"So, uh, Neo..." said Jaune, watching as Neo pressed a couple buttons on her scroll. "Are you going to talk to me in emojis this entire time?"
Neo responded by shoving her scroll in his face to show the winking emoji she had on the screen.
"Great," Jaune muttered to himself.
"Miss Neo manages to say a lot in very few words," said Salem. She was walking right beside Jaune with a very large Grimm following them both. Jaune couldn't help but feel that the Grimm was sizing him up to eat.
"But she isn't even using words," said Jaune. "They're just symbols on a scroll."
Jaune felt a tap on his shoulder and looked down again. Neo was now showing him a raised fist emoji, screaming face in terror, and a kitchen knife. He didn't like what that implied at all.
"It appears we're finally here," said Salem.
Pumpkin Pete's factory was located in the last place you'd expect to find it: Only about thirty kilometers from where Salem lived. You could see the smoke stacks from the windows of her home. Standing outside of it was a dancing person in a Pumpkin Pete costume. It seemed pointless to have him there when there weren't any people to see him.
"Go and ask that young man right there what he'd like in exchange for his base of operations," said Salem.
"Uhhh….I'm pretty sure that's just a mascot," said Jaune.
"SILENCE!" Shouted Salem. "You will go and ask him what it is he wants."
"Fine," Jaune shrugged.
Jaune reluctantly walked up to the mascot with Neo by his side. She held up her scroll to the dancing mascot's face.
"UH HUH HUH UH HUH HUH!" The mascot laughed. "I don't speak in symbols. I'm just a bunny! UH HUH HUH UH HUH HUH!"
"She's asking if you'd….uh...like anything in exchange for the factory," said Jaune.
The mascot stopped dancing and leaned its face very closely to Jaune's. Jaune leaned forward and heard the mascot say, "kiiiiiillll meeeeeeee."
SPLAT
Not even a second passed and the mascot's head had been completely blown off.
"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!" Jaune screamed. "What was that?"
"I merely indulged him," said Salem. "The factory is now ours."
Neo held up her scroll and showed Jaune a thumbs up emoji.
Jaune sighed. "Shouldn't we be eating dinner together or doing...you know, stuff that most normal pairs do?"
"And why should I repeat the actions of the masses?" asked Salem. "We're going above and beyond what most pairings do. We aren't going to get our food. We're going to capture the source and bring it to us!"
Jaune scratched the back of his head and almost smiled. What Salem said would have been strangely sweet if there wasn't a dead person lying right in front of him.
"So, uh, what's with the Grimm?" asked Juane.
The Grimm in question was a giant Beringel that kept making grunting noises. It was much larger than even the dragon Grimm and looked like it could crush Jaune with its little toe.
"He'll be doing all the heavy duty," said Salem.
She jerked her head in the direction of the Grimm and said, "Move it."
The Grimm moved toward the factory and lifted it with one loud grunt. Jaune could see bits of Pumpkin Pete cereal falling from the windows as it lifted the building.
"Where do you plan on putting that?" he asked.
"Somewhere behind my home," said Salem. "It will probably go next to the mountain of petitions to bring Pyrrha back."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Then let's go."
"You actually managed to do it?" asked Watts. He was standing in the back of Salem's castle and looking at the factory just sitting there. "And what do you plan on doing with it?"
"Simple," said Salem. "We'll have an endless supply of food just for us. Everyone else will have one less source of nutrition to enjoy."
"I'd hardly call a cereal brand nutritious."
"Uhhgghuhuh."
"Shut up, Cinder!"
"I still can't believe I just committed a crime," Jaune moaned.
"Crimes are only crimes when someone witnesses it," said Salem. "What we just did was relocate a factory. I see no harm in that."
"Sure," said Jaune. "We'll go with that."
"I thought you would be happy," said Salem.
"Um, why?"
"Because now we can do what I know you've always wanted to do as a pair."
"And that's?"
"We can enjoy a pleasant evening at the table."
"With Pumpkin Pete sandwiches?"
Salem grabbed Jaune by the collar and shook him. "Do you mean to say that the idea isn't appealing to you?"
Jaune weakly shook his head.
"Good," Salem smiled. "Our first day is almost over and I plan to make it worthwhile. Goodbye."
She dropped Jaune and floated away, leaving him to question his life.
"Looks like you've got quite the evening ahead of you," said Watts. "I must warn you. Salem has...interesting tastes."
Jaune eyed the jellyfish Grimm that was floating around and groaned very, very loudly.