A/N: This really came to me out of nowhere, after a friend of mine introduced Sweeney Todd to me. Enjoy!
It was midnight, and Sweeney Todd was carefully polishing his razors in his parlor. The moonlight, slightly dimmer than usual due to the cloudy night, glinted eerily off of them. He grinned as he twirled them in his hands.
"My friends..." he whispered. The light shone off the silver, smiling, laughing, sharing all of its secrets with him.
It was times like this that Sweeney cherished. He was alone with his friends, whom he had missed for so long. 15 years can change a man; he himself was an example of that. But his razors were another matter. They had been alone for 15 years, just as well as he was. But unlike him, they hadn't changed at all! They stayed the same way they always were, serving him, tending to his every last need...
A voice suddenly spoke up in his head. Doesn't that sound familiar, Sweeney?
What the- Who is this? He asked mentally. Then he rolled his eyes at his stupidity. Who talks to themselves after hearing a voice in their head? Maybe he was having a mental breakdown...
You aren't having a mental breakdown. The voice said, sounding sarcastic. Then it changed its tone. Don't you recognize my voice, Sweeney?
No, I don't...He thought, puzzled. What was going on? Who was talking to him inside his own head?
Sweeney, Sweeney, Sweeney... the voice said. It annoyed him. It sounded almost... pitiful?
"Who is this?" he growled aloud, feeling foolish yet unable to stop himself.
The voice ignored him, however, continuing to speak in a taunting manner.
Sweeney Todd... listen to my voice. Listen, and actually think about what you're hearing...
While the voice spoke, he caught a flash in his peripheral vision. Understanding hit him, hard, leaving him temporarily incoherent. No... It can't be... What?
Yes, Sweeney.
"How is this possible...?" he wondered aloud.
You know who I am, Sweeney. And why should this bother you? You've heard me before. You told me you would listen...
And just like that, a vision hit him. A memory. He was standing in that very room, walking away from the window... speaking to the razor... Speak to me, friend... whisper, I'll listen...
That voice –no, the razor- spoke again, interrupting his flashback. But the window's not all you were walking away from, was it, Sweeney...?
What? He asked, thinking rather than speaking aloud.
Think, Sweeney... think back, back to that day... what else were you walking away from?
Sweeney frowned, struggling to think back as his friend instructed. As far as he could recall, only he was in that room... only himself and his friends.
Come now, Sweeney. The voice whispered. Think a little harder. You honestly mean to tell me that there was no one else there? With you? The voice sighed, exasperated. No?
And with that, an image entered his mind. No, not an image, another memory.
He sang to his razor, when Mrs. Lovett walked up behind him. He didn't notice her as he flipped out a second razor in his left hand. You there, my friend... come, let me hold you...Now, with a sigh, you grow warm in my hand...My friends... my clever friends...
And something he hadn't noticed until now: She had begun to sing with him. What was it...?
I'm your friend, too, Mr. Todd. If you only knew, Mr. Todd... Here she put a hand on his shoulder- How had he missed all this? Oh, Mr. Todd, you're warm in my hand... You've come home... Always had a fondness for you, I did...
Listen, Sweeney. Listen to that, to her.
He did as the razor said, really listening to what she said for the first time. As he continued to sing, he tuned himself out, only listening to what she said. Never you fear, Mr. Todd...You can move in here, Mr. Todd...Splendors you never have dreamed all your days will be yours! I'm your friend, and you're mine... Don't they shine beautiful? Silver's good enough for me... Mr. T.
And it struck him then- He hadn't noticed her at all! Not until the very end, when he caught her reflection in his razor. He hadn't even given her a second thought; he'd just said, "Leave me,"
Do you understand her words? The voice asked.
He racked his brains, thinking about this- and then he was struck by the complete idiocy of this moment. Here he was, standing in the middle of a dark room, listening to a razor give him advice about a woman. A razor.
Sweeney Todd couldn't help himself. He began to laugh. Maniacally.
Sweeney? What are you doing?
What do you think? I'm listening to a piece of silver talk to me. I must be losing my mind!
Shut up, you idiot! It's the middle of the night! Someone's going to-
The razor was interrupted by a sudden crash, followed by a series of screams. Some were from the boy, Toby. But most of them were from...
Sweeney didn't stop to think. He grabbed another razor to match the one he was already holding and flew through the door and down the stairs, where a gruesome sight waited for him.
There were three men in black clothing surrounding Toby, who was bleeding slightly from several cuts all over his body. His eye was black and his face was bruised, as well. He was shouting something and trying to break free of their grip, but they were too strong for him. Among the words he was shouting, Sweeney could just about make out, "No! You can't... MUM!"
He looked around the shop for anyone or anything else to give him a better idea of what was going on, and saw a carriage just outside the shop. There were four other men there... no, only three of them, but they were forcing someone into-
Mrs. Lovett.
Sweeney sprinted for the door, but one of the thugs who was watching Toby had seen him. Before he could do anything more, the man had blocked him from the doorway and tried to throw his weapon at him. Sweeney watched as the other man's razor- surprisingly similar to his own, but not quite the same- flew through the air towards him. He was so mesmerized by the light gleaming off the silver as it came towards him that he almost forgot that if he didn't move, he'd be seriously hurt, if not worse.
He managed to duck to the side and stab the man. He watched a sick satisfaction for a second as blood rhythmically spurted out of his assailant's stomach in time with his heartbeat, then he remembered Mrs. Lovett. Unfortunately, the other two had inevitably noticed him, and while one of them kept an eye on the weakened Toby, the other came at him, brandishing his razor.
Acting on instinct that came from his time in prison, Sweeney evaded the attack and disarmed his attacker. He knocked him out cold, deciding that killing him wasn't worth his time. By this time, the man watching Toby had left him half conscious and had run out the door. Sweeney ran behind him, knowing he needed to get Mrs. Lovett away from the group of thugs.
The man he was chasing suddenly stopped without warning and immediately lashed out at Sweeney. What happened next seemed to be unclear, but seconds later Sweeney found himself lying on the ground with the man next to him, covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, Sweeney found that the man's own razor had been stabbed into his throat. Fortunately, Sweeney himself was unscathed.
He grabbed his own razor and yanked out the one lodged in the other man's throat. As expected, blood started to flow out of his throat in a steady stream, but Sweeney couldn't pause to admire it this time. He jumped up and ran toward the carriage, noticing in dismay that the three men had managed to get Mrs. Lovett inside it and they were all on board as well.
Sweeney watched in horror as the carriage began to move away from him. It was just out of his reach!
"NO!" he cried out, using his last burst of energy and making a jump for it. He grabbed the back of it, and for a second his hopes that he could rescue Mrs. Lovett soared.
Then the carriage ran over a series of dents in the road and he fell off, landing in the streets with a sickening thud. His entire body began to burn all over, as if he was injured.
The last thing he remembered was watching the carriage speed away and thinking to himself, She's gone. And with that thought haunting him, he blacked out.
