making this up as you go along, are you?" Raven chuckled, not believing them one bit
"I understand it might be hard to process." Otto continued, "But if Salem wants to play god, we can too."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Raven questioned also mockingly
"With the powers of the gods…" Otto answered before holding up none other than the Tesseract in front of both Raven and Vernal
"What is that thing?" Vernal asked, "Some kind of dust."
"Oh no, this...makes dust look like an antique." Otto explained, "Legend has it that the Tesseract was not made for motals. But I disagree."
Raven couldn't help but agree, she could feel some sort of power radiating off of the glowing cube. She reached out to touch it, but Otto pulled it away.
"Nuh uh, no touching." Otto said, "But you could feel its power could you? The Tesseract is more than just a cube, it is knowledge, it is truth."
"Where does it come from?" Raven asked, "Are there more?"
"No one knows where it comes from." Otto replied, "And there's only one. It powers our weapons, our armor, vehicles, everything. And I'm offering to share that power with your tribe. I have already convinced nearly all of Vale's criminal underworld to join us. Granted to serve Hydra, but you can have your autonomy. We can stop Salem, and survive…"
"No!" Raven cried, "There is no way to stop Salem! We live to survive!"
"So your plan is to run away constantly, like the coward that you are?" Otto retorted, "Don't deny it, you enjoyed feeling the power radiate off the Tesseract. For once, you don't feel scared, like you could stop anyone in your path. So what's it gonna be: join us, or go back to raiding towns for scraps?"
Raven turned for a moment to think. Part of her wanted to say no, believing that there was no way to stop Salem and just hold out until it was over. But another was saying yes, never before had she felt power like that, one that can be used to stop a force of evil that was ravaging all of Remnant.
"You promise that my tribe will be safe?" Raven asked as she turned around
"I am a man of my word." Otto replied
"Then I agree, we shall join your group." Raven announced
Otto smiled in satisfaction before raising himself with his arms, "Hail Hydra."
"Hail Hydra!" his men shouted
"Come Raven." Otto said to her as he opened a portal with the Tesseract, "Let us discuss further…"