King: Oh shit! Back again already!

Knox: Gee, I wonder why.

King: Serious time now. I am so happy this project finally released its pilot. If you haven't, maybe even if you have, go watch the source material. Vivipop and the Hazbin team deserve all the love for this mad cap fun! Look it up on YouTube and have a blast. Anywho, hope you enjoy~!

Inspiration: Hazbin Hotel

/\

Everyone was really hoping that the next reality wouldn't be nearly as heavy or disgusting.

The world they saw once it opened again seemed tranquil. Until…

The screen snapped to black with a shaking red glyph, a hellish pentagram spinning slowly. Then, they heard the laughter. Jaune's laughter. "And now… we return to our regularly scheduled program~" His voice came with an old time radio effect, one that sounded all too familiar.

Everyone felt a chill and gave a quick glace toward Jaune, checking for signs of possession.

The world truly opened in the pentagram before spreading over the canvas. They saw Jaune, dressed to the nines in a red pinstripe suit, though a bit ragged, rose colored monocle, red dress shirt, and a black bowtie. His blue eyes were glowing brighter than the fires of hell, and his grin… was there. He always smiled, but it seemed a little more forced than the last time they'd seen him.

Jaune groaned a little seeing this version again, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Roman raised an eyebrow, though, "What's with the grin? Guy looks like he's bored as all hell." He didn't catch that one, though Tai and Yang had.

He walked down the street, talking to himself, "Hmm… What about…? No. Too boring."

Mercury nodded slowly, "Guess that's why. He's looking for something to do."

Jaune walked down the streets of Hell before something caught his eye. He paused in front of a TV display showing the local news. Now, he never cared for Hell's news channels. He preferred to broadcast to the masses directly. Unfortunately, he hadn't done so in a while now. However, this broadcast was different.

Sitting next to the familiar hosts of Sienna Kahn and Adam Taurus was the very daughter of the devil, Weiss Schnee. She was going on about how demons could still be redeemed and rise into heaven, even went into a little song and dance to get her point across.

Ruby snickered at the thought of Weiss breaking out into song, as did most of her team.

Weiss just sighed, far too used to the idea of these weird worlds.

The rest of the demons in attendance just laughed at her, though, in a very overblown fashion.

Now Weiss was just mad, "That's just rude."

Jaune watched as Sienna insulted her project to her face, resulting in Weiss retaliating with her own insults. The problem was, Sienna was a psychotic bitch with a superiority complex thanks to her time on the air. Rather than fly back with insults again, a fistfight broke out between the two.

Sienna growled at her description.

Mercury laughed a bit, "I get it. She's like the smiling reporter you see trying to act all normal, but you just know deep down they're total assholes."

Jaune watched on, not really paying attention anymore. No, he was focusing on something else. Weiss's little hotel project, the reformation of the demonic sinners that overpopulate Hell. For the first time in a while, his grin spread and sharpened into its genuine form. "That'll work."

Blake knew plenty of people like that in her books, "He's going to sabotage the hotel, I can see it now."

Yang thought back and found something else to focus on, "I'm guessing this was the 'fiasco on the picture show' he was talking about last time."

Tai nodded, "Most likely."

The screen transitioned to Jaune walking up toward the Happy Hotel (name pending). He grinned, dusted himself off and knocked on the door, the playful knock of a man who finally had a reason to truly grin again. When the door opened, his smile widened a little, "Hel-" Cue the door slamming, to open again, "-lo~!" Slammed again.

Nora snickered, "That's still kind of funny."

Jaune stood there in place for a moment, letting them have their little moment. Then, he counted down from three, the opening once he was done. "May I speak now?"

Weiss stood in the doorway, dressed in a white button up shirt and black slacks with a pair of suspenders. She crossed her arms and tried to hold a sense of power, "You may."

Jaune, obviously, didn't care. He held his hand toward her to shake, "Jaune Arc! A pleasure to meet you, sweetheart!" He grabbed her forearm in place of a shake and pulled her closer, "Quite a pleasure!" He released her and walked passed her and into the Hotel.

"It's the scene from last time we saw him…" Penny's head tilted.

"That's certainly different." Yang crossed her arms and sat back in her chair.

Jaune walked into the Hotel before spinning back toward her, "Sorry about my sudden visit, but I saw your fiasco on the picture show! And I just couldn't resist~ What a performance! Why, I haven't been that entertained since the Stock Market Crash of 1929!" Jaune laughed and sighed with a sense of nostalgia, "So many orphans~"

Nora huffed with a frown, "Still not funny…"

"Stop right there!"

Jaune stopped in place to find a spear pointed directly at him.

Ilia stood there in her white dress and eyepatch with the X over her eye. Her bow was wrapped in her hair, around her ponytail. She cursed to herself before addressing him, "I know your game! And I'm going to let you hurt anyone here! You cheesy, pompous, talk show shitlord!"

Jaune laughed and pushed the spear aside with one finger, "Dearie, if I wanted to hurt anyone here…" His distortion became more pronounced with his eyes going blank like radio dials. His head bent a little too far to the side, "I would have done so already~" Demonic runes floated around him as the screen cut in and out of static, Jaune distorting everything they could see.

No one was as impressed, having seen it all before.

"It's just the same world as before?" Coco's eyebrow raised.

Weiss and Ilia were stuck in fear and shock at both his statement and the distorting he was causing.

Jaune shook his head and returned to his normal grin, "No! I'm here because I want to help!"

Weiss looked back up to him, more confused than afraid now, "Say what now?"

"Okay, so it's not exactly the same." Penny mimicked the tapping of her cheek in thought she'd seen throughout the time in the theater.

"Help~!" Jaune laughed, "Hello? Is this thing on?" He tapped his microphone.

Said microphone than opened an eye and answered him, "Well I hear you loud and clear~"

Ruby felt a chill, "Oh, that's so weird."

Weiss glanced around, as if to see if she was still in reality. "You… want to help with…?"

Jaune moved like a shadow between Weiss and Ilia, pulling them both into a huddle, "With this ridiculous thing you're trying to do~! This Hotel. I want to help you run it."

"Um… why, exactly?"

Blake wasn't buying it, "Obviously to sabotage it."

Jaune laughed again, "My dear, why does anyone do anything? Sheer, absolute boredom!" Jaune stood taller again and sighed, "I've lacked inspiration for decades!" He leaned his arm on top of Ilia's head like she was nothing more than a place to lean against.

Ilia was shocked for a moment, but that changed to anger.

And her viewing counterpart agreed, "Jerk…"

But she knew she couldn't challenge someone as powerful as Jaune.

Jaune grinned and continued, "My work became mundane. Lacking focus. Aimless!" He pushed off Ilia and threw her to the side like it was nothing.

This got a few chuckles out of the situation. Ilia did not agree, however.

"I've come to crave a new form of entertainment!" Jaune let out a jovial laugh.

Weiss seemed to shrink a little, "Does getting into a fistfight with a reporter count as entertainment?"

"My dear, it's the purest kind! Reality! True passion! After all the world is a stage! And the stage is a world of entertainment~" There was a hint of maliciousness behind that sentiment.

Jaune thought about that one, a little too much. Getting a few glances in the process.

Weiss glanced to the side a moment, "So… you think it's possible to rehabilitate a demon?"

Jaune laughed and waved it off, "Of course not!"

Weiss turned deadpan with an are you kidding me look.

Weiss sighed, getting a little annoyed by that now.

"Redemption~? Oh the non-existent humanity! No, no, no. I don't think there's anything left that could save such loathsome sinners!" He glanced back at Ilia and Ren as he said that, getting annoyed looks.

Nora laughed, "Oh hey! Ren still has the boots in this one!"

Ren sighed in defeat.

Jaune continued, "The chance given was the life they lived before! And the punishment is this!" Jaune swung his arms outward. After all, this was Hell.

"Then, why would you want to help us?"

"Call it an investment in future entertainment for myself!" Jaune wrapped an arm over her shoulders before spinning her like a dance partner to the other side, "I want to watch the scum of the underworld claw their way up the hill of betterment, only to repeatedly fall down into the fiery pit of failure~"

Blake blinked in shock. "Or… he's just sadistic and wants to watch them fail despite everything they have going for them. That's… certainly different."

"It's twisted." Kali agreed.

Jaune glanced back toward Ren and Ilia, no doubt telling his story and to avoid him like the plague. Though, he didn't care. He was one of the oldest and most powerful mortal souls in all of Hell. They were all beneath him, playthings for his entertainment. And right now, that meant turning this hotel into an establishment worth going to. "Yes indeed! I have some great ideas for this little place!"

A part of them was happy they didn't need the story again. The visuals and tormenting screams were haunting enough.

Ilia grabbed Weiss by the shoulder and pulled her to the side, though he could still hear everything they were saying. "Weiss, you can't trust this guy. He's not just some happy face. He's a deal maker. Pure evil! He can't be redeemed! And is most likely trying to find a way to destroy everything we're trying to do."

Weiss sighed, "I… we don't know that. Look, I know he's bad, and he probably doesn't want to change. But the whole point of this is to give people a chance. I can't turn him away. It goes against everything I'm trying to do."

Ozpin sighed with a bit of a smile, "A bit naïve, but her heart is in the right place. An honest, more simple soul."

Ironwood chuckled a bit, "You want to rephrase that, Oz?"

Ozpin thought for a moment, saw what James was talking about, but just shrugged and took a sip from his coffee.

Ilia was growing more worried, "Weiss, whatever you do, do not make a deal with him!"

"It's okay, Ilia. I learned one thing from my dad. 'You don't take shit from other demons!'" Weiss walked back to the Radio Demon waiting nearby, "Okay. Jaune. You're sketchy as fuck and you obviously see what I'm trying to do here as a joke."

Yang laughed a bit harder every time she heard Weiss cursing.

"But I don't! I believe that anyone can better themselves if given the chance. So, I'm taking your offer to help, so long as there's no trickster… voodoo stings attached."

Jaune swung his mic to his other side and held out a hand toward Weiss, "So, it's a deal, then?" The world was tinged in green as power flowed out from between the two. This was the power of a demonic deal maker. The power that could warp all of reality for the purpose of their agreement.

Everyone was more than a little surprised. Both by the power displayed and the underlying presence this power held. The power to twist reality for the sake of two people shaking hands. That was a scary prospect.

Weiss swatted his hand away, "No! No deals!" Weiss stepped to the side to think about how to do this right. "As… the Princess of Hell and heir to the throne, I hereby order you to help with this hotel. For as long as you desire." It was the best way she could put that and keep him from using it against her, allowing him to leave when things got too boring for him. "That sound fair?"

Weiss sighed at how open that left their deal. "That's terrible business strategy."

Jaune thought about it for a moment, "Fair enough."

Weiss let out a sigh of relief, "Cool."

Jaune glanced around, "So, where is your hotel staff?"

Weiss got a little nervous now, "Well…" She pointed back to Ilia, who was the only person helping her at this time.

Weiss groaned a bit, "Okay, there's obvious nepotism at play here."

Ilia took personal offence to that, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it. What face have seen her pull this entire version?"

Ruby raised a hand.

Weiss sighed, "Ruby…"

"She's always scowling or angry! But she's working in a hotel!"

Weiss blinked in surprise for a moment before smiling with a nod, "Correct. Hotels are a part of the service industry and staff needs to remain approachable. You know, clean uniforms, calm demeanor, and a smile. None of which she seems to have. So, that leads me to think she got the job through someone else."

Yang just shrugged, "They're both probably dating." Weiss and Ilia looked at Yang like she was crazy before she had to explain. "I'm talking about you two and what hang ups you have, I'm taking about them. It's Weiss's project and Ilia has been following her lead the whole time. You can't tell me you don't see the signs."

Thinking back, they all saw something. Mostly Ilia's change in demeanor when it came to Weiss.

Jaune didn't seem to mind the glare, laughing, "You're going to need more than that." He walked to the front desk, where Ren was sitting on a stool. "And what can you do my effeminate fellow?"

Ren gave his own grin, "I can suck your dick."

Nora burst out laughing, much to Ren's embarrassment.

Jaune laughed before deadpanning, "No."

"You're loss."

Jaune walked back to the center of the room, "This just won't do!"

Kali's ears twitched, "Did anyone else notice that it sounds like he's walking with tap shoes?"

They remained silent to listen in, and sure enough they could hear the sounds of tapping.

Jaune looked around, "I suppose I can cash in a few favors to help spruce this place up~" With a snap of his fingers, the fireplace was fixed up and a pile of black demon appeared in the flames. Jaune picked up the mass as a pair of silver eyes.

Ruby gasped for a moment.

The soot flew off to reveal a girl in a red blouse and a black skirt, a smile on her face.

Jaune grinned to the group, "This little darling is Ruby~!" He dropped her without a second thought.

Ruby landed on her feet, revealing she was only half the size of the others. "Hi! I'm Ruby! It's been so long since I got to meet new friends~!" Her eyes darted between everyone. Her voice retained her sense of innocence, despite her being a denizen of Hell.

Tai chuckled a bit, "Aw~ That's adorable!"

Ruby groaned, but she did agree in her own way.

Ruby swung her finger to point to them all, "Why are you all women?"

Cue Nora's laughter at Ren's expense. She always found it a little funny when people thought he was a girl.

Jaune flew forward at a blinding speed and actually lifted Weiss off the ground, "Are there any men here?! I'm sorry, that's rude. Oh my gosh!" She was running and talking at a hundred miles an hour. "This place is filthy! It really needs a lady's touch." She ran up to a spider and crushed it in her fist.

Ruby gagged, "Ew! Ew! No!"

Ruby spun around back to them, dead arachnid still in hand, "Which is weird because you're all ladies. No offense. Oh man!" Ruby ran like a blur, cleaning multiple locations in seconds before finally stabbing another bug through with a pin.

Qrow cringed a little, "That's pretty messed up way to do it."

A green glow grabbed everyone's attention to the other side, hearing someone celebrate, "Ha! Read 'em and weep!" The camera moved to show Neptune sitting at a card table. His attire resembled the kind of thing you'd see in a casino, complete with card suits on his vest. He saw the demonic distortion and soon realized he wasn't where he should be anymore. "What the fuck?"

Neptune shrugged, a certain part of him happy to part of things again.

He spun around before seeing Jaune standing there with his grin. Neptune did not appreciate that, "You!"

Jaune grinned and place an arm on Neptune's shoulder, "Neptune, my good friend! Glad you could make it!"

Neptune brushed him off, "Don't you Neptune me, you son of a bitch! I was about to win the whole damn pot!" He gestured to a very substantial pile of money and chips on the table that was slowly turning to static.

Roman's turn to cringe a little, "That's got to suck."

Jaune didn't care, "Good to see you too~"

Neptune face palmed, "What do you want now?"

Jaune suddenly wrapped an arm over his shoulders, "You see, I'm doing some charity work and I took it upon myself to volunteer your services! I hope that's okay."

Mercury laughed, "It's a pretty dick move."

Neptune growled, "Are you shitting me?!"

Jaune seemed to think that over. "No, I don't think so~"

This got a few snickers.

Neptune pushed him off, "You thought it would be some big fucking riot to pull me out of fucking nowhere? You think I'm some kind of fucking clown?!"

Jaune had a smaller smile before shifting to his normal, wide grin, "Maybe."

This turned snickers into laughter.

Neptune crossed his arms in anger, "I ain't doing a fucking charity job."

"Well, I thought you'd be the perfect person to main this front desk!" He pointed to a bar he placed into the hotel with his demonic magic. "With your charming smile and welcoming energy, this job was made for you!"

Neptune didn't agree.

"Don't worry, old friend. I can make this more welcoming. If you wish." He waved his hand in front of the bar and a bottle literally labeled [Cheep Booze] appeared on the counter.

Qrow started to laugh seeing that, "A little on the nose with that one. Be a hell of a label for it though." He then noticed Yang and Tai grinned at him. "What?" After a moment, he realized what he said before face palming as the two high fived.

Neptune seemed to march toward him indignantly, "You think I can be bought with a wink and some cheep booze!" Pause. "Because I can!" Neptune grabbed the bottle and drank straight from the source.

Cue Nora laughing at how dumb that was.

Ilia moved to the middle of the group, "Oh no! No! No bar! No alcohol! This is a place that's supposed to discourage sin!"

Ren found a moment for some philosophical waxing, "It's more common for drunkenness to be the sin. It's more about over indulging than the act of drinking alcohol itself."

Ilia continued, "Not kind of… bar, brothel… mancave… thing!"

Ren, in turn, tackled her to the ground, "SHUT UP! Shut up!" He pointed to the bar, "We are keeping this!"

Nora laughed again, "Guess he agrees with you. But for different reasons!"

Ren sighed with a sense of defeat.

Ren moved back up toward the bar, "Hey!"

Neptune was having none of it, though, "Go fuck yourself."

"Only if you watch~"

Nora and Yang burst out into even louder laughter at everyone's stunned faces.

Weiss was a little more hopeful, "Welcome to Happy Hotel! You are going to love it here~!"

Neptune grabbed his bottle again, "I lost the ability to love years ago."

Jaune laughed, getting their attention again, "So? What do you think?"

Weiss was smiling from ear to ear, "I love it!"

Ilia was still skeptical, "It's… alright."

Jaune grabbed them both and pulled them into a group hug, "This is going to be very entertaining~" As Ilia pushed out of the hug, he thought back to Weiss's propensity for breaking out in song. So, he decided to run with it.

Nora gasped, "Is he about to…?!"

Jaune opened his palm with a demonic fire. He tossed the flame into the air and old fashioned swing music began to play in the background. "You have a dream you wish to tell." Jaune spun his finger over her head, turning Weiss's clothing and appearance to an old fashioned (1920s) attire to fit the music. "And, hey, it's laughable. But what the hell!"

Jaune tossed Weiss into the air, seeing a trio of neon lights representing her hotel in some way, from an apple to a smiling skull. The lights suddenly morphed to a neon blue more akin to a night life party. As she landed, Jaune and Weiss danced to the swing music.

Those who hadn't seen the previous fashion styles were intrigued. They rarely saw such styles, so it was interesting to see then in use rather than through pictures.

"Cause you're one of a kind! A charming demon belle." Jaune and Weiss slid down the stairs' banister to the ground floor. "So let's give these burning fools a place to dwell~"

With a snap of his fingers, everyone's attire returned to that old era style, like his own and Weiss's new clothing.

"Hit is boys!" A crack in the ground sprouted a series of shadowy demons with various instruments to really play up the music. Jaune gathered the group into a big hug before slinking off for the shadows to surround them.

"Inside every demon is a lost cause. But we'll dress 'em up for now with a smile!" The light and effects around Jaune turned his skin to a shadowy black while all his other features were made neon by the glow. "And we'll ornate this cesspool with some old redemption flair, and show these simpletons some proper class and style~!"

Ilia felt a growl form in her throat, "Big talk usually means they can't back it up. He might distort things, but I bet he's weaker than all of them and this is all flash."

Mercury thought for a moment before grinning, "You want to put money behind that?"

"What?"

"A bet. Do you want to want to bet that he is that weak? Cause I'll put 50 Lien saying he's stronger than all of them."

Ilia huffed, "Oh please."

"So, you in?"

"Fine. Easy Lien anyway."

"Here below the ground! I'm sure your plan is sound. They'll spend a little time down at this Hazbin Ho-"

Jaune was cut off as the door was blow in by a massive explosion. Said door flew forward and smacked Ruby into next week.

Ruby recoiled how suddenly it happens and how painful it likely would be.

Everyone gathered at the new hole in the wall, their clothing back to normal. Jaune's head tilted to the side slightly, accompanied by a radio tuning effect.

A large air blimp was parked outside their door, towering over them all. They heard mad laughter as the pilot appeared in a window. It was revealed that the person behind the explosion was the man they'd seen called Tyrian. "Well, well! Look who's harboring the striped freak!"

Ren didn't take that too kindly.

Tyrian continued "We meet again, Jaune Arc!"

Jaune just smiled, not too impressed, "Do I know you?"

This got Cinder to actually smirk, seeing Tyrian's moment ripped away.

Tyrian recoiled a bit, annoyed, "Oh! Yes you do!" Tyrian returned to the bridge and laughed at his console, "And this time, I have the element of… surprise!" A giant laser cannon lowered from his ship, pointed squarely at his enemies.

Jaune calmly dusted off his sleeve, adjusted his bowtie, and snapped his fingers. A vortex opened from the ground as inky-black tentacles rose up and started to tear the ship apart, ripping the cannon off and tossing it away. The tentacles tore into the ship as they constricted the whole, squeezing tighter and tighter in tandem with Jaune's closing fist. His glowing hand finally snapped shut and the blimp exploded into fire and chunks of death, though no one really died outside the purges. The smile on his face was one of twisted amusement, the smile of a man whose greatest pleasure is the pain and desolation of others. It was wider and more twisted than normal as he truly indulged in his greatest joy.

The others, however, watched on in wide-eyed fear. They turned their eyes toward him, almost not truly believing what they saw.

The audience had a similar look across their faces.

Save for one. Mercury cleared his throat and held a hand toward Ilia, who had to give up 50 Lien after that hellish display.

Jaune suddenly snapped back to normal and spun around to the group, "Welp! I'm starved! Who's up for jambalaya?!"

The juxtaposition between psychotic and his usual grin was a little concerning to them all now.

Jaune walked through the group, all of them parting to let him pass. "My mother showed me a wonderful recipe for jambalaya. Why, it almost killed her! You could say the kick was right out of Hell!" Jaune laughed, "I'm on a roll!"

Yang sighed with a slight grin. She could appreciate the pun, even if the guy was nuts.

"This is the start of some real changes around here! The game is set! Now… stay tuned~" The camera tracked upward to show the name of the hotel, the sign being struck by red lightning. The Happy Hotel was renamed the Hazbin Hotel. The world faded out, finally feeling like a true ending.

Everyone felt a certain calm knowing it was over, and with a real ending this time. Eyes turned toward Jaune, just in case of possession, but he seemed to remain himself this time. No signs of hellish influence. But something in the back of their minds told them they hadn't heard the last of this demonic version.