"A Sordid Kind of Thing," by PhantomDaae1981
Summary: An angsty, multi-chapter prequel to and retelling of Jesus Christ Superstar, based on the 2000 film remake starring Jerome Pradon as Judas. Alternating viewpoints, but mainly Judas' POV. Jesus/Judas, Jesus/Mary, Judas/Annas. Contains slash!
Disclaimer: I do not own Jesus Christ Superstar, nor do I own the Bible. I am not too concerned with historical inaccuracies, because I'm basing this story on a musical, and also for other reasons that will soon become quite obvious...
Warning: This story contains slash, suicide, murder, angst, sexual content, and profanity. This story describes same-sex relationships between biblical persons! I do not believe these people were historically gay; instead, I am basing this fanfiction on the 2000 film remake of Jesus Christ Superstar (because Jerome Pradon is made of awesome, and there is undeniable sexual tension in JCS 2000).
Chapter Ten: Thirsty
~Jesus~
They were hammering nails into my hands, in order to secure me to the cross. I tried to scream out in pain, but I could not hear myself. I must have still been imagining things, because I would have sworn I heard Judas' voice crying out in pain, where mine should have been.
I prayed for the people who were killing me, but as they raised the cross to its proper position, it became a struggle to breathe.
Glancing down, I could see my closest followers. There was Peter, and all my other beloved apostles. And there was my sweet Mary.
And, somehow, I would have sworn I saw Judas, too. No longer mocking, as in my previous vision of him, his face was now wet with tears, and the pain in his eyes was very real. So real, in fact, that it was impossible for me to believe he wasn't really here with me.
No. I could not be imagining this. Judas was here, suffering with me.
He'd always been the only one who understood that I really was a human being, like the rest of them.
* * *
~Mary Magdalene~
I wept, as Jesus called for his mother... We all wept, and we hated how helpless we were to comfort him.
I heard Jesus ask God why He had forgotten him... He must be delirious in his pain; certainly, the Divine Father would not forget his Messianic Son.
* * *
~Jesus~
I was so thirsty... I wanted something to drink, anything to drink.
Mary and the apostles were at the foot of my cross, weeping for me. I felt guilty for leaving them behind, but I knew that they would bring light to the world. Mary, especially, had grown so strong since I had first met her. It pained me to leave her, but I trusted the strength of her spirit.
I knew it would all be over soon.
Kneeling, separate from the group, Judas sighed.
I still wanted to explain everything to him, to somehow make him understand. Maybe, now that I was dying, I would soon be able to do exactly that.
It meant so much to know that, even in death, Judas was sharing in my agony. It made me smile, secure in the knowledge that he would always be my soul mate.
* * *
~Mary Magdalene~
Jesus cried out, and there was a bright flash of light. His head fell to his chest, and I felt his soul quickly pass by me, before flying upward.
Oh, dearest Jesus... You truly were the Messiah...
* * *
~Simon Zealotes~
Things had not turned out exactly as I'd expected, let alone how I'd hoped. But I was Christ's apostle, and I would accept it for what it was.
Now, it was my place to comfort Mary Magdalene. Normally, this would have been Peter's job, but he was busy helping to remove Jesus from the cross.
I was ashamed to find myself ill equipped to deal with Mary's deep grief. Her cries, coming from someplace deep inside of her, startled me.
I tried to hold her, to comfort her, but I was truly out of my league. She pulled away and ran toward Christ's lifeless body.
Unsure of myself, I followed the other apostles as they walked away.
* * *
~Epilogue: Observer~
Mary Magdalene cradled the lifeless body of Jesus Christ in her arms. Despite his physical presence, so close to her, she gazed up at the sky; she could sense Jesus' soul, somewhere, up above. His body had become irrelevant.
Because, to Mary, Jesus had always been the messiah, whom she loved.
Judas Iscariot sat very near to Mary and the corpse of Jesus, though nobody knew he was there. Although he was dead, his eyes stung with tears as he gazed down at Jesus' lifeless body. Jesus was gone, and his absence was almost tangible. Almost, but not quite.
Because, to Judas, Jesus had always been a mortal man, whom he loved.
Author's Note: Well, this is the end! I wish it wasn't; I am going to miss these characters, especially my dear Judas Iscariot! But I've said everything I wanted to say with this, based on what I saw/felt when watching the 2000 movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar. If, at some point, I feel the need to write something else inspired by JCS 2000, I definitely will do so. For now, though, this is it for these guys and me. If you liked this story, please leave a review!!! Also, please consider reading some of my other fanfiction. I definitely plan to keep writing fanfic for other fandoms, even though I am done with JCS for now. Thank you again, so much, for reading this!