Hey, guys, sorry for the sudden hiatus on the main story. I promise it was unintentional. And I am working on chapter 15. But until then, have a sort of "deleted scene" that was meant to go at the very end of chapter 14. I went back and forth on whether it was necessary or not but ultimately decided to cut it to save time.

Hope you enjoy,

On with the show!

An increasingly familiar squeak was heard as Jack pushed open the doors to the Hazbin Hotel. That was a terribly long day. Actually, was it just one day? Between traveling to the Lust Ring, battling the mind-controlling music maker man with Verosika Mayday, and the debacle with Loona and Zeezi's nightclub, Jack wouldn't have been surprised if he had wasted away half the week.

"Hi, Jack!" Charlie called with a wave. The princess of Hell was currently seated at the coffee table in the parlor. Her girlfriend, Vaggie, sat across from her on the opposite side. The two partners were looking over some kind of collage of lists and pictures laid out on the table. Perhaps it was the lesson plan for tomorrow.

Angel and Pentious were nowhere to be found. But Husk, the hotel bartender, was dutifully posted at his station. He was also not-so-dutifully sampling his wares quite indulgently.

After so many taxing adventures back to back, most people would simply grunt in affirmation to any colleagues before proceeding to their room. Where they would then collapse onto their bed and surrender to the blissful land of sleep. But Jack was not most people.

A particular apprehension was niggling in the back of Jack's mind. It had been brought on by a rather concerning encounter he had recently. Despite the aching of his muscles and bones, Samurai Jack couldn't truly relax until he got some answers.

He made his way over to the parlor. He took a seat on the floor right before the table. From here he could look both Charlie and Vaggie in the eyes.

Vaggie blinked, evidently surprised by how Jack had suddenly taken the time to sit with the princess and her girlfriend. The samurai was normally near anti-social after one of his longer trips, only taking the time for a short greeting before retreating to his room for recuperation. He had never approached or sat with any of the hotel residents without prior prompting from Charlie or someone else.

"Are you okay?" Vaggie tilted her head.

"I am fine," Jack crossed his arms. "But there are few questions I had hoped you could answer."

"Oh?" Charlie put down a flashcard she had been writing. "Of course, Jack, I'd be happy to help in any way I can."

Jack took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what this line of questioning would bring. "What do you know of the one called the Radio Demon?"

Charlie's eyes widened. Her pure white skin flashed just a shade paler. From behind Jack, he could hear Husk choke on bottle he was nursing.

"Ah," Vaggie winced as she sucked in a breath. "You've met Alastor."

"Indeed," Jack nodded. "He left… quite a distinct impression."

"Let me guess," Husk suddenly spoke up from across the room. "The kind of impression that's soaked in blood and screaming for mercy?"

Jack blinked. "That is a crass but not altogether inaccurate summation."

"Yeah," Charlie gave a nervous chuckle. She scratched a rosy red cheek as she avoided eye contact with Jack. "That's Al."

"So it is true?" Jack leaned forward. "This overlord is under your employ?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say I employ him!" Charlie frantically waved her hands. "We're more… business partners. Co-running the hotel."

"Why?" Jack narrowed his eyes. "How did such a partnership come to be?"

"It's kind of hard to explain." Vaggie shrugged. "A few weeks ago, he just sort of showed up and offered to help with the hotel."

"Why?"

"For 'entertainment,' or so he says," Vaggie said, complete with air quotes.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And you trust him?"

"Less than how far I can throw him," Vaggie crossed her arms.

"Well…" Charlie tapped her fingers together. "I wouldn't quite say that. He can be a bit… intense. And I can't say I quite approve of all his hobbies…"

Jack's mind flashed to Alastor's cruel grin. The bloodlust in the demon's eyes as he tore apart his fellow sinners. Jack didn't want to imagine what kind of hobbies such a man would partake in.

"But it's undeniable how much he's done for the hotel," Charlie continued. "I mean, Husk and Nifty wouldn't even be a part of our little family if not for him!"

Jack's eyes widened he turned around to face the anthropomorphic cat at the bar. "Truly?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," the bartender sneered. "Little ms. Princess is making it sound like there's way more flowers and rainbows than there actually are. That smiling prick forced me and Nifty to be here."

"Forced?"

"He owns our souls, genius," Husk rolled his eyes.

Jack's eyes widened. He had long suspected it. He heard many tales of the practice in the human world. Still, to hear it in practice gave the samurai pause. Demon's could claim ownership of an entire soul. To strip one entirely of their autonomy… Jack was very glad he came up with his alias so early in his journey.

"The one called Nifty seems very carefree for a slave," Jack mused.

Husk winced. "Yeah, well… Nifty's… yeah."

Jack was going to act like he understood that.

"Okay, that makes it sound a lot more worse than it is." Charlie coughed into her fist. "Alastor may seem scary, but he mostly just keeps to himself. And I make sure he doesn't force anyone to do anything they're not comfortable with."

"Except actually being here," Husk called out.

"You hate being anywhere, it doesn't count." Vaggie glared on behalf of her girlfriend.

Jack clasped his hands together as he rested his chin on them. "But what are your true opinions on him?"

"Uh…" Charlie was given pause. She seemed to be mulling the words over in her head. "I guess it's actually kinda hard to say. Like we said, he's kind of still a mystery right now. Even Husk and Nifty don't know that much about him."

Husk shifted in his seat at bar, turning his eyes away from the group. Jack didn't notice as he focused on Charlie and Vaggie.

"I'll admit, it's hard to really dig up anything on him," Vaggie grumbled. "And those old horror stories about him certainly don't help his case."

"What stories?" Jack's interest was piqued. Any information would be useful.

"There's not too much to tell." Vaggie shrugged. "One day Alastor just showed up and started making a name for himself. And he was brutally effective in making himself stand out. He targeted only the biggest names in Overlords. And he made sure no one would forget who he is after broadcasting the screams of his enemies all over Hell."

Jack felt his hand clench into a fist. He had his suspicions, but this confirmed just what a sadistic madman this Alastor was. And this demon was living under the same roof as Jack.

"You know…" a voice coated in static spoke up from behind Jack. "It's rude to talk about someone behind their back."

Jack instantly shot up to his feet. He whirled around to see the grinning yellow fangs of Alastor. His hand dashed to the handle of his sword. "You!"

"Am I now?" Alastor tapped his chin. "Funny, I could have sworn I was someone else."

"What are you doing here?" Jack glared.

Alastor's smile seemed to lose some of its initial luster. "Really? Even now, you doubt my residence here? Surely, you've seen my radio tower outside by now. It's not just for decoration, you know."

Jack narrowed his eyes. He did recall something like that. Outside, there was a rather obtuse addition to the silhouette of the hotel. Sticking out of the top right corner of the building, was an ominously glowing red tower. It awkwardly jutted out from the brick like a parasitic growth.

"Why do you stay at the hotel?" Jack reiterated. "What are your intentions towards the residents?"

"What, this again?" Alastor rolled his eyes. The crimson demon sardonically tapped the top of his staff, static echoing off the device like a microphone. "I must have rerun this program five times now. Does this thing need new batteries?"

Jack clenched his teeth. Alastor was playing the fool, but Jack knew better. Far too much of the radio demon reminded Jack of Aku.

"There is more to this than simple entertainment," Jack sneered. "One as cruel as you could never be satisfied with just that."

"Oh? It seems you've read up on me." Alastor's grin widened. "Did the tales of my old escapades spook you, samurai?"

Jack felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. But his expression did not change.

"Well, don't be," Alastor casually leaned back. "My previous spats were directed at fellow overlords. And that lot were usually as morally bankrupt as me. Hmm, that makes you and I almost similar, don't you think?"

"I am nothing like you," Jack snarled.

"Oh, of course you're not." Alastor leaned on his cane, his grin cheekier than ever.

"Know this, Radio Demon," Jack growled, tightening the grip on his sword. "The residents of this hotel have shown me great kindness, and offered me solace in my time of need. I owe them much. If you show the slightest chance of bringing them harm, I will not hesitate to stop you."

"Oh? You'll 'stop' me?" Alastor tilted his head. The radio demon gave a slight chuckles, the cackles crackling with radio static. When he lifted his head, his eyes were glowing a bright red, the pupils switching to ominous dials. "That would be very entraining to see."

"Okay!" Princess Charlie seemingly blinked into existence at the speed in which she popped up between Alastor and Jack. "I think we're all VERY stressed and could use some time to ourselves to cool off. Alastor, don't you usually begin your broadcast by now?"

Alastor, at the sudden interruption, had seemingly gone back to normal. (Normal for him, anyway.) He straightened himself up, adjusting his coat where he could.

"An excellent point, my dear. I can't leave my audience waiting," He flashed a yellow glowing grin towards Jack. "I'll be seeing you around then, old chum."

With that, he melted back into the shadows, before said shadows made a dash up the stairs. Charlie let out a deep breath of relief and Jack finally released the grasp on his sword. That could have gone ugly.

"Sorry about that," Charlie turned to Jack with a sheepish smile. "I was just really worried that the two of you were going to start fighting. We just finished fixing up the lobby after your tussle with Vaggie after all, heh."

The princess's joke did little to ease Jack's tensions. "Princess Charlie, I believe it is far too great a risk to let a man like that stay in your hotel."

"Thank you!" Vaggie suddenly threw her hands up in the air. "I've been saying that for weeks!"

Princess Charlie sighed, lacking the appropriate concern for the situation. "Listen, Jack, Vaggie, it's sweet that the two of you are so concerned for me. But I can take care of myself, especially when it comes to someone like Alastor."

Jack sighed. He supposed that was true. Charlie was the daughter of Lucifer, the most powerful being in Hell. She has to be strong in her own right, strong enough to handle an overlord like Alastor at least. Still…

Jack shook his head. "I do not like this. To even entertain a madman such as that, it invites disaster."

Charlie took a deep breath. She looked at Jack with determination in her eyes. "Look, I know how much this seems like a bad idea. Heck, it probably is. But this hotel is built on the belief that anyone can change, no matter how bad. If I turn someone like Alastor away, why would I stop there? Who else would I turn down?"

Charlie rubbed her arm as she looked down. "I don't want to be the kind of person who decides who is and isn't deserving of redemption. I don't want to put myself on a pedestal above anyone else. I just want to give everyone a fair chance."

She looked up to Jack. "And that means everyone. Including Alastor."

Jack sighed. Charlie's optimistic light truly outshined all others, even Jack's own. He just hoped that same light wouldn't burn the princess one day.

"Very well," Jack bowed his head. "If your heart is truly set on this path, I will not deny it."

Charlie couldn't stop the giddy grin from breaking out on her face. With a small high-pitched squeal, she snatched the samurai into a hug. "Thank you! And don't worry, I'll make sure he never even lays a finger on you during your stay."

"Er- right," Jack tried his best to politely break free from the princess' crushing grasp. A few more seconds, and she would have cut off the blood flow to his brain. "Very well then. Now, I have had a long journey. And I would like to retire to my quarters for the night."

"Oh! Right, of course." Charlie smacked her head, as if admonishing herself for forgetting. She looked at Jack with small hope in her eyes. "But you know, we're doing good-deeds-charades tomorrow morning. If you have the time, you're free to join us."

Jack scratched his chin. He didn't see the benefit to participating in such an activity. And he really shouldn't be wasting any time with Aku at large. But at the moment, he was out of leads and had nowhere else to be.

"I will consider it."

Charlie looked like she could jump over the moon with joy. Or jump over whatever demonic presence blotted the skies during Hell's nighttime. She gave a thumbs up. "Great! Hope to see you there."

Jack bowed in goodbye and turned to the stairs. He had wanted to inquire about the Radio Demon, and he left feeling like he had more questions than answers. One thing was for sure, the Radio Demon greatly unnerved Samurai Jack.

What's more, Jack was unsure what would happen if he and Alastor did come to blows. The overlord was a walking mystery, and Jack knew frighteningly little about what true power the radio demon possessed. Perhaps Jack's skill and his father's sword would be enough, but if Alastor proved to be wilier than Jack could predict, all would be lost.

Charlie's hopes for redemption were kind-hearted but could easily be misplaced. Jack prayed it would never come to that through. But if it did, Jack would be ready.

And there you go, a sort of "Deleted Scene" from chapter 14 of the main story. Hopefully this makes up for the pseudo-hiatus I seem to have fallen into. Rest assured, I am actively writing chapter 15, probably as you read this. I am just taking my time with this one, for a variety of reasons.

The last few chapters, I really rushed them out. Not rushed as in they're sloppy, rushed as in I dedicated pretty much every waking moment of my time to getting them out as fast as possible. But now that I've got all the major beats down, introduced all the big characters, and I've built a decent following, I feel less stressed about having to get chapters out as fast as possible.

There's still work to be done. I have yet to introduce characters like Octavia (still cooking up a scenario to pull that one-off.) And more samurai Jack elements I want to introduce. But for the most part, I can take my time. That may be disappointing to here, but this is still a hobby. I gotta go my own pace.

Besides, you guys get this nice deleted scene out of this! Yeah, I went back and forth for so long on whether to write this for the main story. On one hand, Jack's confrontation with Alastor left a lot of loose ends that needed to be addressed. On the other, there was already so much going on in chapter 14, and it was already so long.

I feel like this scene would have just flooded it and made it unclear what the chapter was even supposed to be focusing on, which was the development of Jack and Loona's relationship and their opinions on each other.

And there's not enough for it to be its own chapter, nor is it possible to really put it anywhere else in the story. The next chapter begins with a small time-skip.

Also, it makes it seem like I'm building up to a fight between Alastor and Jack. Something else I'm not entirely sure on. And even if I do want to make them fight, it won't be for a long time. Also if I did write it, it would be close.

So, I decided to take advantage of SHORTS. I dunno, do you guys think this needs to be part of the main story? Not nearly as many people will see it and it might be important. I dunno.

Wow, these author notes are almost as long as the chapter itself. I think that's my cue to leave it here till next time.

Thanks for reading!