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Not part of Riordanverse
The following article/section is from the Paola Santiago continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon. |
Shadow Dante is a copy of Dante Mata made by El Cucuy.
Paola Santiago series[]
Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows[]

Dante Mata, his template.
He easily tricks Paola Santiago into thinking he is the real Dante. At first he acts like he does not believe her and asks her about the first time she beat him in Mario Kart and she goes into detail to prove it. Dante believes her and is relieved, but it is short lived when they realize El Cucuy is coming. Pao tries to portal him out, but she fails. “Dante” tells her the cell is programmed to only let his DNA enter and tells her to leave. Pao refuses to leave him and she tries again, successfully taking them both to Santuario. They end up back in the church and he hugs Pao, thanking her for saving him and apologizing for his behavior. Emma comes over to them and the three embrace as Kit demands answers. As Pao catches everyone up to speed, he asks why Kit and Robin are with them and Kit questions if they could trust him. Pao explains that the Rogues helped her get to him while explaining to Kit that he has been through a lot and she tries to portal back to Silver Springs and Kit keeps interrupting, once to spite Pao and a second time out of shock by the lights. Pao moves to a window and, after a conversation with Emma, Pao gets an idea. Pao tells everyone to think of a place to Silver Springs and it starts to work, but El Cucuy finds them and shows Pao images of her loved ones dead and her home destroyed to distract her.
They land by the Gila River and he and Kit and Dante land on each other, they untangle themselves as Pao realizes Emma is missing and calls out her name and, thankfully, Emma replied. Dante and the others come over and he suggests they go to the Camp of the Niños de la Luz. Pao tells him they moved to a warehouse in town and it would be easier if they went to the Riverside Palace. As they get closer, Dante expresses his desire to see his abuela and Pao informs him that his grandmother's memory is gone and she was moved to a care facility months ago. Pao expects “Dante” to yell, but he thanks and hugs her. When they arrive, Kit expresses her surprise that the building has occupants and is reluctant to go in, but does so when Pao informs her she will have to wait outside. As Pao opens the door, her parents and Bruto greet her, and they are shocked to see him. After Pao's parents greet everyone, they go to the living room where Maria tells them Emma’s mother called and informed them of her impromptu trip and vanishing with three other girls in Texas. As Beto is uncertain what to reveal in front of Robin and Kit, Pao informs them that it is El Cucuy Who is behind it and explains how he is building an army. Beto scolds Pao for disobeying him as Pao berates that she took action as he and the Niños just stood around. After Pao's parents talk, Beto gathers somethings and tells them he is taking them to the Niños's warehouse.
Beto drives him and the other children, along with Bruto, to the warehouse and tells them to wait as he talks with Franco. While he has his back to the kids, Pao tells Robin about a nearby bus stop and she runs to it while Kit volunteers to stay. Beto drops them off as the girls start to scream and they wake Naomi. Naomi greets the four and mentions Marisa got a call about a ghost half an hour ago, around the same time Beto called Franco. Pao finds it suspicious and Naomi takes them to the other Niños, who are eating lunch outside. “Dante” stays behind the keep an eye out for Beto and Franco, and watch Bruto, as the girls speak to the Niños. However he just stares at the wall and the two walk past him. When Beto and Franco go to bring Robin back, Pao talks to him, asking him if he knows anything that might be helpful. He mentions that El Cucuy plans on attacking in ten days, on Día de los Muertos, but that they will never be prepared.
Soon Beto and Franco return with Robin tied up between them and Pao storms over to them. They say Robin is a copy who was switched out with the real one after El Cucuy caught them portaling. They also theorize she stole Pao's spirit weapon, which could reveal her true nature, and ditched it before they found her. Pao, Kit, and Emma try to convince them otherwise to no avail as they take Robin into the office. The girls think of a way to prove Robin is really her as he comes over saying that would not work as El Cucuy implants important memories in his copies. Pao asks why he asked her about Mario Kart and he explains how the memory was not as important to her as it was to him and says El Cucuy does not bother putting minor and neutral memories in his copies. Pao fails to think of anything that could work, Emma does not know Robin well enough to think of something, and Kit, despite knowing Robin for five years, reveals she does not know anything that could help. Emma suggests getting Robin's fathers involved and Pao shoots it down, but he thinks it might help. They try and fail to convince Franco before revealing Robin's current situation to the other Niños. They are angry and Naomi volunteers to fight Franco. Pao calls her mother, who brings Robin’s dads, and they deduce she is not a copy. He finds Pao's arma del alma after Kit hides it.Soon after the ground starts to shake. The shaking stops and Pao goes over with Bruto and asks Dante for it back. However she slowly realizes that the Dante in front of her is a copy. Bruto growls and Shadow Dante attacks him. Shadow Dante activates Pao's arma del alma and attacks her. Naomi tosses her an old spear and they fight. Shadow Dante opens a portal into the Void and mocks Pao for thinking she outsmarted El Cucuy as they fight and Pao questions if her friend is even still alive. Naomi and Kit takes Pao's place as she goes to ask her father and Franco how to close an opening. However both are uncertain as Pao reveals she absorbed her shadow self, who knew how to close portals with a phrase, but she does not know it but he might. Soon Shadow Dante projects the nightmares of all present and threatens to kill those who aided Pao last, after watching their families and friends die. He vanishes, along with their hope of learning the phrase, and the images stop.
Appearance[]
Shadow Dante greatly resembles Dante. Having the same hair and eye colors and skin tones.
Personality[]
Shadow Dante is manipulative and cruel.
Trivia[]
- There are hints that he is an imposter before it is revealed.
- He remembers the first time Pao beat Dante in Mario Kart, a significant event to the real Dante but minor to Pao.
- He does not remember the Niños de la Luz abandoning their came, which was a minor memory for the real Dante.
- He points out how to tell the difference between a copy and the real person, which foreshadows the revelation that he is a copy.
Paola Santiago series | |
Books: | Paola Santiago and the River of Tears | Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares | Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows |
Main Characters: | Paola Santiago | Dante Mata | Emma Lockwood | Bruto | Naomi |
Secondary Characters: | Maria Santiago | Ondina | Marisa Martínez | Carmela Mata | Beto | Joaquín | Kit | Robin Long |
Minor Characters: | Karen Lockwood | Sal | Franco | Aaron | Johnny | Shadow Dante |
Mythical Creatures: | Chupacabra | La Llorona | Ahogada | La Mano Panchona | Lechuza | Duendecillos | Cadejo | The Hitchhiker | El Cucuy | Falsita |
Related Content: | Tehlor Kay Mejia | Rick Riordan Presents | Bruto and the Freaky Flower | Disney+ series |