When Zax surfaced from sleep, the infantry pilot was shaking him awake saying. "We've landed, head inside. I need to get this helicopter back to the hanger."

It looked to be early evening. He'd slept through the flight.

"Mmph." Was Zax labored half awake response.

Kunsel was asleep to his other side, so Zax nudged his friend awake.

Kunsel blinking and rolling ees shoulders, jumped down from the helicopter after Zax. And together they entered the ShinRa headquarters building via the rooftop door.

"Gahhh, is it ever unpleasant waking up from a cozy sleep, and stepping out into the wind a helicopter whips up first thing." Zax commented less groggy now.

"Agree." Kunsel said. "I'm gonna hit the rec showers before heading back to floor foughty eight." Ee then decided. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I could use a shower too." Zax conceded.

They took the lift down to floor 64, the staff recreation floor. Skirting the gym making direct for the showers, they each took a towel and a plastic basket for their clothes, from the stacks of each by the locker room door on their way.

Zax knew that Kunsel made a habit of using these showers, as the shub at ees apartment often served as a coolie bin. And when it wasn't full of ice it was usually littered with empty cans.

Zax on the other hand, due to his body issue hadn't used the rec showers since he had moved in to SOLDIER accommodation with Mess and Jet.

But the SOLDIER candidates were still in class, and the live-in members of the public safety infantry were on duty or in joint training with SOLDIER. Which meant they had the rec showers to themselves. And Kunsel wasn't prone to kidding around in the locker room like others might. So it felt safe to use these showers at the moment.

"Hey Zax?" Kunsel spoke up from the adjacent stall.

"Hum?"

"Before we turn in, come to the VR room with me?"

"Sure." Zax agreed. "Pass the Loofah when you're done."

Finishing his shower, Zax toweled dry and dressed in his cargoes and kable knit top. Foregoing the rest of his uniform, which he carried with him on the lift down to the SOLDIER floor. Kunsel doing much the same with the addition of socks.

They were 3rds, and didn't have the authority to schedule in personal VR room time. But it wasn't currently in use, so the two of them slipped inside.

"Head into the VR chamber." Kunsel instructed.

Kunsel lingered in the observation lab a moment, while Zax entered the room like he'd been asked to. There he waited, hands on hips looking around and wondering what to expect.

Then in the center of the room white sparks shot up from the floor, and there stood a man in 1st class SOLDIER uniform. He look to have heritage in south Wutai. His skin was darker than zax own by a shade, and his hair was a copper color that contrasted with the blue green of his luminescent eyes.

Kunsel came to stand beside Zax, and motioning to the man introduced. "This is Usher Bright, or at least the last version of his Data ever recorded. Soldiers don't have graves, so this is as close to being able to deliver that message as I can get you."

At this Zax lifted his brows, and then turned back to appraise Usher in context. Finding that yes, he did look a bit like his younger brother Jewl.

"Hey, I meet Jewl." Zax started. "Youz have both returned to the planet now I think, so maybe you already know. But Tobi, Jewl's friend gave me a message from the both of them for you before that. They wanted me to let you know that…they tried, to find out what happened to you for sure. And I thought you should know that Jewl and Tobi saved my life that day. So you can be really proud of your little brother."

The ambiently blinking and shifting Usher, seemed to nod subtly.

Together Kunsel and Zax returned to the observation lab, Kunsel ended the simulation.

"Cheers K." Zax thanked his friend on their way to the residential floor below. Despite the discovery of Usher Bright's identity running deeper, and asking more questions than it answered. Zax felt that this at least was some kind of closure, Jewl and Tobi's last wish had been honored.

"Don't mention it." Kunsel shrugged casually, than in mock seriousness. "No really, I don't want to get in trouble." Ee smiled, and waving promised. "See ya tomorrow."

"Zax hey!" One of Kunsel's flatmates greeted on answering the door. "Kunsel mentioned you got back from your first assignment off base yesterday." He congratulated. Then answered the question ,that he assumed correctly, Zax had come to ask. "Speaking of Kunsel, he's not here. He hit the Soldier floor a little while ago."

"Without me!?" Zax feigned hurt. "Thanks for the directions."

Stepping back out into the common lounge, Zax turned his eyes up to the window above that looked into the SOLDIER floor. He didn't see Kunsel in the immediate vicinity around the window, but he stuck out his tongue anyway.

Jogging for the lift, Zax took it up one floor. When he reached the SOLDIER floor, he checked the lounge to be sure Kunsel wasn't there. Finding that his friend must still be in a VR session, Zax returned to sit on the bench outside the materia room, the space outside the training room was to crowded by 2nds who evidently had the next time slot.

It wasn't a long wait before Kunsel emerged damp from the training scenario, along with a dozen other 3rds. Zax swooped around the interstorie window to wrap an arm around his friend's shoulder, partly in greeting, and part in lightly aggressive play.

"How come I didn't get an invite!?" He complained without any seriousness, and got a face full of exercise towel as Kunsel ducked out of his hold.

"I stopped by yours, but Jet said you were still sleeping. What do you want me to do? Mattress sled your butt into the lift?" Kunsel teased while evading Zax.

"Yes!" Zax insisted, laughing almost to hard to get the words out as they scuffled. "I swear, after we make second we're only scheduling VR time after breakfast at the earliest."

"If you're going to makes second…" Kunsel began. Dashing down the steps to the sunken lounge area and vaulting the table, putting it between em and Zax. "…you have to make practice first."

Starting this way and that Zax lunged over the table making a grab for Kunsel, just managing to snare em about the middle.

"You got me!" Kunsel conceded dropping down on to the bench.

Zax with a triumphant smile on his face did the same, settling down onto the bench across from the other 3rd saying. "Hey, I found something I wanted to show you."

"Oh, so this wasn't about training?"

"I just wanted an excuse for a play fight." Zax admitted.

"Give us a look then." Kunsel prompted.

Zax dipped his hand into his t-shirt collar, tugging the shard of mythrill up by the cord. He passed it in to Kunsel's hand for the other to examine.

"Mythrill, looks like a nice piece." Kunsel spoke, voice going quiet almost reverent. Ee passed the necklace back, pressing it into Zax's palm. Ee then indicated for Zax to follow em saying. "Come with."

Zax fell into step with his friend, peeking sideways at em now and then to try and discern Kunsel's feelings. The helmet obscured ees eyes from view, however there was a pinchedness about the corners of his lips that suggested ee was suppressing something, a smile or a frown Zax couldn't tell.

Stepping into the lift they waited for the doors to close before Kunsel explained. "No cameras in the lift." Ee then indicated towards Zax fist, still holding the mythrill. "It's good to see something so familiar in an unworked state. It reminds me of home, aunt Jaská, Swayer, the miners…"

"I want you to have it ok? It seems right." Zax told Kunsel on impulse.

"Zax." Kunsel began as if ee'd insist ee couldn't take it, but then paused and seemed to consider something. Ee nodded allowing Zax to slide the gift into ees hand. "Alright. I'll make good use of it, you'll see." Ee promised. Looping the cord about ees neck ee tucked it beneath ees t-shirt. "Do you want to tag along?"

"Right now?" Zax wondered. Even as he hurried to keep pace when Kunsel stepped out on to the foyer mezzanine, making for the stairs and the ShinRa building's front door.

As they passed the sculpture out front of the building, Kunsel filled Zax in some. "ShinRa was a military weapons and supplies manufacturing power, before it went into mako energy primarily. The company still keeps up the biggest manufacturing workforce on gaia and they specialize in metal. Weapons for the various military departments, parts for defense and combat technology, mako reactors, even this city." Kunsel gestured to the paving of sector 8, beneath which Zax knew lay the plate that made Midgar famous. Kunsel continued. "But for something like this…" Ee touched the mythrill under the fabric of ees tshirt. "We won't need all that on quite so large a scale."

They left behind the busy fountain square and LOVELESS avenue, to walk the quiet streets of sector eights industrial block that consisted of warehouses, workshops, and factories.

"These warehouses along with the ones in sector five are where ShinRa stores the gear we and other departments use, everything from swords and firearms to bangles and rings. Even the research department QMC and QMC plus have a warehouse here."

"Research department? QMC?"

"The shop that exclusively makes gear for the Turks." Kunsel elaborated.

"Not fair at all." Zax complained enviously.

The two made their way down a foot path behind a tall redbrick factory, behind which was located a single story workshop that must have once been a storeroom to the factory, the style of construction and the brick used being of the same type.

Before entering the building, Kunsel asked. "Do me a favor?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Don't mention this place to anyone, it's sort of an invitation only business."

To Zax the thought was exciting.

Kunsel knocked on the nondescript door, a moment later it was opened by a sturdy looking man with dark hair graying at the temples. He wore a thick apron and gloves, and carried a welding mask under one arm.

"Kunsel!" He greeted. "And a friend?"

"This is Zax." Kunsel introduced Zax. "Zax. This is Cliff, he and his daughter work here."

"Hey." Zax gave Cliff's outstretched hand a firm shake.

Zax was surprised to find that the workshop smelled a lot like Kunsel did, and he realized that Kunsel must come here often. The aroma was a distinct one, Zax had only ever scented similar when burning a sparkler during some occasion. Now upon seeing the inside of the building, he identified it as the smell of metal work.

"What can I do for you?" Cliff was asking Kunsel.

"Actually, I was hoping I could use some of your equipment." Said Kunsel. Who was wandering down the aisle between two if the three long work tables, all covered with tools and machines, parts and materials.

"I'll be taking my break behind the shop if you need me." Cliff told them by way of an answer, waving himself of as he did so.

Permission obtained. Kunsel took two of the aprons down from a peg on the wall, passing one to Zax.

Slipping into the offered apron, Zax tied it behind his back while he followed Kunsel to a cabinet.

The cabinet was full of little vials of liquid, and from these Kunsel selected one after reading the label on it's lid. This ee took over to the workbench and a black stone covered by a cloth.

Zax watched on while Kunsel removing the necklace, rubbed the mythrill against the stone, and then dropped some of the solution from the vial on to the scratch marks it had left.

"Yup this stuff is solid mythrill alright." Kunsel confirmed. Ee cleaned the stone, and then they moved to the next table.

Kunsel stopped Zax in front of a machine with two smooth horizontal cylinders, beneath was a cardboard box containing yet more of these cylinders. From which Kunsel selected a set with grooves around their surface, these ee installed in the machine. This done Kunsel removed the cord from the mythrill which ee held in a pair of long tweezers. Ee took a torch equipped with a fire materia from the tool rack on the wall, and using the torch held the flame over the piece of mythril. When ee deemed this task done ee used the tweezers and a crank to feed the metal between the two cylinders of the machine, it toppled out the other side flatter and ribbed.

"Want a go?" Kunsel asked.

"I'll take a shot at it." Zax agreed.

Zax took up the mythrill with the tweezers and held the flame over it, moving the torch in little circles like he had observed Kunsel do.

Kunsel had replaced the last cylinder set, with cylinders whose grooves where finer this time. "That looks like it's ready." Kunsel told Zax, when ee had done setting up the machine.

Concentrating on the task, Zax pressed the metal between the two rollers. It came out flatter still with smaller more defined grooves. He repeated the process once more, until the mythrill came out a thin stick and a set of rough off cuts from the sides.

"Bring them over here." Kunsel beckoned to where ee had prepared a work space, and had a pot of what looked like melted wax over a burner.

Bringing the metal rod and off cuts over, Zax set them down on a work space for Kunsel to heat with the torch once more.

"For this stage the metal has to be hot enough to be hand pliable, and resistant to breaking." Kunsel then selected from a stack, what ee called a 'drawing tone'. The drawing tone was a thick slab of metal with holes in it, below each hole was etched the measurements of the hole, each one being incrementally smaller than the one before it. Kunsel set the tone in a tabletop clamp. And after dipping the mythrill rod into the melted wax, ee began slowly drawing it through one hole, then the next, and the one after that.

"Here." Kunsel set the now lengthened thinner rod down on the work pace. "You have a go."

Zax did as he had seen Kunsel do. Heating the metal, and coating it in the wax to make it easier to thread. He then drew it through the next six holes, until Kunsel decided it was the width they needed.

Kunsel took a tool from the wall rack, and cut the rod into two exact lengths. These ee set aside, to return ees attention to the pieces Zax had assumed where off cuts. Heating the rough bits, Kunsel deposited them into another machine that with a series of loud low thunks cut four even plugs.

Kunsel gave Zax one of these plugs and a set of tweezers and a file.

Together they set about sanding down any rough bits, until two of the plugs had become smooth spheres having a brushed finish. Kunsel set them aside along with the two rods, in a dish of some liquid. Ee explained. "That stuff protects the metal."

Kunsel used the torch on the other two plugs, heating them so that ee could press them flat in a machine. From there ee drilled a hole in the center of each, the edges of which ee smoothed. Next ee heated them again, and using a delicate tool, rolled two sides of each in towards each other so that they looked like little metal scrolls. Kunsel then put these into the protective solution and removed the spheres and the rods.

Replacing the torch on the rack, Kunsel instead selected a tool to which a lightning materia was equipped. Setting the rods in the table top clamp, Kunsel touched the tool to the ends. There was a loud crackling, sound and a bright flash that left the ends of the rods rounded beads of liquid metal. Kunsel quickly set the spheres in to this liquid metal, fusing together the spheres and the rods.

Kunsel passed one of these tiny metal lollipop lookalikes to Zax, and instructed him to sand the join and the other end of the rod smooth. Which he did.

When they were done, Kunsel gave all the pieces a last bath in the solution. Assembled them, and then pressed one into Zax hand.

Zax started when he realized what he was holding. A perfect stud earring.

"One of the firsts has made wearing an earring a popular look." Kunsel told Zax. "This is the understated version." Turning Kunsel called towards the workshop's back door. "Cliff, we're heading off."

"Alright." Came Cliff's response.

"Coool!" Zax breathed when they left the shop via the front door. Holding the item up to examine it, the earring's metal caught the light which moved across it's brushed surface. You know what this means right?" Zax asked.

"Hum?"

"We're both going to need to get an ear pierced."

Kunsel smiled wryly. "It's just as well I have an ear left."