Disclaimer: I do not and will not own Sweeney Todd. I mean I do own the DVD that I bought but no, I do not own any of the characters and etc. from Sweeney Todd.

A/N: Hello my fellow readers! ;) So here is my first Sweeney Todd story. Or you could say second. Anyways, I hope everyone likes it and please leave a nice review? I'll try my best to keep the characters in character since it is something new for me. I'm usually writing stories about the Pirates of the Caribbean but I thought, I might as well start a Sweeney Todd story since I love it so much! So read on and please leave a review!

Introduction:

It had been over five years since the death of Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd's victims, and last but not least, Sweeney Todd. As we enter the what used to be the old Mrs. Lovett's pie shop, we can tell no one had resided in it for many a year for layers of dusts masked over every inch and cobwebs hung in every dark corner. The pie shop was just like it was many years ago with the exception of spoiled pies and dust layers.

The government had put up the shop for sale but everyone had their superstitions that the place was haunted when they heard about the killings committed by a barber and his partner in crime. So everyone had refrained from buying the shop... But oh no, those superstitions didn't stop a young woman of twenty-five from taking the shop off the hands of the government for a cheap price. As we focus on the composure of the woman, we can infer that she was a woman of great confidence and worked hard for her living.

And here the story was going to take place… of a woman who comes upon a strange encounter that she thought was make believe but instead, it was reality.

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The woman had entered upon the old Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie Emporium with curious wonder filling her senses. Her soft brown eyes scanned the shop and she frowned with disgust at the filthiness of the shop. There was spoiled food on the counter and cockroaches were crawling about on the ground.

"Strange." The woman whispered, as an eerie feeling crawled up her spine. She had ventured further into the shop and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard an unforgettable cold harsh yet quiet laugh that echoed throughout the shop. Fear prickled up the back of her neck and she gulped nervously with widened eyes.

"Hello?" she said but got nothing but an uncanny silence in return. The woman walked into another room and spotted a piano with a few crinkled piano music sheets on top. She then dashed out of the shop with terror and ran up to the old barber shop. She shoved the key through the keyhole and twisted it, making the door click unlocked. Pushing the door open, she gazed around the plain room with astonishment.

'If anything, this place isn't haunted,' she said mentally, trying to calm her panicking self. A glint of metal caught her eye and she tilted her head to see a box sitting on a vanity filled with shiny silver razors except one seemed to be missing. She walked over to the razors and picked one up before she wiped the razor with her skirt to remove the dust.

'These are my friends… see how this one shines… in the light… my friends!' A voice sang huskily.

She glanced around in fear and flicked open the razor, clutching onto the razor so tightly that her hands became pale. "Who's there?" she called as her heart began to beat faster and faster with panic. "Show yourself!"

'You shall drip rubies… precious rubies…' the voice died down.

She took many steps around the room and jumped up as the razor box slammed closed. She looked at the box to see a pale sickly hand on the lid and her eyes traveled upward to the person. "Who are you?" she demanded as she lifted the blade up with trembling hands.

The man glared at her with pitched-black eyes but spoke not a word until a couple minutes later. "Todd. Sweeney Todd." The man spoke in a ghostly whisper that she had to strain her ears to listen. "This is my shop."

"You listen here, Mister Todd. I just bought this place from the government and I'm not letting you steal my property." The woman snarled and stomped towards Sweeney with the blade pointed directly at him.

"Hah." Sweeney mocked coldly as he opened his razor box and pulled one out also. "This has been my property for many years now. And who are you?" he grunted gloomily as the woman seemed to ponder over if she would give her name or not.

"Anne-Marie Wilkinson." The woman said and jutted her chin out with pride. "Well? Are you leaving?"

"Miss Wilkinson, this is my shop and I will not be leaving my shop." Sweeney growled menacingly and took a couple steps toward her making her hand tremble with alarm and anger.

"I'll call the police on you!" Anne-Marie let out a cry of shock when she felt his hand wrap around her neck and slam her against the wall. The blade in her hand fell to the floor with a loud ringing clatter. She felt the cold blade against her skin and she took quick breaths to calm herself. His hand seemed to tighten even more and she felt like her lungs were about to explode. She reached up to tug at his hand but what happened was something strange. Her hand glided through his hand yet she could feel his fingers wrapped around her slender neck. Her face paled at the sight of this as she stared into his black eyes that held sadness and hatred.

"Go 'head and call the police. S'not like they would listen to a madwoman rant, would they? They most likely will send you to Bedlam." Sweeney laughed at her sheer face of fear.

"W-what are you?" Anne-Marie rasped huskily from the lack of air coming into her system. She whimpered when she felt the blade getting pushed further against her throat.

"Get out." Sweeney dragged her to the door and smirked icily as she shook her head with defiance.

"I will not." She said rebelliously even though she wasn't in much of the position to be arguing. "I paid for this shop-,"

"This has been my shop for many years, now get out!" Sweeney roared as she jumped up in fright.

Her face drained even more color when she remembered the stories that were told. The place is haunted… A mad barber used to slit throats of people and now his ghost remains… She recalled stories from a couple of locals that knew about Fleet Street. 'No, they weren't true, were they?' Anne said mentally to herself but then she remembered when her hand flew right through his. "Yo-you're Sweeney Todd… the gho-ghost." She stammered as her heart pounded louder in her ear. She felt as if her heart would jump out of her and run for its life. The man had intimidated her and almost killed her a moment ago…

"Hah." Sweeney grunted and glared angrily at her with annoyance. "Get out!" he bellowed and she flinched.

"I will come back! I own this place and I'm not letting it go to waste." Anne narrowed her eyes at him as he twitched with resentment. She definitely was going mad… Wasn't she seeing things? Those were signs of madness… Anne fled from the shop and headed back downstairs to the pie shop. She reached up and rubbed her neck, trying to remember the feeling of the invisible hands that touched her. Who did that man think he was?

Anne then started to clean up the shop by sweeping the dust out and cleaning off the cobwebs in the corners. She pondered to herself about the crazy man upstairs. Why did he seem so cold… so angry? Maybe it was her fault… After all, she did intrude into his home… But then again, she bought the place with her own money in which she slaved to earn.

Tomorrow, she would try to befriend him… Yes, she would. She didn't want to make an enemy so quickly… But was he the real Sweeney Todd, the said murderer who slit innocent men's lives? Hopefully not…

A/N: What does everyone think? Please leave a review and tell me if I should continue! Or else, this story will be dead. Sorry but that's how it works. So bye and thanks if you leave a review!