IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I realize this chapter is short but I am so close to going on a writer's strike right now that this is the best I could do. People are reading and they are alerting and favoriting (doubt that's a word but w/e) and yet NOT REVIEWING!!! YOU DON'T NEED AN ACCOUNT TO REVIEW EITHER! And if you don't want to leave a public review a private message works too. Please! I'm actually begging here for more people to review. On this and pirates. Pirates will not be updated until I get a minimum of seven reviews...so far I have THREE! I realize this is relatively a new story so I'm not demanding a quota for this one but please review if you read it!!!

lyrics:
bold - sweeney
underlined - linnet
plain - antony

A Journey of a thousand miles begins with the very first step.

~ Chinese Proverb

(Eighteen years later)

Three people stood at the bow of a grand ship; one, a man, stood with rigid posture as he glared at the dark, foreboding atmosphere, seemingly surrounding the entire world around. The second, a boy on the verge of manhood, stood with a smile on his face as he wondered at all the magnificence he would see in the oncoming town. The third, oddly a woman, stood with an almost worm expression if not for the smallest of smiles she gave to the young boy who now sang,

"I have sailed the world beheld its wonders,

from the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru,

but there's no place like London!"

"No there's no place like London!" The voice of the man hissed as his glare seemed to icen.

"Mr. Todd?" The boy asked, unsure of the man's mood.

"You are young," The woman interrupted, saving the man from having to explain himself, "Life has been kind to you," she paused and a look of despair seemed to pass fleetingly over her face, gone in an instant as bitterness replaced it, "You will learn."

In answer the man spat vehemently,

"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit

and the vermin of the world inhabit it,"

"And it's morals aren't worth what a pig could spit,"

"And it goes by the name of London."

"At the top of the hole sit a privileged few,

making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo,"

"Turning beauty into filth and greed

I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders,"

"For the cruelty of men,"

"Is as wondrous as Peru,"

"But there's no place like London!"

"Is everything alright Mum? Mr. Todd?" The young boy asked.

"Begging your indulgence Antony," Mr. Todd replied, "My mind is far from easy."

"What happened to you sir?" The woman asked carefully, "That has you hell bend against a place I too shudder to call my home?"

"There was a barber and his wife,

and she was beautiful.

A foolish barber and his wife,

she was his reason and his life,

and she was beautiful!

And she was virtuous!

And he was...

naïve."

His voice seemed to wither in pain as he recalled his past. Antony had left to see the oncoming shore from other viewpoints before his mother's question was answered, allotting her and their new friend some privacy. He knew his mother would not want him to hear the going ons of her past just yet. Maybe not ever.

Still at the bow, the woman placed a hand on Mr. Todd's shoulder, attempting to give some comfort as he recounted his tale,

"There was another man who saw

that she was beautiful.

A pious vulture of the law,

who with a gesture of his claw,

removed the barber from his plate!

Then there was nothing but to wait!

And she would fall,

so soft,

so young,

so lost,

and oh so beautiful!"

The poor man's voice broke as he withheld the tears that longed to break free.

"And?" The woman asked, "Did she succumb?"

"Oh that was many years ago.

I doubt if anyone would know."

His icy gaze returned, "It seems that I am forever destined to lose all the women I care deeply for."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A year or so into our marriage, my best friend, a woman who looks much like you oddly but much lighter in spirit and in her eyes, decided she would be better off without me. Two years later we discovered my wife to be pregnant with our daughter. I wouldn't be too shocked if I have lost all three now."

"Don't be so sure, you never know what hands life may deal you." The woman answered.

"Why did you leave me Netty?" For a moment, a man once known as Benjamin shone through the eyes of Mister Todd, and Linnet Reynolds smiled at him.

"I never left you. I never could if I tried. I left London, but never you." When his eyes still held question, her smile turned reminiscent as she looked at Antony.

"You...were...he's...he's yours?" Sweeney pointed at the boy, "I mean, he's yours...from when..."

"He is seventeen Sweeney. I left London almost eighteen years ago."

"You left as soon as you found out then."

"To my brother in Wellingborough."

"And now you're back."

"To find my best friend and his family again."

"You must be sorely disappointed."

"With him? No."

"Why?"

"Because I found him."

"No you didn't."

"Did."

"Not."

"Oh you insufferable man." She sighed as he smirked.

"See? I told you. Your best friend would never agitate you the way I, an insufferable man, do."

"Clearly, you didn't know him as well as I did then." She smirked.

Sweeney Todd's face deadpanned as Benjamin Barker was slowly repressed once more. "I am not like that man anymore Netty." He said, "I doubt I ever will be again and I warn you. Do not go looking for him."

No sooner had he finished his sentence did a voice proclaim, "LAND HO!" in jest as they were docked. Sweeney thanked Antony briefly for having saved his life and began to walk away before,

"Mr. Todd!" Linnet called as she walked nearer, "If you are ever in need of a friendly war, a helping hand, or simply a good meal, please do not hesitate to walk through the doors of my shop. Besides Mooney's pies, you won't find another decent meal for miles." She chuckled.

Sweeney gave the briefest of smirks before he turned and stalked away. I will not give up on you Sweeney Todd. The man I know, the man I loved is still there inside of you. The proof lies in the way you say my name. I will always be your Netty. With these fleeting thoughts, Linnet gestured to Antony that he may go explore as he wished, then she herself turned to Fleet Street, to salvage what she could of her home.

She hoped Nellie hadn't sneaked over to steal her ageless wines or sell any of her possessions but knowing that old biddy like she did, she did not hold high hopes. Especially seeing that times seemed to be down and hard on a woman alone. Nellie always was one to grab up an easy pound when she could.