Metal Chocobo: Hello again, I'm back with a new story. Should end up being 4 or 5 chapters long. I hope to have everything written and posted in a timely fashion. We'll see as I'm working with a plot for once and that may jam things up later when we start arguing. Plots always have such silly ideas about what does or doesn't belong in a story.

DISCLAIMER: All characters and places in this story are the legal property of Square Enix and/or Disney. Body Worlds and the plastination process belongs to the Institute of Plastination. This is a work of fiction for pure enjoyment and no money is being made.

Hollow Bastion Museum of Science

Chapter 1: A Very Bad Day

Kairi was not at all prepared for a 5 AM phone call. One moment she was in the pleasant darkness of dreamless sleep and the next she was groping about her bed for the object making the incessant noise. She only vaguely registered that it was her phone upon answering it.

"Kairi, you've got to come into work today!"

"I was… planning to?" Kairi mumbled. She blinked at her clock trying to squint enough to read the digital readout without her contacts. "Is it 6 AM?"

"A little before 5, look, I need you here by 7:30 thanks to the camp in."

Kairi tried to jump-start her brain. She hadn't needed to get up before 5 AM since high school keydo ended and her boss wasn't making any sense. She had never camped in her life.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mickey. Why do I have to camp?"

"Camp in, Kairi, there was a camp in at the museum last night," Mickey said patiently. "We've got two hundred scouts in the museum that will be waking up in two hours and I need you to come in early to cover Dinos and Fossils."

"I'm not scheduled to work this morning," Kairi said. She had finally woken up enough to understand what was going on. Her boss was trying to convince her to work an extra shift. "I close Body Worlds tonight and I've never worked Dinos and Fossils. Why isn't whoever's supposed to cover this shift covering it?"

"Donald's got bird flu. I've already called everyone else on the list who have already trained in Dinos and Fossils, but no one can work it." Mickey sighed. "Please Kairi, I need you in for those first two hours then we can transfer you to another gallery after someone else gets here. You don't need to know anything about the exhibits, just keep the kids from crawling on the dinosaurs or setting anything on fire. I promise we'll make it up to you later."

"Okay, okay," Kairi said. She ran her hand over her face already regretting her decision. "I'll try to be there by… 7:30?"

"Yes. Thank you."

It was only after Mickey hung up that Kairi realized she had agreed to work a double shift with extended hours. Since Kairi had started working there the museum was open from 9:30 to 9:30, but during camp-ins the museum had to be fully staffed two hours early so that the kids could have a bit more fun before leaving the museum. Somehow she had just agreed to work for over fourteen hours and half of that was likely going to be in a gallery she didn't know how to run.

"Well fuck," Kairi said. Then she got out of bed.

In less than an hour Kairi was on her bike peddling to work. She had packed a larger lunch than usual, eaten Sora's leftover pizza, and grabbed her change of clothes before heading out. Eight miles wasn't that long of a bike ride, but Kairi knew she'd need to shower after she got to work and that would take a while. Otherwise she would have waited until dawn before going to play tag with a bunch of cranky commuters in SUVs.

Once she arrived at work Kairi entered through an employee door on level 1 and made a beeline for the women's locker room. She showered, detangled the bird nest she pretended was hair, and dressed professionally. Then she took an elevator to level 5 to reach the staff break room. She stored her lunch in the fridge and checked the time. She had twenty minutes before she had to be on the floor. Her stomach demanded attention, the way it always did after her commute. She ate a breakfast burrito then clocked in. Now she was on museum time and quickly donned her work uniform: a maroon vest and radio with earpiece. She had yet to see any other gallery staff.

The Hollow Bastion Museum of Science, or HBMS, was the premiere institution of its kind in the kingdom. No other museum could boast of having such integration of research, teaching, and entertainment in its gallery displays created from a collection of over 3 million pieces, most of a historically or scientifically significant nature. Countless museums followed the practices and procedures created at HBMS and everyone wanted to borrow their traveling exhibits. Boasting over five hundred employees, one thousand volunteers, and a dozen professors shared through a cooperative learning program with the University of Radiant Garden, HBMS was a massive organization that only employed the best. It was an honor to work here.

'Here' to the Hollow Bastion Museum of Science meant the complex originally built as palace for the Horned Queen. While the original structure, it had really been more of a fortress than a palace, had been quite large to begin with, it had been expanded and renovated enough times over the last three hundred years, that it was simply cavernous. Very little of it actually housed the museum proper that visitors saw. Interspersed on all levels of the building were research, storage, education, internal office work, and half a dozen other functions Kairi couldn't begin to guess. This meant that getting from section to section of the place she actually needed was a bit like scurrying through a rabbit warren, but she was beginning to learn her way around the place. These days she could find her way to all the galleries from the break room without getting lost.

Kairi felt like she had entered a war zone when she made it onto the floor. Despite last night's gallery staff making their best efforts to stow any and all small objects away from small hands, the campers had still managed to make a mess of the entire level. Scraps of paper littered the floor like confetti and the stegosaurus looked like it had been glitter bombed. A bra hung off the head of the diplodocus. There were suspicious fragments next to a case of fossils that had been jimmied open. More issues were likely evident, but Kairi didn't recognize them as the only time she ever spent on level 3 was the amount needed to circle round to the next flight of stairs on her way to level 2.

She spun around trying to access the situation. No chaperons were in sight. Kairi did eventually spot the four members of the camp in staff, but they were already two levels above her making a clean escape. For the moment she was on her own.

The children were far too noisy and rowdy to have just awakened. Kairi had a sneaking suspicion they had never gone to bed. This meant they were likely tired and cranky, less likely to listen to her reason. The most combative of the children seem to have been under a can of sky blue paint when it exploded. Kairi dubbed them the Nac Mac Feegles after a particularly rowdy set of book characters. The name suited them perfectly as most of the children were content to look or play in a constructive manner; the Nac Mac Feegles seemed hell bent on destruction.

Kairi spent the first two hours of her shift Feegle-minding. Mostly they were interested in ripping exhibits off walls, or stealing smallish objects, or climbing onto things that would not support their weight—like the crocodile skeleton. However they were also interested in harming others, primarily Kairi. The Feegles constantly pelted her, usually with small hard objects. Others ran about intentionally crashing into smaller campers to knock them down. This usually made the small children wail. Kairi lost track of the number of times Feegles ran into her. One particular monster kicked her in the shin twice. If she hadn't needed the job she would have kicked him back in an even worse spot.

Kairi had never been more excited for the museum's official opening. It meant there would be more gallery staff on the floor and she would hopefully go to one of her actual galleries. More importantly, this meant the campers had to leave as they only got the museum for the night. It was with a cheerful smirk Kairi waved farewell to the campers. She was certain that with their departure her day would get better. After all, Mickey promised to switch her to a job she actually knew how to do.

In fact, Mickey kept his promise and switched her to a job she knew. Unfortunately, that didn't mean the day got any better. Herc traded places with her, as he often worked Dinos and Fossils, while the current traveling exhibit was one of the only two galleries Kairi knew how to manage. At the moment Hollow Bastion Museum of Science was proud to present Body Worlds, the traveling exhibit showing the machinery of life—or in other words—bodies that had been preserved to demonstrate anatomy.

Kairi had been specifically hired for this exhibit, along with another dozen people, however she had been taught to do the job with the help of two other people. Instead Kairi found herself saddled with the fifteen thousand square feet to care for on her own. This wouldn't even have been so bad, but even as she ran around the exhibit turning on monitors and wiping fingerprints off the glass cases, a line from training that stated they were contractually obligated to have at least three staff members in the gallery at all times they were open danced through her head. Kairi didn't want the Institute of Plastination coming after her for breach of contract. Forget the threat of forced plastination they had lawyers.

Normally, the traveling exhibit was, for lack of a better metaphor, a morgue. Today though, people just couldn't seem to stay away. School group after school group flooded the exhibit and every person in the city with nothing better to do on a Friday decided to come see Body Worlds. Kairi could handle a crowded gallery. She had always been good at weaving in and out of crowds and had a knack for moving into places where spaces would be by the time she arrived. The problem was the visitors. As much as it pained her, Kairi was used to children labeling this rare opportunity to see the inner workings of the human body 'disgusting.' Though they usually forewent the three-syllable word and just said 'gross.' What she wasn't used to was the teacher's utter lack of perception; today they ignored their charges' disinterest, and ordered the kids to stay in the gallery for an extra, unexpected hour. This occurred while still more school groups poured into the gallery.

Kairi had to sidestep and even leap over bodies. These weren't plastinated ones either. Due to a total lack of sensory impute they were willing to accept, the middle schoolers had given up. All one hundred and thirty of them had dropped to the ground. Some sat in small groups talking, but most were sprawled across the floor. At first they just lined the walls of the gallery, but by the time Kairi reached the end of the exhibit she was wading through a sea of bodies.

Kairi rubbed her forehead. She could feel a headache coming. This was a serious fire hazard. Not only that, but they were also blocking the ability of anyone else to leave the gallery. If she didn't get them moving again this place would become so jam packed she'd have guests pressed directly against the full body plastinates.

Kairi picked her way over to a group of adults wearing chaperone tags. There were three women in red, green, and blue. Two were clearly senior citizens, while Kairi pegged the third as entering middle age. She plastered on her best smile before addressing them.

"Oh hello dearie," said the woman in green. The other two had yet to respond as they were too busy ignoring each other. "Lovely sunny day, isn't it?"

"Umm, well I wouldn't know since I've been inside since before dawn," Kairi said. "But I'll take your word for it."

"Are the eyes real?"

"Partly," Kairi began. This was the most commonly asked question. "Due to the fact the eye decomposes to the point where you can't tell what the eye color was within 24 to 48 hours, I think the process starts with an 'n,' the iris and retina are replaced with glass. That means the rest of the eye, the white part, is real."

"I had no idea."

"We didn't either, at first," Kairi said. "Now about your children."

"What about them?" snapped the younger woman in blue.

"Now, now, Merryweather," said the green woman.

"Oh don't bother with her, Fauna," said the woman in red. "She's rude and impertinent."

"Better than being a know-it-all busybody," shot back Merryweather. "You just have to decide what's best for everyone."

"Well, I am the most senior teacher on this trip."

"Flora, please," admonished Fauna. "Can't we just get along?"

"Ladies, if we could set your differences aside for a moment," Kairi said. "I need to talk to you about your students." As she appeared to have their attention she continued, "Letting them lie on the floor like this is a problem for the other visitors. I doubt anyone can get out without stepping on someone. Perhaps you should take some of them out."

"That's what I've been saying," Merryweather said. "There's no sense in keeping them here if they're bored."

"This is a rare educational experience," Flora said firmly. "They will stay as long as possible to soak up every bit of information."

"The only thing they're soaking up is carpet fibers!" Merryweather spat, gesturing vehemently at the children on the floor.

The teachers glared at each other. Flora was fuming while Merryweather shook with rage. It was at that moment Kairi realized that Fauna was staring off into space. She suspected this was the green teacher's coping mechanism for dealing with colleagues that clashed on a regular basis.

"Is the hair real?" Fauna suddenly asked.

"Yes, although it may not be hers," Kairi said. She realized that they were having two different conversations that overlapped in place and time. "Now about the children, might I suggest you split the group into three parts?" Merryweather can take the children that are bored out to see other parts of the museum, Flora can keep the ones that are still interested in Body Worlds, and Fauna can…"

"Are the gardens open?" Fauna asked.

"They're under three feet of snow," Kairi said. She thought she'd better answer the woman's exact question, otherwise she was afraid the teacher wouldn't understand. Fauna had that air about her. "So no."

"A pity."

"So would that be an acceptable compromise?" Kairi asked. A chance to get rid of forty-four bodies was worth a risk. "And I know that level 2's aquarium also has a fair amount of information on botany."

"I like it," Merryweather said, making Flora scowl.

"You always look for the easy way out," the red teacher snapped.

"Ladies, I believe Merryweather is simply trying to tempt your students into learning about some of our other highly educational exhibits," Kairi said. She wracked her brain in an attempt to remember which exhibits those were. "For example… we have the most comprehensive exhibit in the world concerning heartless that is open to the general public."

"Really?" Flora asked.

Sensing she finally had the attention of all three teachers Kairi decided to plow on, even if she didn't know the material. "Oh yes, it's impressive. They have examples of pure and constructed heartless on display. We also have nullified keyblades and keychains. If I remember correctly, there are two pages of Ansem the Wise's original report on display. Of course, there are copies for the current Ansem Report and instructional manuals for keydo in the gallery for people to read."

"I thought the original manuscript was held in trust by the university," Flora said.

"It is," Kairi said. That was common knowledge. "But we have an agreement that allows us to display part of it. I don't actually work in the Heartless Gallery, so you'll have to talk to that gallery's staff for more information."

The three teachers formed a huddle. They whispered excitedly among themselves. Kairi felt a little awkward just standing there, especially as she could almost hear what they were saying. She looked down at the kids. No one had moved. Some had fallen asleep. That was impressive to her as she couldn't imagine willingly sleeping by a corpse, plastinated or not. The teachers broke apart and looked at Kairi. She felt a surge of hope and quickly beat it back with a stick. It wouldn't do to let them crush her.

"Thank you for the information," Flora said, giving her a dismissive nod.

The teachers moved out into the crowd. Soon they were urging students to stand and begin herding them out of Body Worlds and back into the museum proper. It was a good thing Kairi got them moving when she did as the next wave looking to exit arrived before they were halfway through. There was non-stop exodus for about an hour.

It wasn't until her lunch break that Kairi realized Mickey forgot to give her a morning break. What with the extra-extended shift at the museum she could have really used that morning snack break. Lunch was supposed to be the last remnants of the extra gooey macaroni casserole Sora had made, but when Kairi got back to the break room she found her lunch box empty. Kairi had to eat lukewarm ramen from a vending machine.

As Kairi walked back to her gallery she noticed that they were low on gallery workers. Normally they wore supposed to have a staff member per gallery, but today they appeared to only have one per floor. That would explain why she was on her own in Body Worlds. She guessed Mickey really meant it when he said he needed her there that morning.

Luckily the last two hours of her morning shift were quiet. Kairi looked forward to her two Friday cohorts showing up. Jasmine and Hayner were good eggs who would happily watch the exhibit while she used the bathroom. Unfortunately, when three o'clock rolled around the only person who showed up was Mickey. He tried to smile at her, but the day was weighing even more heavily on him.

"Gee whiz, Kairi," Mickey said when she met up with him. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"They're not coming," Kairi said.

"That about sums it up," Mickey said. "Jasmine called from the ER after her boyfriend's monkey bit her, while Hayner has car trouble. Anything I can do to help you?"

"Can you watch my gallery for a bit?" Kairi asked. "I've got to pee." Mickey motioned for her to go and Kairi hobbled off to the nearest toilet.

When she returned Mickey said, "I'll try to pass through as often as I can, but we're running on a skeleton crew today."

Kairi soldiered on best she could, but things were difficult. Body Worlds was too long and tightly coiled for one person to adequately cover. Most of the time Kairi felt like she was traveling back and forth in a small intestine and she simply wasn't fast enough to reach someone in need or to stop damage from occurring.

That was how a little girl, who was bored, shook the case with the arterial chocobo in it and actually snapped the delicate blood vessel neck right off. Kairi had to call security in for that one. The parents blamed her for not keeping their child from causing trouble. The mother declared that the damage was Kairi's responsibility, as she hadn't kept the little girl properly entertained. Kairi was in tears.

One of the security guards, Kairi thought his name might be Squall, decided that he had had enough. He ordered the family of the vandal out of the exhibit. When they refused, he and another two guards forcibly removed them from Body Worlds. As the parents were dragged and the child carried away the rest of the guests broke into applause. Apparently no one had liked them.

The gallery emptied out after that. While Kairi didn't have the entire gallery to herself, she could count all the visitors with just her fingers. It was quite peaceful among the plastinates. The dark warm environment was trying its best to put Kairi asleep, though all she really wanted was to sit down. Her feet felt like little blood filled balloons about to burst at any second. All of Kairi's regular shifts lasted six hours. She couldn't imagine how bad she'd feel in four hours after she finished the fourteen and a half hour shift from hell.

Kairi ran across a little boy curled up in a corner of the gallery. He clutched his stomach as he hid his face against his knees. She squatted down next to him and asked if he was okay. He shrugged. So Kairi asked if he could uncurl himself a little so she could get a better look. His face was a yellowish-green and overall he looked like he felt pretty crummy. Kairi asked if he'd like her to call first aid for him; she planned to call them anyway because he looked pretty sick. His response was to projectile vomit onto Kairi.

The only reason she didn't scream was because Kairi knew that if she did, the vomit would drip into her mouth. She ripped her vest off and scrubbed the back, the clean side, against her face. Then she unclipped the radio from her belt. She switched to the security channel, as they handled all emergencies.

"Body Worlds to security," Kairi said into the radio. "I have a medical emergency."

"What's the problem?" the radio crackled.

"I had a little boy throw up… all over me," Kairi said. She choked back a sob. "I really need help."

"We're on our way. What's your location?"

"Umm, I'm about halfway through Body worlds by the lungs." The boy threw up again, but thankfully not on Kairi. "And he's still being sick." She cleared her radio and then just sat next to the boy. Technically she was also supposed to let Mickey know what was going on, but Kairi didn't think she could summon enough energy to make another call.

When security arrived they took the little boy out of the gallery. They also assured Kairi they would take care of the rest of the problem and reunite the boy with his parents. Kairi nodded, but she couldn't really absorb it right now as she was more focused on the vomit she was drenched in.

A security guard touched Kairi's shoulder. Kairi looked up. It was Cloud, Sora's uncle, the one who first told her about the job opening at HBMS. He was frowning, but that was normal. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm covered in someone else's vomit. What do you think?" she asked.

Cloud pulled out his key ring. "Do you have access to the women's locker room?" he asked. When she nodded he dropped the keys back into his pocket. "Go take a shower and change into something clean. Do you have more work clothes?" She shook her head. Cloud sighed. "I'll send Paine down with some gear then. Do you need help getting down there?"

"I-I can manage," Kairi said.

Cloud helped Kairi to her feet. He then escorted her out of Body Worlds and onto the nearest staff elevator. Kairi glanced at him feeling slightly annoyed. He hit the level 1 button and no other.

"I said I was fine," Kairi said.

"I know. The main security office is also on 1," he said. Kairi said nothing as she felt a little foolish. "I am sorry things worked out this way. This is the first time anyone has actually been vomited on by a guest since I started working here."

"How long ago was that?"

"Eight years."

They parted ways the moment the elevator doors opened. Kairi took her second shower of the day in the women's locker room. Her towel was still slightly damp, even though it had been twelve hours since she had last used it. Things never properly dried in the locker room, which is why Kairi always brought a fresh towel to work. When she got out of the shower she found a black polo and black dress slacks waiting for her. It was obviously Paine's spare set as they were woefully oversized on Kairi. The security guard did tower over the gallery worker. Still, Kairi did what she could by tucking the shirt in and rolling up the pant sleeves. Making a mental note to wash and return the 'uniform' as soon as possible Kairi went back to work. When she got back she found out Mickey counted that as her second half hour break.

By nine o'clock it was all Kairi could do to stay standing. And to even manage that she had to lean against a wall near the exit. Kairi knew she probably ought to keep walking around engaging visitors, but she just couldn't. So she leaned against a wall and smiled.

"You look like you've had a rough day," a woman said.

"You have no idea," Kairi mumbled. Then she remembered she was still on the clock so she opened her eyes and smiled.

"Want to tell me about it?" the woman asked. Kairi thought she was a very pretty young Asian girl with a cheerful smile.

"I don't think we have enough time for that," Kairi said. "I hope you've been enjoying the exhibit?"

"Oh yes, it's terrific. I love the blitzer plastinates."

"Yes, the blitz ball players are a popular piece."

"You seem pretty out of it."

"Oh, don't mind me," Kairi said, stifling a yawn. "I've been here since six this morning"

"I thought the museum opened at nine-thirty."

"We had a camp in and I'm not used to working a double, so I'm pretty tired. I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit."

"You made it better," the woman grinned. Then she exited the Body Worlds via the turnstile.

"Thanks for visiting Body Worlds," Kairi called. Then she shut her eyes.

"Kairi," Mickey said gently. Kairi opened her eyes. "It's time for your last break."

"Huh?"

"Since you're working fourteen hours you get two half hour breaks and two fifteen minute breaks. This is your last fifteen minute break."

Kairi groaned and pushed herself off the wall. She shambled out of Body Worlds and into an elevator in a zombie-like daze. From there, she wasn't sure how it happened, Kairi found herself sitting at a table in the lobby with a hand waving an ice cream cone in her face.

"Bwaa," Kairi said, snapping into awareness.

"You aren't lactose intolerant, are you?" It was the girl from before. "I suppose I should have asked, but you didn't look like you were up for much conversation."

"Why are you buying me ice cream?" Kairi asked.

"Because you are having a shitty day. I'm Yuffie, by the way."

"Thank you," Kairi said accepting the cone. Her eyes started blinking rapidly and suddenly she was crying.

"Woah, woah, I'm sorry," Yuffie said sounding distressed. "Ice cream isn't supposed to make you cry."

"I'm sorry," Kairi said, wiping her eyes, with her wrist. "It's just this is the first nice thing that's happened to me all day."

"I'm glad I could improve your day. You wanna tell me what happened?"

"I'm glad I got pulled in for an extra eight hours, I've been kicked, pelted with small objects, had to run a three person gallery all on my own, lost some breaks, been screamed at, and vomited on."

"Holy shit that must suck." She patted Kairi's hand.

"It's just… this has been a really bad day for me and your altruistic act kinda pushed me over the edge," Kairi laughed as she wiped at her tears. She reached for a nearby napkin with some writing on it, but Yuffie snatched it away, offering Kairi a pristine one instead.

"Didn't want the ink bleeding onto your face," Yuffie laughed sheepishly. Her face had turned bright red. "I'm delighted I improved your day, but I am sorry I'm the highlight. Now eat your ice cream."

Kairi laughed at that and did as she was told. Yuffie made idle banter as Kairi ate and generally did her best to make the gallery staffer laugh. Unfortunately, when she finished her ice cream it was time for Kairi to go back to work. When she stood to go back to her gallery Kairi smiled her first real smile of the day and thanked Yuffie again. The other girl just grinned.

"And hey, your day could have been worse," Yuffie said brightly. "There wasn't a fire or tornado today."

Kairi's smile vanished. "Don't even think about that. There are still fifteen minutes left before we close." Then she grinned again to let Yuffie know she wasn't serious.

Luckily for Kairi the ice cream and talk had reenergized her. Even better, the rest of the night passed without incident. It took a little longer than usual to get the last of the visitors out of her gallery, but once they were gone she was able to close up quickly. She took off her radio then divested herself of the uniform. Then she changed back into her biking gear.

As expected, the ride home was bitterly cold. Winter never gracefully let go of Radiant Garden and Kairi had to peddle hard to keep from freezing solid. The one thing that kept her warm on the way home was the thought that a pretty girl bought her an ice cream. It was the one bright point in a very bad day.


MC: The next chapter should be up soonish, I think. It's mostly written, but that's much easier for me than the editing, which still needs to be done. Well, I'll be interested to hear what you guys think of Kairi working in a museum, so drop me a line. Yuffie will have a larger role in future chapters. Thanks for reading.