Devil in My Mind

The Sanctuary

"Arg, I hope I didn't oversleep again, comas are not my kinda nap."

Dante stretches, then stands and surveys the magnificent valley with an awe-struck gaze. He's seen some fantastic landscapes in his time, but this one is freakishly peaceful. It's truly heavenly, as though a unique place in the Underworld was remodeled into a special safe haven, purely for him.

"Looks like someone didn't get the memo. Pretty sure devils aren't allowed in places like this."

He peers into the twilight sky and concludes he's inside a dome, a ridiculously massive, highly secure, lovingly-crafted asylum. Though inclined to Sin Devil Trigger and fly to the border of this haven, he decides it'd be better to travel by foot to where the rainbow ends. Surely he can't stay here.

As he begins his journey, three ravens protectively soar alongside him, awarding him the epiphany of being profoundly cherished. The closer he hikes towards the circumference line, the more a lump forms in his throat. Before long, he's made it to his destination, stopping at a translucent endgate.

Through the equivalent of a thick, glass globe, he can now see the true Underworld. He gives it a confirming gaze then looks behind his shoulder, back at the sweet wonderland which must have required every ounce of strength to create.

"Did you make this for me, Bunny?" he musters through the ball of feels welling up in his throat. The spheroid trembles. "Can you hear me? Listen, it's okay, I'm alright now. You can let me out."

Thoughtlessly, he wipes from his mouth, what he assumes is sweat, drool, anything but what it actually is... he spits some of it out. Blood. Deceivingly blue inside the spheroid, but he ignores it, blocks it out. Doesn't want to entertain that there's no way he's fully recovered yet.

"Raven? It's alright, I feel fine. Come on, you know I can't stay here."

The spheroid fearfully quivers again, it's not ready to open itself up so he can exit. He carefully presses his hand on it, her enchanted magic pulling at his heart strings.

"Damn. Way to fill my dark soul with light."

Back in the Human World Robin finds White Raven outside, at the base of the tower, meditating on one of the large, smooth boulders near the water.

"Raven," he says, climbing to sit beside her. "We had Slade cornered but he used magic to escape. I hope you," he rests his elbows on his knees, his head in his palms, "I hope you can forgive me."

She comes out of her trance.

"Huh? I'm sorry, my mind was somewhere else."

"That's understandable."

They are quiet, until Raven asks...

"Robin, if you had a secret place, that Slade could never find, would you hide us there?"

"I... well... well no, of course not. How would I defeat him without you guys? I can't do it alone."

He puts his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he says, feeling awful.

"For what?" she asks, confused.

"Dante contacted me during the fight. I should have told him to stay back. But I told him we needed help instead. I put him right in the line of fire, when I knew I shouldn't. This is my fault."

She gives him a gentle, empathetic gaze. It brings him great sorrow when innocent people die, reminds him of how he lost his parents. It's not happened in a while but whenever it does, it's always really hard on him.

"No, it's not your fault, Robin. I used my magic to call upon him while he was still at the tower. And now, I think my magic did something in the Underworld."