After what had felt like an eternity of walking, they had finally made it out of the forest. They had stepped into a beautiful area filled with flowing rivers that sparkled under the moonlight. The scene was complemented by a variety of gorgeous sweet-scented flowers and other tiny animal-like creatures that were roaming through the grassy plain. The most beautiful part was a waterfall that was flowing peacefully down a cliffside which made the view even more stunning.

Slowly, the group then began to approach the waterfall before Amanda signaled them to stop.

"Why did we stop? Nathan can't take much more of this. His leg is getting worse..." Complained, Sindy.

"Not to worry... We're here!" Replied Leo.

Andrew looked around intently as he did not see anything except the peaceful waterfall a few feet before them, "Uh, I don't see anything..."

Amanda and Leo then moved towards the waterfall before placing their hands gently against the flowing water. To everyone's surprise, a blue light radiated upon contact revealing a massive skyship floating effortlessly in the night sky.

"Woah! What the heck just happened?!" Exclaimed Andrew in shock.

"Hehehe..." Chuckled Amanda, "It's Illusion Art. The waterfall was just an illusion used to hide the skyship, aka our headquarters!"

"Illusion Art? Is this some kind of magic trick?" Asked Sindy curiously.

"Wow... You're telling me that none of you have ever heard about Illusion Art before? You all just keep getting weirder by the second," muttered Leo.

"We don't even know what you mean by Art..."

"It's fine. I'm sure everything will be explained to you when you get inside. Unless you're spies that is!"

Amanda then turned to face the others with her arms outstretched playfully;

"All of that aside, welcome to AA HQ! Shall we enter thy mothership?"

"Definitely!"

A few minutes later, the three were taken into AA HQ. Nathan and Sindy were transferred to the Medical Bay to be treated for their injuries while Andrew was taken to see the captain.

Nathan and Sindy were treated by a kind female nurse who had short pink hair. Her eyes were also of a glossy pink color which complemented her hairstyle even more. Her unique eye and hair color were something Nathan and Sindy had never seen before. Was this some unique gene that people of this strange country had? To make things even weirder, she had been healing them with some kind of healing magic that made them feel almost as good as new.

"Both of your injuries should be completely healed by tomorrow morning. Just get some rest and you'll be back to normal!" Explained the kind nurse.

"Thanks but I didn't quite catch your name..." stated Nathan curiously.

"I'm Donna, the head of the medical team. So if you ever get injured again, just let me know and I'll be happy to help!"

As Donna left the room, Sindy moved over to speak with Nathan. There was much to be discussed with all that had happened.

"What a crazy day... First, we get teleported to some random country, then we get attacked by a giant wolf and now we're getting healed by a nurse with crazy healing powers!" Exclaimed Nathan.

"A few hours ago, if you were to tell me something like this, I would think you're losing it, Nate..."

Nathan and Sindy were then interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. At this point, they wouldn't be surprised if a talking panda came in to greet them.

"Come in!"

The door then slowly opened allowing two figures to enter the room. One was Andrew and the other was a stranger who gave Sindy chills.

The stranger creepily resembled Nathan in both appearance and age. The only difference was that this mystery twin was a bit taller. Sindy had to rub her eyes to ensure that her vision wasn't failing her.

"Guys, before you both freak out, let's have this entire situation explained!" Quickly stated Andrew.

"Sup!" Greeted Nathan calmly to the mystery twin.

"Sup Nate," he replied.

"Wait, you two already know each other!?"

"Well, not exactly. I mean we kinda do, but at the same time we don't," began the mystery twin, "My name is Alondo Smartmind, the personal mind or conscience of Nathan when he was back in the Real World. I'm also the captain of Assassins Agency."

"Yeah, for some reason your presence seemed familiar to me. Like a presence that's been with me all my life up until the moment I woke up here in this strange country... As soon as I saw you, I could tell you and I were somehow connected..." Added Nathan.

"What do you mean!!? This is all crazy!! A talking panda would be more logical than this!!" Panicked Sindy.

"Well for starters, do you know where you are?" Asked Alondo.

Sindy shook her head in bewilderment. It was almost as if she was having a very strange dream.

"Firstly, you should know that you're no longer in the Real World," continued Alondo. "The Real World is the world you're all from with countries like Japan, The United States of America, etc. Currently, you're in the Mind World.

"The Mind World?" Questioned Nathan.

"Yes, let me explain a little more. The Mind World is the foundation of the Real World. This world has a variety of life forms including; strange monsters, animals, and even human beings that were born and raised here. However, there are other species of humans known as Minds that reside in this world."

"Minds? Like the way we think?"

"Something like that... Minds are responsible for the thoughts and brain processes that humans undergo while in the Real World. Every human has their own unique mind. That tiny little voice you'd hear in your head telling you what not to do and what to do is us. I think you humans from the Real World call us your conscience or intuition.

You could even go as far as to call us your guardian angels if you must. Fortunately, due to an Art used by the Gods, you are no longer in need of a mind once you arrive in the Mind World. You control your own thoughts."

"Okay, so that explains why you're so similar looking to Nathan... I guess..?" Queried Sindy.

"Not exactly... Nathan's case is special. I was born for the sole purpose of being his mind until he arrived in the Mind World. For some unknown reason though, I was born looking like him..."

Sindy then got up with a tigress look. Alondo had said something that she hadn't taken a liking to, "Wait! So you were expecting him to come here!?"

"Yes, but before you go all KAREN on me, let me explain a little further. The Mind World is in danger and needs help. To make it even more concerning, any threat to the Mind World is an automatic threat to the Real World as well. If all Minds are to die, then that would leave every human in the Real World as brain-dead zombies. And I mean that literally."

"So, the Mind World needs a hero is what you're implying?" Asked Nathan with an intuitive guess.

"Bingo! And that hero is no other than you, Nathan."

"Yep, our boy Nate is supposedly a hero in the flesh. Never thought his fantasies would come to life," teased Andrew.

Alondo then continued, "Every millennium, a new hero is selected and brought here from the Real World on their 16th birthday to save the Mind World from its impending chaos-"

Alondo then paused as he bit his tongue— almost as if he did not want to reveal too much about the Mind Hero.

"But what does this have to do with Nathan? It's not like he was the one who made the world like this! Get someone else to do it!" Cursed Sindy.

A serious expression then came over the face of Alondo. It was obvious Sindy had said something to upset him.

"Look, princess! Before you start assuming, allow me to educate you a little more. The humans of the Real World are to be blamed for our situation. Whenever someone from the Real World has a high output of negative emotion, it leaks here into the Mind World and creates demonic monsters called Demon Beasts. So let me ask you something, Sindy. Have you ever been angry before?"

"...Yes..."

"Well, reality check. That anger turned into a Demon Beast here in the Mind World and probably killed someone or maybe even slaughtered an entire family..!"

Sindy, Nathan, and Andrew froze in horror. The realization that every time they displayed a form of negative emotion, it turned into a Demon Beast that killed countless people was unbelievable.

"Look, I'm not trying to scare any of you. I'm just being honest about the situation at hand. Every human being from the Real World indirectly has blood on their hands. Sure, it wasn't intentional but that doesn't mean it never happened."

Sindy felt terrible as she was ready to make Alondo the target of her frustration when she didn't understand his situation in the slightest.

"Okay, but one more question. If the world just needs me, the Mind Hero, then why were Sindy and Andrew teleported alongside me?" Asked Nathan.

"It's simple really. At the moment when you were to be teleported, both your friends were holding onto you. Due to this, they were taken with you. In other words, this was an accident, or the Gods intended it to happen for some unknown reason..." Explained Alondo.

Nathan pondered— his hand braced against his chin as he thought, "Is there at least any way we can get back home?"

Alondo shook his head dimly before replying, "I'm sorry... But according to legend, the Mind Hero will not be able to return home until his or her's 18th birthday at the earliest."

Silence spread through the room like wildfire. Nathan felt as if he was to be blamed for putting his friends in danger and having them trapped in this world for another two years. Due to him, his friends were now trapped in a dangerous world. Sweat washed his face as he couldn't even force himself to look them in the eyes.

However, to Nathan's surprise, Andrew walked over to him and laid his hand on his shoulder with a huge grin across his face.

"Don't worry, Nate! We don't blame you for this. Remember, we're best friends! Even when things get tough we will remain by your side!"

Sindy also stood and nodded in approval, "Remember, we held onto you because we wanted to. It was our choice because we cared. And even if we could go back in time, I would do the same thing all over again if it meant staying by your side..!"

Nathan felt as if he wanted to cry. He was reminded once again of how amazing his friends were.

"Thank you, both... That means more to me than you can ever imagine..."

Alondo then clapped his hands to regain their attention. He didn't wish to ruin the moment but he had a lot of work to attend to.

"Sorry to ruin the moment but welcome to The Mind World! Since you're already here, I'd like to give you an offer to work for Assassins Agency. Of course, I don't expect you all to decide immediately. It's been a long day for you so I'll leave you to rest. Just provide me with an answer by morning."

Alondo then gave one last wave before leaving the three friends inside the infirmary to get some rest.

"He's kinda cool for a captain," expressed Andrew.

"For sure," agreed Nathan.

Following this, the friends proceeded to clean themselves in a nearby bathroom before getting some rest. Little did they know that the days ahead would not be pleasant.