While chaos ensued in the outskirts of Atlas and the army was entirely deployed to fight off the Grimm Invasion, Team Raptor had just infiltrated the ruins of Beacon.
Crystal's Semblance was to make surfaces intangible to light, making them invisible for most. Crystal could also handle where said reflected light landed, meaning that they all were invisible to everything. Grimm and other Huntsmen
"So...why are we here? I mean, the relic clearly isn't here, otherwise that woman from the Derelict would have seized it already" said Cipher, being a bit impatient
"That is precisely why we are here. That woman hasn't seized it because Grimm aren't intelligent enough to do a competent search. Plus...even if they did, they don't have the technical knowledge to know where to look since that...thing froze on top of the Tower destroyed the Headmaster's terminal...along with everything else" responded Pigmallion, to then continue
"While the Headmaster's terminal is destroyed, Team Blitzkrieg was able to discover that most of the academy's local network and infrastructure is intact...but not operational. We are here to power those servers up again and then find a suitable terminal to begin searching for the Crown"
"Wait. If the Headmaster's Terminal was destroyed, so would their access be, wouldn't it?"
"Not exactly, Cipher. If we can first find a list of registered users, we can find the Headmaster's credentials that we can then use to search throughout the system. Knowing Vale's lack of dexterity with informatics guarantees that they didn't restrict which terminals the Headmaster could use to log in, therefore whichever computer we find is as good as his old destroyed one"
"Then. Our mission is to reconnect the network then find an appropriate terminal" says Gambit
"Yes. Ideally, it will be a vulnerable one with almost no protections. A student terminal would be ideal"
"But wait. The Beacon Exclusion Zone is literally just outside the city. They would notice if the lights went on"
"Then I give us 10 minutes. 20 at most, considering the Grimm around the campus"
"Alright. So, once we find the terminal you connect the power cell you have and come to our location. There we start the timer"
Gambit and Crystal separated, while Cipher and Pigmallion kept going the way they were going
The only parts of Beacon that were really damage were the public spaces. The main dining hall or the auditorium were completely scorched and in ruins. Shattered windows. Crumbled, partially destroyed pillars. Burned table that looked to be incredibly expensive. Half eaten meals now rotting and growing serious amounts of mold and drawing all kinds of cockroaches and bugs to them
Gambit and Crystal were walking down the dining hall slowly, looking around for any scroll or any terminal that wasn't toasted during the apparent fire that ensued
"Ahh...It's kind of...melancholic" says Crystal
"What? Not like Niflheim has any of these things"
"I'm not from Volvangar, you know?"
"Then where are you from?"
"Juno. I trained at Alma"
"Oh...Sorry..."
"No, It's fine. Not many people in Juno join into the military like in Volvangar"
"I honestly wish it wasn't the case. How are things at Alma?"
"Well... Pretty much however this campus looked before whatever happened here. It was...always a bright day. I still remember the day I got to Alma. The breeze from the sea hitting my face...the warmth of the sun on my shoulders...The weight of my backpack"
"Sounds nicer than Niflheim"
"Speaking of which. How is Niflheim? That's where the elite come from, right?"
"Well...It's more like...a emptied version of Atlas Academy"
"Well, it is a training complex for a reason"
"Yeah, you are right on that"
After some exploring, Crystal and Gambit keep walking down the dusty hallways, exploring the classrooms and eventually reaching the library
"Hmm. Well, these people at Beacon surely had the cash to have decent libraries" says Gambit
"Yeah, but if what Pigmallion said is true, they can't event afford decent cybersecurity"
"Well, I mean, not like Niflheim had many of these. As far as my memory goes...I think they only have 2 libraries, but trainees can only use one of them, since the other is for the analysts and the accountants of the building"
"Well...What did the student library have?"
"Guides. Literally just guides on many warfare related topics. Explosives, Weapon Engineering. All you wanted, as long as it helps the war effort"
"Wow...How do you cope with that?"
"I don't. I am in the job I like"
Crystal didn't respond, but he noticed that Gambit's opinion from before was completely opposed what he said...As well as his voice had changed too. Like if he had become a completely different person
They kept on traversing the buildings until they reached the less destroyed portion of the campus and entered the faculty area
"So...Which office should we go for?" says Gambit
"Uhh...How the hell do you read this names?"
"Its read Bartholomew"
"Ba...Bar...Ah, christ. Bar Oobleck, I will leave it like that"
"So...Bartholomew Oobleck's office. Well, he certainly was not an organized man...or is...for all we know he can be dead or alive"
"Well, from the looks of it he must be. There are papers missing"
"How can you tell amongst all the chaos?"
"Well, it may be chaos but some of it is organized...as well as said organized papers have parts of them missing. I don't think Grimm can read or write without smearing things all over the documents...if they managed to not rip them apart"
"His terminal is not working. He was a smart man too. His hard drive was removed"
"Then...how about that guy across the hallway, Peter Port?"
"Doesn't look like they have anything worth looking. I can't see their terminal from here"
Crystal and Gambit go to the other offices
"So...Professor Mulberry...I mean, she did have lots of greenery"
"But her terminal has been removed entirely. Same for her colleague, Professor Thumbelina"
"Ahh...I think most of them survived and were smart enough to salvage sensitive intel"
"Well yeah. But we can still take a shot at the student dormitories"
"Gambit, how can you be okay with snooping around the private stuff of some children you don't know?"
"I'm not. I just do it because it is what the mission needs me to do. Lets go"
Gambit, followed by Crystal, starts searching bedroom after bedroom after traversing the campus. Since the doors were all closed with the electronic locks, Gambit and Crustal had to break doors down over and over again, which made for a slow, exhausting process
After some searching they reach...a particular set of rooms
"Woah" says Crystal
"What did you find now?"
"Well...Whoever made these bunk beds really needs a crash course in safe design"
Gambit then joins Crystal
"Oh...Well, you're right on that"
"Nothing on the other room?"
"Well, actually there was something"
Gambit pulls a golden clipper out of his pocket, along with a picture of Sanctum Academy
"Hmm. Well...At least we know that Beacon had transfers. Any scrolls..."
"No. Their terminal looks intact. But it doesn't appear to work past the greeting screen for the maintenance personnel"
"Well, then this room may have something useful"
Gambit and Crystal start searching every inch of the room
"Hmm. Well, this is jackpot for Team Intellect" said Crystal
"What?"
"An S.D.C Suitcase...full with Dust"
"Wait, really?"
"Yep. Apparently one of the Schnee's picked Beacon over Atlas"
"Well, we are seizing it"
Gambit and Crystal keep on doing their searching around the room
"Well...This is where it gets weird. What the hell kind of trashy novel is this?" said Crystal after snooping around
"What is it?"
"Ninjas of Love or some garbage. Who in their right mind would read this?"
"Well. You are more of an expert. What is so bad about it?"
"Nothing. Well nothing considering that this is some homo-erotica stuff that some second hand writer half assed"
"What is bad about that?"
"Nothing. I mean, I read lots of these stuff myself but I despise this one in particular. Its too generic for my tastes"
"You are into stuff like this?"
"Yep. Alma has lots of novels...including stuff like this, so of course I picked up on it"
Then, Crystal stumbles around a hollow spot resonating in the wall
"Jackpot. Help me move the bookcase"
Gambit helps Crystal to put the bookcase aside then tears the cap off the wall, revealing a hidden handler plaque, with some cables connected to it, but mostly being an open access point
"Well. Only one way to test it"
Gambit went right in and, with the help of Crystal, connected a power cell into the terminal
Said terminal, as expected lit up with a silent alarm that wouldn't reach anywhere.
"Pigmallion? This is Gambit, we found one that is working. Dormitories"
"Alright. I'll connect the power cell and set it for remote activation then I will get to you"
After placing the power cell into the socket for the main power supply for the central data bank, Pigmallion and Cipher went out, trying to make their ways to the abandoned dormitories as quickly as possible
