I don't own Sweeney Todd or any related characters. This is a short, a oneshot, and has an alternate ending. May contain spoilers to some readers.
"I will have vengeance..." the pale man sang to himself, playing with his silver razor blade. "I will have salvation..." He was all alone, sitting on the cold wood floor leaning against the wall. He flicked the blade up and then closed it repeatedly, all the while staring at the chair where so many had gotten their closest shave imaginable. Their blood still stained the floor, and it had drenched itself into his shirt. But he didn't notice. He didn't mind. He didn't care. But the blade was clean; it had to be clean and perfect. He made sure his friends were perfect.
"Vengeance..." He sang. His hair was blacker than ink on paper, except for a streak that seemed no whiter than his skin. His eyes were dark and tired, yet somehow mesmerizing. There was such a story behind those eyes. But his eyes did not see himself as a killer. No, Mister Sweeney Todd just took the lives, enjoying the power and the rush, but never putting too much thought into the matter. He cleaned the blood and his chair awaited the next man in need of a shave.
Was it worth it, Mister Todd? The unspoken question seemed to echo about the room, and Mister Todd had no answer. The next and even more haunting question was, Now what, Mister Todd?
What's next, Mister Todd?
What will you do now, Mister Todd?
The questions surrounded him, circling in the air. He started to sweat. "I don't know!" He shouted aloud. When he realized he was still alone, he sighed deeply and looked at the blade in his hand. "I don't know anymore."
He had taken lives. He had been happy to do so...at the time. But what now? He stood up, his eyes blankly staring out the line of small, square windows. Blood had splattered on them a while back, but it had dried now and was not so noticeable. He stared at the people walking the cobblestone streets on that miserable, gloomy Sunday afternoon; so unsuspecting and as silent as he was. If only they knew he wanted to scream his lungs out. He watched them, each one at a time. The men, dressed in overcoats and top hats, walking with canes as if they were on top of the world. He watched the women, keeping to themselves, their dresses beautiful and flowing.
"No, there's no place like London..." he sang again. He exhaled. He had come to this place once again, this place where the ghosts of the past consistently lingered; and he had been starting fresh. He had changed his name from Benjamin Parker to Sweeney Todd, and he had gotten off a ship sailing from Plymouth to try and recreate something, anything, that he had had in his past life. He squeezed the blade's handle in his grip. This had not been the life he had expected to make for himself. The new life.
"And the vermin of the world inhabit it..." He hummed. Hadn't he been doing the world a service? Ridding it these people who all deserved to die? They all deserved to die, he had told himself. Even he. He had killed them all: Miss Lovett, that deceiving broad, Judge Turpin, who had singlehandedly ruined Todd's life, Beadle Bamford, that great oaf, Signor Adolfo Pirelli, and then the nameless few. And then Lucy. Lucy. He had killed his own wife. And his daughter...he had never even seen her face. He wondered...did she look like her mother?
He looked up at the ceiling then, on his knees, and he laughed. "It was worth it!" he told the nonexistent voices who had questioned him. He claimed it was worth it. But revenge, and that power of being able to kill, took control and ruined his life."And what's next...? Oh yes, Mister Todd, what's next, Mister Todd?" He held his blade high in the air before him, smiling. "What's next, Mister Todd?" And, without even a thought of hesitation, he swiped the blade across his own bare neck.
A/N: Well, I literally just got back from the theater and I was transfixed by this movie. I've seen the play as well, but the movie was fantastic. I just twisted the ending a bit, put it in my own hands. This is my first oneshot/short, too. Hope it wasn't too bad!