Message from Toys with a Bang On

As the group made their way to the next compartment, Ashya let out a small gasp. "Ah! I'll remember that bedroom vibe," she exclaimed, a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

Germon seized the opportunity to tease Jon. "Tell us, what kind of room were you in?" he asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

The rest of the group burst out laughing, except for Jon, who could sense Germon's intentions. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Germon?" he retorted with a wry smile.

But then Jon's face lit up with realization, and he turned to Kyora. "By the way, Kyora," he asked, "earlier you said someone helped you. Who was that?"

Kyora's face turned beet red, and she stammered out a response. "P-please stop asking me that," she pleaded.

Jon wouldn't let it go, however, and he kept pushing her. "Come on, Kyora, you can tell us. Was it your boyfriend?"

Kyora's embarrassment grew, and Ashya began to feel annoyed. Without warning, she punched Jon in the face, silencing him. "Stay like this until we get there," she ordered him, a stern look in her eyes.

Germon rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You really have to be a Jon at some point," he muttered under his breath.

Finally, they arrived at the next compartment, and the group was greeted by a spectacular sight. The space had been decorated with intricate designs and luxurious furnishings.

On the table in the center of the room, virtual glasses and a gun were laid out, while a red carpet stretched out before them. A moving ball on a circular board and eight hidden toys were also placed in the room, but their exact location was not immediately apparent.

Germon shouted out to see if anyone was there. "Is there anyone?"

Suddenly, a woman in a stunning dress emerged from behind a curtain, her earrings shaped like triangles. "I'm Fuya," she introduced herself, "the host of this game - Message from Toys with a Bang On! And the Queen of this Train."

Fuya walked towards a throne on the other side of the room, which was directly opposite to where the group was standing. The others watched in awe as she took her seat, the excitement building within them.

Fuya took a seat on the throne-like chair and commanded in a firm tone, "If you want to learn about the game, kneel before me." As she spoke, she rested her hand on the armrest and leaned back, exuding an air of authority.

Ashya felt insulted by Fuya's request and turned to Jon, her voice laced with anger, "Why would we do this?"

Jon was equally taken aback by Fuya's demand, and before he could respond, Fuya interrupted them, laughing, "Ho! Ho! I was joking, dear. Don't be angry with me. I won't make you all nice kids do that." She leaned forward, her eyes crinkling at the corners with mirth.

Ashya was still upset by the incident and retorted, "We don't need it, just tell us about the game."

Jon, sensing the tension in the room, spoke up, "If you're really saying we're good kids, why are you making us play this game?"

Fuya rose from her seat and walked over to where Jon stood. She took his chin in her hand and said, "Sorry, I can't tell you that. But finish this stage, and if you want to know, I'll explain."

With that, Fuya made her way to where the virtual goggles and gun were kept. She picked them up and turned back to face the group, "Let's get back to the game details. First - The name of the game is Message from Toys with Bang ON!"

As Fuya began to explain the game's rules, she gestured towards the virtual goggles, "As you can see, you are all going to use them in the game. Without them, you won't be able to hear the message from the toy clearly."

She then went on to describe how the game worked - they had to aim the gun at a moving ball that was connected to all the toys. If they hit the target, one of the eight toys would randomly come out with a message, albeit a little blurry. Every third hit would reveal a symbol on the toy's head that provided a clue about which toy was the odd one out.

Fuya continued with her explanation, "In total, you will get twenty chances to shoot and gather information. But even a normal round message will last for a minute."

As she finished, an idea struck her, "An interesting thought came to my mind that you are four, and you have twenty chances in total. Let's distribute five chances to each person. I want to see your teamwork, so for that. Whenever everyone comes here to shoot, and when he/she gets the information, you will not tell the other member about that."

Fuya added some new rules and said, "After that, when all chances are over, I will give you thirty minutes for discussion so that you can find out with each other's help to know what the answer is."

Ashya crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "How could you add a rule like this if it wasn't there in the first place?" she questioned Fuya. Fuya simply shrugged and strolled back to her throne, plopping down onto it with a smug look on her face. "It's my game and my choice whether to add or not. You shut up and just focus on the game," Fuya retorted.

Germon stepped in to calm Ashya down, and Fuya gave them a five-minute break to decide who would go first. As they began discussing, Jon spoke up. "I think Ashya should go first," he said, surprising Ashya. "Why me, any reason?" she asked skeptically.

"There's no reason, it's an alphabetical order. Your name starts with A, so you're first, followed by Germon, me, and lastly Kyora," Jon explained with a shrug.

Ashya couldn't believe it. "You idiot!" she exclaimed, annoyed at Jon's teasing. But Germon sided with Jon, saying, "Let's do that." Kyora stayed silent for a moment before adding, "I'm fine with anything, whatever you all decide."

Jon couldn't resist teasing Ashya further. "Look, Germon is so faithful to me," he joked. Ashya retaliated by putting her foot on Jon, causing him to shout in pain. Germon chimed in, saying, "I'm not your dog."

In the end, Ashya had no choice but to go along with Jon's plan. She made her way to where the virtual goggles and gun were located.

She wore a pair of sleek, black goggles that hugged her face and clutched a heavy gun in her hands. The weight of the firearm made her arms quiver, but she aimed carefully at the moving ball. "Don't be afraid," she whispered to herself, "just be on aim." She pulled the trigger, but the bullet missed the target. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she struggled to control her breathing.

Fuya teased her, "That's what happens when you try to get so high."

She gritted her teeth and marched towards Fuya, her voice laced with fury. "Go to hell, bitch."

Fuya showed her a forgiving smile. "There's one bitch who really holds a grudge against you, dear."

"Then you both can go dump your faces in hell," she snapped back before walking away to retrieve her composure.

It was Germon's turn now. He donned the goggles, adjusting them until they fit snugly around his eyes, and picked up the gun. He, too, struggled with the weight of the weapon, but he had been trained by his father, who was a sharpshooter.

"Now I understand why Ashya couldn't aim that moving ball," Germon thought to himself as he took careful aim at the target. He pulled the trigger, and a moment later, a toy appeared with a garbled message: "I'm Mi. I will put down Hi for you."

Germon listened intently to the message, unsure if he would be able to memorize it. After a minute, he removed the goggles and placed them back on their stand. He stood there silently, deep in thought, not saying a word to anyone.

As the third round began, it was Jon's turn to take the shot, according to the alphabetical order. He took the gun, put on his goggles, and aimed at the target. "Oh crap! It's really heavy. That's why Ashya couldn't aim but Germon, you really are something," he muttered to himself. Jon watched the moving ball for a moment before balancing his hand and taking the shot. The bullet hit the target, and a toy appeared with an incandescent ray symbol inside the shadows.

"I'm Hika. Kura is in me, and I'm in Kura," the toy said.

Jon took off his goggles and joined the rest of the group. "That was really something different. It's hard to see the symbol if I'm trying to hear the message or I'm looking at the symbol. Then it seems like the toy starts to speak the message fast," he remarked.

Kyora was up next, but she was trembling with fear. She held the gun tightly and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Guys, I can't do that," she said, her voice shaking.

"Oh! My weak kid. You can go back if you want. Don't push yourself so hard," Fuya said to Kyora, trying to encourage her.

Ashya rolled her eyes and muttered, "Please, you can't keep calm for a while, queen of the bitch. Oh! Sorry, Queen of the Train."

Fuya's tone turned serious. "This is the last time I'm forgiving you for talking like that to me. Next time will be your hell," she warned Ashya.

Ashya ignored Fuya's warning and turned to Kyora. "Don't be afraid. Just stand up straight and aim at the spot, Kyora-sis," she said, trying to motivate her.

Germon also chimed in. "Even if you miss, there are many chances. Don't worry about that. Just try, Kyora-sis," he said, offering his support.

Kyora took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. She aimed at the target and pulled the trigger, but her shot missed by a few inches.

Jon suggested, "If all else fails, remember your boyfriend like you did last time. He will give you strength." However, the memory of what Ashya had done to him in the past caused him to hesitate. He looked over at Ashya, but she paid him no mind.

Kyora took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand. She tried to aim for the moving ball and pulled the trigger, but the shot only grazed the target. Just then, a toy appeared, but only Kyora could hear the message through her goggles. The toy spoke, "I'm Sei. When someone falls, I rise, but no one can see me even if I'm here." Kyora looked puzzled when the timer ran out, her expression suggesting she had memorized the message.

Ashya took her fifth turn, having already tried to hit the moving ball earlier. Fuya encouraged her, "Don't let me down, kid. Give it your all this time." But Ashya ignored her and focused on aiming at the ball. "I'll definitely hit the target and get the message this time," she said before pulling the trigger. Her shot hit the target dead-on, but when the toy appeared, she was shocked to see two toys speaking the same message simultaneously. The first voice said, "I'm Mi. I'll put down Hi for you," and the second one echoed the same words.

The second toy announced its presence, saying, "I'm Hika. Kura is in me, and I'm in Kura." Ashya removed her goggles and approached Fuya, asking, "Why didn't you mention anything about this?" Everyone was taken aback by Ashya's sudden outburst, prompting Germon to inquire, "What's wrong, Ashya?"

Ashya explained that Fuya had told them only one toy would appear at random, yet two had shown up this time. Fuya responded, "I already said it's my game. It's up to me to add whatever I want, whenever I want." Ashya let it go since she knew arguing wouldn't help her cause, and they continued with the game. One by one, each player took their turn, hitting or missing the target.

After the game, Fuya announced, "Now that you've all completed this part well enough, show me how you'll determine which of those toys is the odd one out." Jon suddenly had an idea and asked Germon, "What message did you hear in the second round?" Germon's face turned pale as he replied, "I forgot!"

Jon laughed and said, "That sneaky devil set up the game this way. She added a rule to go one by one and decide at the end, not to look at our teamwork. It was a way to pass the time and make us forget about the toys." Germon realized what had happened and thought to himself, "Why didn't I notice this?"

Kyora nervously stuttered, "What should we do now?" Jon reassured her, saying, "Don't worry, let's work together. Let's see who remembers what." In the next chapter, we'll find out how they clear this stage.