Oz: Crossroad of Legends

... Too soon, I suppose. I haven't earned her trust yet. Understandable, but this means I can't remove my mask just yet... No matter. I'll simply have to make sure this first meeting isn't entirely a waste.

"It's quite similar to the cuisine of my own world," Nobunaga answers honestly. "Though that really doesn't surprise me. All universes share a select few fundamental laws; Between two worlds in which certain common denominators exist, such as the human race, it is inevitable that certain similarities will exist."

He takes a sip from his tea and smiles. "The tea is very good. I hope I'm not being too forward, but tell me about yourself, Queen Glinda. What do you do for fun?"

"No, you haven't," Nobunaga replied, smiling. "But I would very much like to meet her."

Draping his napkin on his lap, he samples the food for the first time. "My compliments to the chef," he says, politely wiping his mouth and sipping his tea. "It is truly an exquisite meal. So, Queen Glinda. I do believe it is your turn to ask me a question. What would you like to know?"

Horatio starts to risk getting closer to the castle, doing his best to blend into the crowds and not draw attention to himself.  He rounds a corner and scans the crowd.  One person catches his eye.  At first, he thinks it's his old "friend" June, walking in a group of outlanders that stand out like a sore thumb, but... she's not quite right.  He only saw her a few days ago, and the woman down the street's several years older than she is.

Horatio decides it's time to go find breakfast.

---

June notices a familiar face in the distance, sticking out of the crowd... but it can't be him.  Horatio's already dead.  Killed twice, in fact.  And the range is right in front of the group.  Running down what's clearly just some random passerby would look... odd, to say the least, and would reflect poorly on the Outlanders.  June decides the prudent action's to just head into the range.

"Are those Outlanders I see?" a voice booms from inside. "Out-friggin'-standing! I've been waiting for you slowpoke morons all morning! Get in here and line up!"

Just inside the door a grey-haired, muscular man in an immaculate uniform and an oversized hat is standing at attention. His face is flushed with inexplicable rage. A long room filled with targets of various shapes and stands behind him, with a long counter covered with several weapons. The man indicates a line on the floor. June looks at the others, then obediently walks over.

"Nah, i am fine buy the way Joshie you would have  loved that ham, it was really good," Bowser Jr tokd Joshua. While Bowser Jr was sitting there, an idea came across his mind and he chuckled a bit. "I just thought of something Mr Joshie what do you fear more dad finding about those special guest or Minion Mask finding out about me?" Bowser Jr asked Joshua

"...Spiders," Joshua lied.

"I seen how much trouble you were in, couldn't just leave you," Lana said. "Besides about to get something to eat, and well i could use the company," Lana told Alice. "By the way been meaning to ask what happened to your uniform looks good on you," Lana told Alice

The instructor ignored Seraph and Catie, stopping in front of Irving.  A vein is visible bulging from his forehead.  "You stopped for hugs!  Outstanding!  I hope you brought enough to share!  You like jokes, Mr. Comedian?  Here's one for you!  Knock knock!  Now just in case you Outlanders don't understand how jokes work, you ask who's there!"

The instructor shakes his head in disappointment. "Not a fan a jokes, Outlander? Damn shame! I love a good joke! For example, what is small, brown, and bad for your health!?" He reaches into his pocket and produces a small cylinder. "A 5.56x45mm rifle round! That's the joke! Laugh with me, maggots! Ha, ha, ha!"

June gives him a blank stare. "What's... that little thing?"

"We don't use crossbows, but I've heard about countries in distant lands that do.  So that's what those magic arrows look like..." June wonders aloud.  "Wow... It's so small..."

"****, I like this one!" the instructor barks towards Serlen.  "Straight to the point, no screwing around with stupidity, and asking all the right questions!"  He signals an aide to bring over a rifle.  "This is the standard-issue weapon for Yuelian troops, the GJ-79 "Grayjack" assault rifle.  It holds a clip of 30 5.56x45mm rounds, which it can discharge in 20 seconds.  Aside from fully automatic, it can be set for burst or semi-automatic fire. Accurate out to 900 yards, and resistant to rain, mud, and general wear.  Easy to maintain, disassemble, and even customize.  Available attachments include specialized scopes with increased magnification, thermal, infrared, whatever you need.  Extended stocks and barrels, underbarrel grenade launcher or shotgun, and a wide array of camouflage patterns."

He walks over to a small table and slams down a round.  "These 5.56 rounds come flying out at over 1,000 yards a second!  If you're comparing that to a crossbow bolt, think of it as a well-trained soldier racing an old man with two broken legs! Does it render armor obsolete!? No! It goes through flesh like a hot knife through already-melted butter, but standard-issue body armor and a good helmet'll be enough to let you survive one or two of these bullets if you're lucky!  But the Ephesians have the same tricks, and those blasted ogre abominations won't even be phased by this sort of thing! But that's what THESE babies are for!"  He slams several more rounds on the table, listing their functions as he does. "Armor-piercing! Now these make armor obsolete! Explosive! For the really big problems! Incendiary!  A brand-new invention designed for killing those monstrosities up at Dead Man's Walk! Lucky you, you get a preview before they're even field-tested!  We also have a handful of other types that are in-development, but nowhere near ready for actual use!  Shock, poison, heal - don't ask me how that works - and even pheremone rounds!  What a damn exciting time to be alive!  Oh, and let's not forget the type you'll be using today: non-lethal!  The round's capped with a rubber bullet!"

"Wait, using?" June asks.

"Did I stutter!?" the instructor fires back.  "You came to learn about Yuelian weaponry! Did you think you could do that without getting your hands dirty!?"

"N-no, sir, but I don't think that's something my class can equip..."

"I have no earthly idea what you're talking about! You will pick up those rifles" - he jerks his thumb towards a stand with several rifles sitting on it - "and you will use them to neutralize those targets" - he points at a large collection of vaguely humanoid cut-outs suspended behind the counter at various intervals - "before I give you any clearance to play around with your toys on my range or to fight alongside my soldiers in the field! The last thing I need is some Outland maggot picking up a soldier's rifle, thinking he's about to be some great big hero, and accidentally blowing another soldier's head off!"