The first one they tracked down was Rakuna.
When Nero and the crew rolled into her dreamworld, Rakuna was elbow-deep in a matcha paradise—matcha parfaits, matcha cakes, matcha dango, matcha chocolates, you name it. She was chowing down like there was no tomorrow, clearly having a blast while flexing her newfound control over her dream.
But a dream's just a dream, and when Nero showed up, Rakuna didn't hesitate. She ditched the sweets and joined the squad, and they headed straight for Tomoe Takamatsu's dream.
When Tomoe saw Sosei roll in with Aine and Nero, her face lit up like a kid at a candy store. But the joy didn't last. When she realized Nero and Aine hadn't exactly patched things up with Sosei, her expression crashed into disappointment.
Tomoe's emotions were an open book, but she wasn't great at reading the room. Nero and Aine had damn good reasons to hold a grudge against Sosei. Anyone else might've felt the same sting of betrayal but kept it locked down. In that sense, Tomoe was the polar opposite of Mutsu Wakaba.
Finally, the whole crew wound up in Rikishi's dream.
"About damn time," Rikishi muttered, exhaling like she'd been holding her breath forever. Then she clocked Sosei standing there, narrowed her eyes, and kept her mouth shut. No need for words—her glare said it all.
In a roundabout way, Sosei's original plan had come together. The gang was all here. Time to fix this mess.
"Alright, anybody here got a line tying them to Shoko Toyokawa?" Nero asked, scanning the group before zeroing in on Sosei.
"No clue," Sosei said, shaking their head. "Everyone in this city's stuck in their own dream, and the lines connecting them are a tangled mess. I only found you guys so fast by judging the 'thickness' of the threads."
"So you're saying we can't tell how connected Shoko is to any of you right now."
Nero mulled it over for a second before landing on the answer. "Then we go through her."
She meant Mutsu Wakaba, obviously.
Nero laid out the plan quick and clean. She and Sosei would hunt down Mutsu's dream first, then use her connection to Shoko to track her down. Meanwhile, Aine and the other three would hunker down in this dream, waiting for Sosei to escort Nero back. After that, Sosei would haul them all back to the first layer of the dreamworld.
If they pulled it off, Sosei would at least clean up the chaos they'd caused, and things could get back on track. If Sosei stuck around after the job was done, Nero was ready to dish out a serious ass-kicking before considering whether they could separate Sosei from their demonic gear and turn them human again.
But if Sosei decided to pull a runner and bail? Well… let's just say Nero wouldn't be in a forgiving mood.
Plan set, Nero and Sosei peeled out of Rikishi's dream, hunting for the trail Nero had left behind when she'd torn through Mutsu's dream earlier. According to Sosei, that kind of intense encounter would leave a faint "thread" for a short while.
Using those clues, Nero found her way back to the empty theater.
The curtain was still drawn tight, meaning Mutsu was holed up "on stage." The original plan was for Nero and Sosei to sneak in through the backstage—Sosei needed to see Mutsu's "true form" to spot the lines stretching out from her.
But this time, something was different.
In the pitch-black theater, deep in the hidden space called "backstage," a concealed door creaked open.
The second Nero saw it, she knew: beyond that door was Shoko Toyokawa's dream. Mutsu had mentioned hiding the stage's inner space to keep Nanna from finding her. If this passage was open now, it meant Nanna had no reason to come sniffing around.
There was only one explanation—Shoko's dream was compromised. Nanna was already inside, waging the final war.
When the dust settled, the last one standing would claim the title of "Moonblood Princess."
Nero waved Sosei off to handle Aine's group, took a deep breath, and stepped through the door.
The scenery shifted in a blur of colors, finally settling into focus. Nero took in the dream's landscape.
She stood atop a clock tower, blood-red moonlight bathing a grim, gothic city below. In the pitch-black streets, countless flames flickered like restless spirits.
And down below, in the heart of a burning plaza outside a church, two nearly identical Shoko Toyokawas faced off like mirror images—twins born from the same mold.
The only difference? The real Shoko's amber eyes versus Nanna's demonic, blood-red glare.
"Look who's back for round two," Nanna sneered, spotting Nero first. Her lace-wrapped fingers twisted the air, warping space as her hand loomed large in Nero's vision.
"What the—you?"
Shoko glanced over her shoulder, noticing Nanna's move. Her brows furrowed, and with a flick of her fingers, the distortion vanished. This was her dream, and with the home-field advantage, she was holding her own against Nanna—for now. Blocking Nanna's attack, Shoko said coldly, "Get out. I don't need your help."
Nero leaped from the clock tower, pulling a phantom sword mid-air and slipping into her Devil Trigger state with a mental nudge.
This little dreamworld stunt might just teach her how to pull off the same trick in the real world. Another step toward relying less on her Yamato blade.
"Quit playing tough," Nero said, landing lightly in front of Shoko. "If you really didn't need help, you wouldn't be hiding in your own head."
"And what exactly are you gonna do about it?"
This time, it was Nanna cutting in, her grin feral as she raised her voice. "Two losers teaming up? That's just a fancier way to die!"
As if answering her call, howls echoed through the ancient city—Nanna's summoned minions, her pack of demonic wolves. Meanwhile, Shoko's subconscious had conjured twisted, doll-like monsters, fighting tooth and nail to hold the wolves back.
From what Nero saw atop the clock tower, the fight was a slaughter. The dolls were hopelessly outnumbered, pushed back by the relentless tide of enemies.
Shoko let out a resigned sigh, like she knew Nanna was right. She turned to Nero, her tone half-plea, half-order. "Fine. Take out those wolves first. I'll keep Nanna off your back until you're done."
"Deal."
Nero raised her blade, demonic energy crackling around her.
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American TV Series: Young Sheldon mike edition