| Canon Story | ||||||||
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| Eye Opener | ||||||||
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| Artist | Writer | |||||||
| Candy Dewalt | David Hopkins | |||||||
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| Short XXXVI: My Own Personal Hell | Short XXXVII: I Wanna Know What Love Is | |||||||
Jack is relaxing following the events of Arc XXX: Those That Run when Lita goes rushing past him. She's being pursued by two other denizens of Hell, who trap her outside of a bakery. Holding Lita hostage, the two men threaten to assault her unless Jack leaves, but before they can get any further, Vinci sneaks up behind one and bashes him on the head with a club, and the other runs into Jack trying to flee and is promptly torn to shreds.
Jack warns Lita to stay away from this side of Hell, and asks Vinci to take her back across the river to a safer section. Lita dismisses Jack's concerns and is angry she's stuck with Vinci as a bodyguard. Vinci calls her bluff and tries to leave her, and she tries to disguise her fears by pretending she is accompanying him so he's not by himself. Lita notices Vinci has "opened eyes" instead of the pinpick pupils that she and most of the other damned souls in Hell have.
When VInci refuses to go into details, Lita changes the subject and asks about her father Drip instead. This concerns Vinci, and when he finds out Lita wishes to find Drip so she can get her revenge on him, he tries to steer her away from that goal. Vinci, aware of Drip's powers in Hell, tries to talk Lita out of her plans by sharing how his eyes were opened.
In a flashback, Central meets up with Jack while looking for Arty, who's now a new angel and in Hell looking for Vinci. Arty is unaware that as part of Vinci's punishment for committing suicide, Hell has made him forgot about his life on Earth and he does not recognize his Earthly partner.
They stumble on Arty just as he's been attacked by feral-like Vinci, who's fleeing the scene. Joined by Reckonin, the group tries to convince Arty that he can't make Vinci remember his Earthly life and that Vinci must deal with his sins on his own accord. Arty frantically rejects their explanation and their offers to return to Heaven so he continue his training, and flees to another section of Hell to sulk.
When Vinci stops running to catch his breath, he's approached by Drip who tells him the angel is lying about their life together just to humiliate and torture Vinci, and that he can help get rid of Arty if they work together.
Reminiscing about his life with Vinci and trying to think of a way to get through to him, Arty is suddenly approached by Vinci who seems to have a change of heart. It's all just a ruse to get Arty alone where Drip ambushes him. Arty puts up a fight, but the combination of Drip's power and other demonic forces working with the sin leave Arty tied up and defenseless. Drip uses Arty's own sword to stab his wing, planning to cut the angel into pieces.
The horror of the situation wakes Vinci up and he suddenly remembers his life with Arty and their daughter Greer, and he suddenly snaps back to his senses. He attacks Drip, and while the Sin is reeling away in pain, frees Arty and they go rushing to escape. Arty jumps off a cliff, trying to fly with Vinci to safety, but his damaged wing prevents him from getting airborne and the two go tumbling down the ravine.
Drip plans to mangle both of them, but Jack and the others show up and Jack promptly attacks the Sin of Lust with his scythe, presumably decapitating him and sending him away. They find Vinci crying over Arty's seemingly lifeless body, but the raccoon's love appears to revives Arty, who returns his love and then tries to play off the danger to Central and the others. Central is amused and grateful Arty's okay, but promises to give him a stern talking to when they get back to Heaven. Vinci and Arty part on good terms, Vinci on his path to redemption but not there yet and Jack promising to introduce him to others in Hell who have their eyes open.
The flashback ends, with Vinci having successfully taken Lita back to her home. He tells her Drip knew about him and Arty and that the Sin will use people's own knowledge and prejudices against them to make them hurt worse then they can imagine. He warns her a final time not to go seeking Drip and let sleeping rats lie.
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Trivia[]
This story kicked off a story arc focusing on Vinci's time in Hell that ran in the Side Arcs, starting with Side Arc I: Right Here Waiting.