Closing the subject's journal, the man smiles. He found it pleasing that the subject was learning. Today she recalled her opponents fighting methods from training, as she'd failed to defend herself. At the time, the other Heads of Aperture questioned her in battle, but the man realized she was analyzing the situation for future encounters. It was a very good tactic, yes, but the man shook his head. When she becomes a soldier she won't have time to analyze and fight later, she will have to know how to fight in the heat of the moment. Looking over his shoulder, the man glimpses the mentioned subject, who lays asleep in her incubator. She is slightly battered from training but aside from that, doing well.

     "Sir?" A woman with blonde hair and large rounded glasses sitting atop her nose pokes her head into the room, her green-eyed gaze fixed upon the man. He turns to her, her look telling him the situation is of importance.

     "Yes, what is it Validia?"

     "General Cainneach Alton is here. It appears he has also brought several other men here alongside himself." The woman states. She was never the nervous type, and was rather stony and cold as she was designed to be, but the man could see the way that just bringing up the general and his soldiers made her break into a small anxious fidget. Pardoning himself from his study of the subject, he steps out of the room.

     Walking through the halls of the barren and plain facility, the woman and man approach a lobby-like room, a tall and unnerving man standing in the center accompanied by several soldiers; several men with chopped black or brown hair, one blonde, and another singular man with slightly shaggy ginger hair shining under the artificial light of the laboratory's providing. Oddly enough, the last one wears dark sunglasses, his eyes just barely visible behind the lens. They lie perched on the bridge of his nose. Dark green uniforms are draped over each soldier and the general, lined with bits of bronze and gold accents. On the sleeves of each man lies an embroidered and glinting shape of several gears, representing their territory and clan - Steam Clan. Turning his head towards the approaching man, General Cainneach lightens his expression slightly in a warm greeting, though uneffective with the scientist. "Ah, hello there, Dean, my old friend." he chimes, shaking the scientist's hand with a firm grip. The scientist exchanges a firm nod to the general, then to his soldiers.

     "Hello, General Cainneach. I presume you are here due to the invitation of a tour of the facility's main projects?"

     The general nods. "Yes. Though declining the first offer, I'd thought it through and found myself rather curious of what you and your employees work on here. With how advanced the Portal Clan territory is, my interest was peaked as to how such marvelous technology is created, and what your plans for the future of the clan are."

     "Then please, allow us to put a fix to that curiosity. I personally will be leading this tour of Aperture and it's finest works," Dean responds. Folding his hands behind his back he nods his head for the general and his soldiers to follow as he leads them through the facility.

     Various instruments were passed as they walked, each introduced to the general and his soldiers in great detail as the small group moved from one object to another. The general watches with bored expressions, his eyes tired and seemingly emotionless despite his rather warm attitude moments earlier. To him it all looked the same; same blank and bland white halls in a maze of a facility, each pearly tile glistening pristinely in the extreme lighting of the laboratory, nerds in flailing lab coats rushing to and from one side of the facility to another in a haste to get to their wanted projects. It was a wonder how anyone got around. An occasional shiny object would stand out to Cainneach, grabbing his interest as he saw its benefits. One object, a glossy device similar to a compact had several strange prongs dispersed from a single point at the center of the device. A small grey-blue light energy crackles from between the prongs as it is shot out towards a wall, then once again at another, creating human-sized vortexes that reflect what the other side shows. After the second vortex is shot, a scientist walks through one end of the wall and comes out through the vortex on the other side of the room, simple as that. Closing the device, the vortexes in the wall disappear. The general smiles at this and turns to Dean. "Tell me, sir, do you plan on expanding this project?" he asks, amusement dancing in his eyes.

     "We already have. In the nearby cities, we've expanded the transportation systems to get from one landing to another using larger versions of this device for more efficient travel." he responds. The general grins mischievously as they continue.

     "Brilliant."

     An hour goes by as Dean precariously announces each new invention and their use to the general, everything explained in great detail. However, the general's expression remains as barren as the walls. They'd already passed anything that may have interested him. Finishing up with the transportation department tour, Dean turns to the general. A hint of pride and excitement dances in his eyes despite his seemingly nonexistent smile.

     "It appears this tour has been unappealing to you, General. However, we've one last section of the facility to show you, if you wouldn't mind." he proposes, the light flickering in his eyes becoming brighter and of more intensity.

     The general sighs, rubs at his eyes, and once more puts on a smile. "Of course, my soldiers and I would like to see everything you have here," he responds, the last of his patience drawing thin, and wavering despite his stretched smile.

     "Then please, follow me." Turning away from the original tour path, Dean begins to walk down a hallway slightly darker than the others. Unlike the rest of the facility's pristine and white tiled interior, this portion of the building was grey and worn. The lights still shone brightly, but they did nothing to ward away the dark air through the halls. Above them, in the distance, a large sign dangles, and the general's face lights up at the words imprinted on the metal.

W E A P O N S D E P T.

Moving through the halls at a quicker pace, rooms begin to appear in the halls with different devices being tested inside. Large windows adorn each doorway, giving full visibility to each project and its testing. Different shades of blue and orange and purple fill the rooms as they pass, igniting the halls in bright, blinding light with each blaze of a gun or launch of a grenade. Even a small ghost of a smile forms on Dean's face, his eyes dancing with pride. As the general and his soldiers watch, Cainneach's face fills with amusement, countless little toys were there, just waiting to have a deal made to sell them to his clan and its army. His heart pounds with excitement, and a child-like attitude takes over.

     Violet, cyan, orange, each and every blast sending flashes of light into the halls. "I see something has finally caught your attention, general," Dean comments, bringing the general's attention back to him. The general lets out a hearty laugh.

     "Dean, by the Odds, you sir are bloody brilliant! These weapons are amazing, spectacular!" he boasts, eagerness to see more clearly on his face. Dean nods his head in acknowledgment of the compliment and turns to continue the tour. A promising comment escapes his lips:

     "Ah, true sir. However, even a great armory is nothing without its soldiers."

     The group continues onwards, the building fading from white to grey, grey to black, black to stone. As they progress further through the halls, they soon begin to come across breaks in sectors; massive, open rooms in the facility laced with several large railings and gated passageways. Below them, many stories and other levels of the building open up to the same sector-break. The outlines of small shadows shuffle beneath them, signifying others working throughout the bustling halls of the sectors. The area is dark, with no light aside from the next sector to guide them. Around them, giant machinery juts out from the walls, silver light cast thinly into the darkness from the reflective surfaces. The General runs his hands over the railings, then peers over it in interest, trying to gauge just how big the facility is; though it may be trickery to his eyes, glints of water seem to shine at the bottom. "Be careful not to lean too far over the rails, General. The fall is deadly, and I've already lost several of my newer employees this month," Dean warns, ushering the General and his soldiers into the next sector past the break.

     Stone walls line the interior of the next sector, and bright flickering lights echo above the tour as they continue. As the break slowly fades behind them, the tour approaches cells; each is labeled with numbers and letters above the doorways to mark the subjects inside. Further along, large sets of rooms appear. Dean leads the general and his soldiers up to a deck, giving way to an overhanging guarded by a large glass wall that gives way to a view of the inside of the room below. Within the lower room two figures spar, violent attacks ensuing from each opponent. Cainneach pauses, eyeing those sparring curiously. He turns to Dean, dissatisfaction glinting in his eyes.

     "They're children," He says flatly.

     Dean remains stone-faced. "Don't be so quick to judge, General. I've worked diligently on this project; I wouldn't lead you to this part of the facility just to show you mere children, no. Just watch."

A boy fights below, the older of the two. Shaggy chestnut hair bounces about his head as he moves, the smaller of the two struggling to keep up with him. Dull green eyes glare into the younger opponent, a spark seeming to shine within them. He continues to block the smaller child's speedy attacks, one after another as he equally returns the favor. The match is almost like that of a synchronized dance; step back, step back, dodge, fight, dodge, fight, step back, step back. Back and forth the two go, and the older one seems to grow bored with the fight quite soon. Igniting bright orange-gold light in his palms, he swings at the younger boy and begins to bombard him with attacks, so many to a point that the younger boy can't keep up and is sent rolling across the training deck in a heap with the final blow. The older boy scoffs, the light in his hands extinguishing.

     "Mr. Heir, what bullshit are you trying to pull? That boy just used magic." Cainneach questions, turning to Dean with surprise evident on his face. "How the hell does he have magic? He's human. Humans can't have magic, it's impossible!" he exclaims. Dean shakes his head, a corner of his mouth tugging into the slightest, almost unrecognizable sight of a grin.

     "Clearly, from what you've just witnessed, that statement is false, General." He paces a bit, eyeing the smaller of the two opponents. "However, the match isn't done yet. Watch."

Through the glass, Dean and Cainneach watch as the smaller child lifts himself up from the floor. Red eyes glare back up at the older boy, and the younger boy continues his attack. Cainneach watches in slight amusement as the younger boy's arms are suddenly surrounded by a ghosted outline of weaponry before slicing at the older boy. The older boy is caught off guard, but the strange light from only mere moments ago fills his hands once more. Pivoting now in order to dodge the smaller boy's attacks, the older boy begins to trace patterns into the air, residue from the light enveloping his hands outline the designs. Around the younger boy, he dodges, having to pick up the pace just as the younger boy picks up his attacks. Soon, a series of patterned circles surround the two, forming a dome of sorts. Quickly retreating out of the dome, the older boy snaps his fingers, a wall of bright orange-gold forming in place of the strange circles and trapping the younger boy inside. The younger boy looks around, realizing what's happened, and a pleading look forms on his face. A reflection of knowing what comes next shines distantly in his eyes. When he realizes the older boy shows no intention of mercy, he tries to slash at the dome and break it. However, it's too late. With another snap of his hands, the older boy has the dome erupt with a deafening noise, and the general watches with satisfaction as the younger boy crumples to the floor. The building shakes with great intensity as the noise from within the dome grows louder, the dome pulsing with power from each blast. The older boy looks up at Dean through the glass in question, and Dean nods his head, signaling him to stop. The dome disappears, and the younger boy lies on the floor, shaking. A glimpse of red dribbles through his hands, cupped over his ears. Dean steps away from the glass and turns to the general.

"These children are two of the many that we have training for the MEHS and GEHS projects here at Aperture. Our goal is to create stronger, better soldiers to help defend Portal Clan in the case event of war. In the case of weapon failure on the field, we want to make sure that our soldiers can become the weapon needed to finish the job."

     "I've never seen anything like this before, how did you do it?" The general asks, curiosity glistening in his eyes.

     "That information is confidential, General. I'm afraid I cannot answer."

     The general scowls. Damn. We need soldiers like that, he mutters to himself. Pausing, he looks back down onto the sparring deck.

     "How much for the older boy?" he asks, his face set like stone.

     "Pardon?"

     "Steam Clan is fairly wealthy, and we could use soldiers like that. I want to ask how much you'd like for the boy. I'll pay the cost, no matter how high."

     "General, these soldiers aren't for sale. They're exclusive to Portal Clan. I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline your offer. However, if you're still curious as to what these soldiers can do, I can introduce more to you further along in the tour," Dean offers, heading back to the lower level to continue the tour. The general glares at him before continuing after Dean, his soldiers following after him. Pulling aside one of his soldiers, the two drift behind the group, enough distance to talk in private. The soldier looks at him in a slightly confused manner, his eyes almost completely blocked out by the light reflecting across the lenses of his aviators. Cainneach leans in closely and whispers to the soldier. "We need to find a way to get those soldiers, Captain," he speaks, his voice lower and rougher than before. The soldier looks to the group moving for a brief moment, then returns his gaze back to the general.

     "I assume that I'm the one you'd like to do the convincing?"

     "Exactly."

     "I'm listening, General."

     Cainneach lets out a small huff, "I permit you to use any means necessary, as bargaining has failed to work. However, you mustn't kill him."

     "Are you implying that I torture him, General?"

     "I'm not implying torture, Captain." The soldier raises his brow, in curiosity. Cainneach pauses, then looks the soldier dead in the eye, his face like stone. "I'm ordering it."