Monday: 11:15 am, Warner Studio Water Tower
Your feelings of excitement wouldn't last long. It turned out that instead of working on something mysterious and or cool beyond belief, you and Ima were tasked with cleaning up the area around the studio's dilapidated water tower. "So let me get this straight...the two of us are supposed to clean this entire thing?" You gestured to the imposing outline of the tower, as it cast a rather large shadow over the both of you. "Hm? -Oh no we don't clean this thing," Ima said as they picked up a bucket and began to walk underneath the tower, "Really I don't know who does clean it..." they muttered. "So, if we aren't cleaning this thing, then what exactly are we doing out here?" You asked as you followed behind Ima. "Well, the higher-ups wanted us to do something simple for your first day so all we have to do is mop up that stuff over there" Ima pointed their mop at a puddle of what looked like water, "And move it into those barrels over yonder" Ima now pointed their mop at several leaky yellow barrels, covered in faded warning labels. "And erm...try your best to not spill any of it on your body," Ima said as they rubbed the back of their head nervously "It may be a littttttle bit radioactive". Now you had seen quite a few concerning things during your short shift here, but even after seeing all that, being tasked with cleaning up radioactive water was something you never expected. "Wait wait wait-what?!-you mean to tell me that that puddle over there " you pointed to the puddle of the liquid (in an admittedly dramatic fashion, "is radioactive?". Ima gave you a quick nod but seemed a little displeased with your tone, "yeah I know it's less than ideal-but you have to keep it do-" Ima would be interrupted by you, either failing to pick up on Ima's hints or just simply not caring. "If it is radioactive then why aren't we in hazmat suits? in fact, why are we even on this lot-It should be shu" Now it was your turn to be interrupted, as Ima hurriedly covered your mouth with his hand, having a very very worried look on his face. "f-for the sake of both of our jobs, please shut up!" Ima stared you dead in the eyes. You, in a perfectly reasonable response to being shushed, licked Ima's hand, causing them to retract their hand. "Now listen...from what I can tell it's a negligible amount of radiation, and it definitely won't affect you if you don't touch it-now can we please get to work" Ima was practically begging you at this point. "Fine-but I expect some answers about this place soon". And with that, you began mopping in a very aggressive (and somewhat sloppy) manner, trying your darndest to avoid getting mad at your coworker and his infuriating keeping of secrets. Either being due to the slow onset of radiation sickness, or you are focused on your internal rage, time practically flew by as you mopped. You only really stopped after Ima had to practically yell at you that all of the barrels were full and that you could afford to take a break now. "In all of my time working here, I've never seen anyone mop so...angrily..." Ima thought aloud as they leaned against one of the freshly sealed barrels. "Yeah, well maybe if someone had answered my questions earlier, I would've gone slower!" you grumbled, "SPEAKING OF WHICH-" it was at this point that Ima finally seemed to pick up on what you were putting down. "Right-right...I suppose I owe you some answers...but you have to promise to tell absolutely no one, understand?". You nodded slightly, tapping into the vast reservoir of excitement that had been building since you saw that cool stuff in the shed. "So what I'm about to say is going to sound crazy...but it's the truth" Ima paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "This studio isn't what you think it is Owen, it's a front for something much darker, I'm talking causing people to disappear, evil experiments and I-incredible employee benefits!-heh" Ima's tone went from quiet and concerned to the standard brand of forced happiness in an instant, and it was easy to see why. Another "employee" had appeared in front of the two of you, wearing the trademark tacky outfit and almost robotic smile, the only thing that distinguished them from Mr.H was the fact that this one was a girl. "And how is our super-duper janitorial doing on this fine day?" they asked with a voice so sickeningly sweet that it would put pinkie pie to shame. "F-fine ma'am just fine...I was just telling Owen here about the great working conditions here, right Owen?" Ima gently nudged your shoulder as they spoke. "What? -I mean yeah, from what Ima tells me, you guys run a pretty tight ship" To say that you had fumbled the conversation was an understatement and the terrified look in Ima's eyes confirmed it, but luckily, your "co-worker" seemingly bought it. "Yes indeed, this company is a wonderful place to work for all," they said, "But where are my manners, I haven't even introduced myself to our newest team member" your "co-worker" then surprised you by taking a slight bow, "My name is Person, Real person, but you may call me Miss R for the meantime". First Real Human, then Real Person, the names in this place kept getting stranger and stranger, but you had no real time to question this trend as Ima was seemingly developing some way for you two to escape this conversation. "W-well I'm sure Owen is more than happy to meet you Miss R. but we don't have the time to chat...lots of cleaning and such to do" Ima laughed nervously. "Yeah, we uh...got an order from the executive offices to-erm-move those barrels over somewhere!" Your attempt to aid Ima in this conversation was detrimental at best, and the death stare your janitor in arms gave you confirmed it. "The executive offices huh...must be something very important if they ordered it" you swore that you saw Miss R's face twist into a slight frown for a second as they pondered your god-awful excuse. "Well, I shouldn't keep you two from it then, if you need anything at all, just yell, I'm sure I'll never be too far away" Miss R smiled, bowed yet again, and then walked off into the distance, leaving the two of you feeling both confused and terrified. "Right…so that was interesting..." you thought aloud before turning to Ima, "So what were you going to say before she popped up?". Ima was seemingly both surprised and slightly annoyed by your question. "Owen-If I was to tell you what I was going to tell you, Miss R would definitely overhear it, and once Miss R heard it, she would tell the higher-ups and once they heard it, the both of us would definitely be thrown into some deep dark dungeon in the depths of the lot, where we would remain for the rest of our natural lives" Ima explained in a very unenthused tone. "If I'm still going to tell you what I know, it's going to have to be in a place where certain people can't listen in..." Ima paused for a second before continuing, "Meet me behind the mess hall during lunch, most of the staff will be inside so we won't have anyone listening in". You nodded in agreement as you tried to memorize the details of Ima's plan, "So meet you behind the thing so we can talk about the other thing-Got it!". This grand oversimplification of the plan caused a small frown to appear on Ima's face, but they seemingly got over it quickly, "Right...we should probably get back to work now, because we've technically been on break for like an hour..." Ima nervously chuckled as they rubbed the back of their head and looked at several overflowing trash cans that the two of you would definitely have to clean up.