Dead Shattered Hearts {Sweeney Todd Fanfiction}

Step 1: Steal the File

"So you're intentionally wanting to go there?" Thomas asked.
The two former killers still sat alone in the massive ball room. Their soft voices bounced off the walls as they spoke of this lost souls room.
"Well, yes," Todd simply replied. "So what do you know of it? If you can find a way to sneak files around, like my own, surely you know of the room."
"Of course I know of the room. I read the file on it."
"It has it's own file?"
"Everything here has a file. The Authorities are pretty crazy about that kind of stuff."
"You know where the file is?"
"Well duh," Thomas mocked his common sense. "That old bat at the front owns it." Referring to the old corpse you met when you first arrive to the After World.
"How do we get it?"
"Well her main focus is on the recently deceased so she's not paying attention to what happens in the back of her small office."
"How do we get in the office?"
"Oh c'mon. You're the notorious killer of London, what's with all the questions?" Thomas laughed.
"You seem to know this hell pit inside-out. You seem to know all it's little tricks. Look, I want information on that goddamn room!" Todd demanded; growing impatient with the boy.
"This is suicide!" Thomas hollered back and crossed his arms tightly.
The room then fell silent. They stared blankly at each other. Todd was the first to look away. His eyes dropped to the floor as he sighed.
"You're intentionally wanting to end this life of yours," Thomas softly explained.
"What life? Last I checked I was dead," Todd replied in a mumble.
"Don't play that card with me. You know what I mean. You're intentionally wanting to erase yourself from the After World. Suicide."
Todd only scoffed in reply and got to his feet and began walking to the back of the room.
"But I'll tell you."
Todd then turned quick on his heel and faced Thomas.
"If."
Todd groaned at the sound of 'if.' "If what?"
"I'll tell you everything you need to know about the souls room if you tell me what I had asked you earlier."
"What'd you ask me earlier?"
"Your first slit to a man's throat!" Thomas happily exclaimed. "And your death." Thomas again placed his index finger and dragged it along his own throat like he had done before.
Todd rolled his eyes. He wanted the room's information badly, and so gave in to Thomas's offer.
Todd returned to the center of the room and lied down on his back.
"Why you wanna know so badly?" He asked quietly.
"I dunno, you just seemed like a pretty interesting guy," Thomas answered while shrugging his shoulders.
Todd couldn't help but smile lightly at Thomas's answer.
"Well... where would you like me to start?" As he asked this, Todd realized he'd been rewinding back into time to his damned days. He wasn't much of a fan to speak his past, but he knew this was the key to help his journey to the lost souls room.
"Umm... well recalling your file, I wanna hear about that other barber man. Pirelli, I think his name was," Thomas replied; mispronouncing Pirelli's name.
Todd could help was get a little laugh; recalling that moment when Pirelli thought he could easily blackmail him.
"The Italian... or fake Italian. Joy he was," Todd commented and tried his best to remember. Gladly, the moment wasn't a tragic one for him to remember. In fact, he loved the the moment. It was a good stress reliever.
"Yea from the way you killed him he sure seemed like a joy," Thomas chuckled.
Todd enjoyed Thomas's little sarcasm.
He then remembered being up that musky barber parlor of his. He stared out the foggy, dirt-filled window that slanted down into the room while the rival barber attempted to blackmail him. Todd only remembered snippets of the event. He couldn't exactly recall what Pirelli said, but he knew Pirelli was once his little apprentice in the Barker days.
He next remembered the kettle; it screamed loud, like it was screaming his name. His hand snatched his soon-to-be weapon and swung it just right to make contact with Pirelli. Oh the cracking sound it made against his skull and the loud thud his body made as it dropped to the floor.
Todd, at the current time, twitched as he recollected.
"Well, he was foolish and pathetic and that costed him his life." The second he said that he thought of his own demise. Was he foolish and pathetic and that costed him his life? Todd shook the thought away and thought about Pirelli. "The bastard tried to blackmail me and so he got a steaming hot kettle to the head." Todd triumphantly said. "About ol' ten times," he added.
Thomas giggled and tried to imagine the whole scene.
"After bashing his head in I uh...." He remembered Toby running and interrupting the fun. God, he hadn't thought about Toby a single a bit. "Stuffed his body in a trunk and I had... funny thing I left his hand sticking out for the whole world to see. And apparently that bloody bastard wasn't dead-"
"So you killed him! A slit right in his throat!" Thomas cheered.
"Yea," Todd softly muttered. "There I told ya what you wanted to know."
Thomas shook his head with a laugh. "No, no, no, you still gotta tell me about this." He once again dragged his index finger across his own throat to symbol the slit in Todd's.
Todd's cold hand then went up and stroked the slit. It still stung a little.
"Well...I told you half of what you wanted to know, so tell me half of what I want to know," Todd argued in a mannered tone, trying hard not to lash out on the boy.
"Seems fair," Thomas replied. "Well. In order for a soul to get locked away in the room, if you have to be a pain in the ass."
"Details?"
"Start fights. Punch the daylights outta some one. Although, they'll throw you in their jail a few times before they finally have enough and throw you in the lost souls room. And since Travis seems to like to give you easy ways out, he'll give a whole bunch of warnings before jail. So in your case, you have to start chaos every hour." The information just came rolling off the child.
Todd gathered it and thought of some plan. He could easily piss off some passerby and start a fight, but he wanted to kick it up a notch. He wanted to gather as many of the people he killed that resided in the After World and show them no mercy. Todd liked the idea and began thinking of ways to torture them. The first that came to his mind was the electroshock machine. His temples still burned from when Margery hooked him up to it.
"...I still don't think intentionally going there is a good idea. Don't ya think it'll be a mistake?"
"A mistake? More like a miracle," Todd exclaimed. "Now tell me.... once I'm there, it's just...nothing? Cease to exist?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me the other part of the deal," Thomas replied smugly.
Todd then looked down. He loathed the idea of thinking of that dreaded night. He never wanted to remember it.
"...I'll just go by the information you gave me," Todd mumbled. He avoided to discuss his death and stood up and stretched.
Thomas frowned and stood up also. He wanted to know. Oh how curious he was.
"So you're just gonna go on by half the information I gave you?"
"No," Todd quickly replied and glanced around the large room.
"No?"
"Yea, no. I'll go by half of your information and steal the room's file from that dusty corpse at the front."
Todd then glanced down at the floor and then down at the child. "And uh... thanks, Kid for the info." He then patted Thomas on the back and began his way to the exit.
Thomas watched him leave as he softly muttered 'you're welcome.' He still believed this intention of Todd's was a bad idea, but there was no point in arguing.
Todd walked down the hall; his boots clicking against the tile. His mind raced through ideas of what to do. His first idea was to steal to the file, but how?
He continued his way until he reached the staircase which led to the second level.
He trotted down the steps; listening to his footsteps echo. The closer he got the more he could hear the commotion of the second level. He wasn't in for the treat of annoying Lovett with his presence and so continued down the stairs to the first level.
"I need to get that file," Todd muttered to himself. "Perhaps I'll wait till all the lights dim, then They'll just see me as a shadow on the wall. Yes, that's perfect. I just can't have that fool Travis know I want the file. Once he knows that room is my destination he'll never put me there."
Todd continued onward to his room, in which he hadn't been to in a long time. He wasn't even sure where his room lied. The first level all of a sudden turned into a maze of random halls. When he finally came across his room he almost walked right past it; not recognizing his former name above the door.
Luckily he never locked the room and entered easily. The room was pitch black. The candles were out and all the light available was coming from the hall. His keen eyesight moved around the room and found a small yellow candle sitting on the vanity. Right next to the candle sat a box of matches.
He simply lit the candle and blew the flame from the match. His room was now lit and with that he shut his door.
Everything was now silent; the peaceful silence of his own room. Todd smirked and then tackled his bed. He flopped down onto the mattress like a child and listened to the silence.
"If I'm gonna start the chaos tonight," Todd started to himself. "I might as well look my best." And with that idea, the chaotic man flung himself off the bed and dashed into the bathroom.
Todd then, for like the first time ever, gently brushed his hair. The knots and tangles became loose, but either was his wild hair was thrown around his head. He then took a cold washcloth and cleansed his face. There he looked up into the mirror and saw a bit more cleansed Sweeney Todd. He couldn't help but laugh a little.
He then stepped back into the main room and pulled up the drawers of his dresser. He done some clothes shopping before Margery took him up to the curious fourth level. Along with the clothes he picked out himself he found a few materials Lovett had bought him. He was already wearing the vest she had bought him, and wearing it now felt like some crime. He dug through the drawers and found plain black pants. Along with the pants, he found a gray cotton short sleeved shirt. He figured the more plain the better.
And there he stood in his room. Black boots with the laces all loose; black pants, and a simple dark gray short. Todd felt he could l it. A long black coat, much like his old one but cloth instead of leather. The buttons were a dark gray and the coat sported out gray stitching.
Todd slipped it on and smirked.
"Perfect. Tonight I'll raise hell if I must. I'm determined to get that file and I don't care who the hell I have to hurt to get it."
Todd then waited for the light in the hall to dim. He watched the light from the crack under his door. He watched it from sitting in his bed; his eyes remaining stationary. He wasn't sure if his go-at-night-plan was better than go at any time, but night seemed suitable since all the other deceases are bound to be in their room. But that old raggedy corpse will still be situated in her box, along with a long line of the newly dead. Then he thought of the guards that lined the walls. Last time he started an argument with the corpse the large buff guards dragged him off.
He then realized, this isn't going to be an easy task. He needed the guards and the corpse distracted, but there was no way in hell that was going to happen.
The light in the hall was now dim and dull. The muffled conversations he could once hear through the walls faded. He figured it was time and he had hatched a plan. He wasn't sure if it was reliable, but it was only he plan he had.
He rose from the bed and approached the door. The only sound to fill the air were the clicks of his boots. He gently opened the door and eyed both ways down the hall. The glanced down the hall that led to his destination, then down the direction that led to the staircase. Coming from that direction walked the baker. Todd had zero intentions to make contact with her and so carried on his way in the opposite direction.
Lovett paced down the hall from her day of work. She looked down the hall and saw a tall figure almost running in to the other end of the hall. She scoffed when realizing it was Todd. He looked different, well at least from the back. She didn't want to think anymore of the man and soon entered her room.
On the door which opened up to her room stuck a note with writing. She rolled her eyes and ripped the paper from the off. She then ever so quickly scanned the message.
If it's no trouble, please help make sure Mr. Barker attends his session in the morning. Yours truly, Edward Travis.
Lovett groaned in agony. She'll never be left alone with Todd incapable to fix himself. She crumpled up the letter and vanished into her room.
Todd had reached the main part of the first level, looking shady in the eyes of guards. Todd walked up and down the hall that led to the Authorities' separate offices. He waited for someone in the recently dead line to start an argument with the corpse. With an argument in action, the guards would pay their attention to the corpse and not Todd.
He was still unsure of the plan.
Then he waited, like a predator watching it's pray behind tall grass.
As he watched, the young lad Thomas slipped into the room. He looked around his room; observed the line of misery. With him being a child, no one thought more of him. But the boy was capable of many things.
Thomas smiled when he saw the former barber leaning against a wall. Todd didn't notice the boy for his mind was focused on the corpse. Thomas knew he'd find him here. The boy then looked over at the guards and then to the corpse and smiled.
That's when he made his move. Thomas rushed to the small booth the corpse was situated in and jumped right through the window. Todd's eyes widened and took Thomas' actions as a a distraction for the guards. He held a grimace smile and took charge for the side door.
Everything happened so fast. It was then like a mob rushing to the booth. A mob filled with Thomas, Todd, and quite a few guards. However, the guards had their aim on Thomas, they didn't even notice Todd.
The corpse began screaming a raspy scream. Thomas was then gripped by his arms and legs by the guards. The boy squirmed for freedom as he watched Todd slip in the booth.
"It's under the green tab! It's in the L section!" Thomas quickly exclaimed as he watched Todd quickly act.
Todd bent down on his knee and quickly hunted for the file. The guards barley noticed Todd digging for the file, they had their focus on Thomas and the corpse. The second Todd's hand clasped around the file, the guards escorted Thomas out of the room.
The tension died down, except for Thomas still thrashing around in the guards' arms; making sure the guards paid no mind to the barber.
As much as Todd wanted to thank the boy, he had to scram from the scene. If anyone in the Authorities were to know he had plans to leave through that room, they'd never allow it.
As he slipped out of the booth, he froze for a second and watched Thomas being carried off. Two guards held him by the wrist and dragged him down the hall. Thomas gave Todd a little wink and a smile followed. Todd smiled lightly back and quickly vanished from the site.
He tucked the file in in his coat and tried to recollect on what happened. Everything from the time Thomas jumped the corpse and when he was being dragged off was just one big blur.
The kid came in to help. Shocker.
Todd paced himself down the hall and soon ended up in his own room. He still couldn't believe Thomas would risk jail time for a person he considered his hero. Todd smirked at the idea of being a hero; he knew he was the complete opposite.
He extracted the file from his coat and tossed it on the vanity. He then let the baggy coat drop to the floor. Todd immediately pulled up a chair to the vanity and opened up the file where a billion words and pictures greeted his eyes.
"Damn this is a lot of information. That kid really hooked me up," Todd commented to himself as his eyes vaguely scanned the words. "Sure hope the kid's alright. Though I'm sure he's been in jail before."
Todd kept flipping through the many papers stuffed in the file. It'll take him weeks before he reaches his goal. He groaned in misery.
He then flipped back to the first page and began on the first few sentences.
The Lost Souls Room. Created for the banishment of repetitive criminal who only create havoc. Only the top Authorities can escort a soul to the room. The soul must attend several jail time and community service in hope to change their fate before ever entering the room. If a soul continues to act hectic and cause chaos, only then may then be banished.
Todd groaned when reading he'll have to do community service. But he just figured he'll skip the service and cause more wreckage. At the bottom of the page was pasted a picture. It was just a door on a wall. A simple wooden door painted black.
He then turned the next page and more words met his eyes. He read every word; he didn't a skip a sentence; he didn't miss a fact. All the knowledge he needed for his escape was right in front of him.
Once he finished the last page bonded in the file, he closed the file with pleasure.
"This is gonna be easier than I thought," he smiled and fell back into his bed. "I'll start tomorrow. Find that godforsaken shock machine and use it to my advantage."
And with that pleasant plan, he peacefully went into slumber.
Lovett on the other hand had a stressful night. She never wanted this horrid distance between her the barber. She was hoping for some resolution, as if this after life was a second chance to fix it all. She tossed and turned all night.
~Morning~
Todd had slept in; locked in some deep sleep. Morning had arrived the people of the dead began rising and attending work.
All of a sudden there was an abrupt, loud banging sound at the door. The sound was constant and quite annoying. Todd shifted in his bed; waiting out that whoever was there would leave. After at least two minutes, he came to the assumption they weren't going to leave. He dragged himself off the bed; still curled up in a long plaid blanket. He motioned to the door and slowly opened it.
Mrs. Lovett.
"The hell you want?" Todd scoffed and leaned on the doorframe while glancing down both ends of the hall.
"You have another stupid session. Travis wants you there," she simply explained with her arms crossed across her chest.
"I still have those? ...I'll just skip a day," he mumbled and went to close the door.
Lovett acted fast and placed her foot in the doorway; blocking the door from closing. "You've already skipped a lot, you're going in. And it's not like I'm the one who cares, it's Travis."
"Then why didn't he come down and tell me?"
"I dunno, probably busy."
"Whatever," he scoffed again.
"Just go."
"Fine, fine." He was tired of the argument and gave in. And with that he slammed the door and attempted to look presentable.
After a quick morning shower and change of clothes, he headed for the door. He threw on the long black coat and started his way down the hall.
As he paced himself down the hall with his hands stuffed in his pockets, he thought if the Authorities knew of the missing file. Surely they'd suspect Thomas since Todd got a clean getaway.
He thought more on of what happened just last night. Where would Thomas even be? Jail? Or back running around the second level? Knowing neither of the answers, he carried on his way.
He couldn't really remember the last time he attended his sessions. With the whole Margery chaos going on, he never got the chance to go to another session, not that he wanted to.
The sessions were pointless. The man, who just claimed to be a doctor, just asked of personal crap. Todd wasn't one to be personal, he was never one to be an open book.
He then arrived to his destination; he was surprised he remembered the location of the 'doctor's' room. He then flung the door open and there sat Doctor Vincent; Todd's file in his hands.
"Mr. Todd, I'm surprised you made it," the doctor exclaimed and closed the file.
"I am too," he replied in a mumble and freely plopped himself on the couch that sat in front of Vincent. "So... more pointless shit?"
"None of this pointless, Mr. Todd," he assured. "Now, I have new idea to get deep in your mind..."
Todd rolled his eyes.
"It's worked on other patients and most likely to work again."
"And the idea is?"
"Hypnotherapy."
Todd then bursted into laughter. It had to be some joke. "That's gotta be some joke," he cackled and laughed a bunch more. He laughed so hard that his eyes began to water.
"No joke at all. I know it sounds far fetched, but it's worked in the past. Since you're unwilling to tell what I need to know, hypnosis will get in your mind and tell me subconsciously. Understand?"
"Nope," he replied with a laugh.
"Well that's alright because with this you don't have to do a thing."
Todd then sighed and continued to listen to the doctor reluctantly.
"I'm going to put you in a simple trance, a sleep if you will. I'll ask you a few questions and all you have to do is answer, but you won't even realize you're answering. Make sense?"
"Nope," he repeated; ignoring every word the doctor spoke.
"Just lay down, empty your thoughts, and listen to me."
Todd rolled his eyes; this was all a waste of time, he thought. He lied down and stared up at the blank ceiling.
"Now," Doctor Vincent spoke as he pulled out a pocket watch and began swinging it back and forth.
Todd, again, couldn't help but laugh. This was ludicrous.
"Hypnosis doesn't work, doc," Todd smirked and followed the swinging clock with his eyes.
"Don't knock it till you try it," he simply replied. "Just follow the watch swing back and forth. You eyelids will become heavy."
"No they wont," Todd denied.
"Hush and only watch."
He let out a great sigh and did as he was told. There was no way in hell this was going to work. But as he watched the silver pocket watch swing to the left and right... his eyelids did become heavy. He shook off the feeling; refusing to let this hypnosis thing work.
His eyelids began to flutter, but he refused to fall to asleep. But as hard as he tried, whatever sorcery this was, was working.
"You'll begin to feel sleepy." The doctor's voice sounded far and distant. Todd's eyesight slowly became a little fuzzy and black as he finally closed his eyes and fell into slumber.
He was out like a light and with that, Doctor Vincent withdrew his pocket watch and took hold of a pen and clipboard. The room was silent; the only sound was Todd's slow, quiet breathing.
"Mr. Todd, can you hear me?" The doctor asked in a subtle voice. He pressed his pen on the blank paper and waited for a response.
After a moments of silence, Todd replied with a mumbled "yea."
Vincent smiled and scribbled on the paper attached to the clipboard.
"Now, I want to think of your past, remember the past you lived-"
"No!" Todd suddenly cried out as he then wore a worried expression.
"Mr. Todd just simply think," Vincent calmly stated.
"No!" Todd repeated.
"Is it because you're scared?" He questioned. "Or simply despise your past?"
Todd didn't reply at first.
"Answer me. Are you scared of your past? All the horrid things that happened?"
"I don't wanna relive it," he replied quickly and shifted around on the couch.
"And why not?" He asked as he continued to write down on the paper.
"It's a nightmare. Problem is, I do relive it... every night."
"What part of it is a nightmare?"
"I miss my family," Todd whispered and furrowed his brow. "I've screwed up too many times and I... I... I dunno what to do."
"So your distance from your family is the nightmare?"
"Not just that."
"Then what else?"
He remained silent. He twisted around on the couch; becoming uncomfortable as his recurring nightmares crept into his mind. This was the reason he isolated himself from these thoughts; the reason why he was never personal.
"Answer my question."
"I can't."
"And why not?"
There was another pause. "Because she'd hate me."
"Who will hate you?"
Todd then turned and faced the wall; his eyes still closed and mind still in sleep.
"She'll hate me," he muttered to himself. "She'd think I'd betray her, she'd think I forgot her. I can't do that to her. I can't."
Vincent listened carefully. He couldn't help but pity the man. He was hearing Todd's inner thoughts and they were sad and uneasy. Vincent was expecting another locked up hardened mind, but it wasn't.
"Who is this 'she?' Why does she conflict with your nightmares?"
"Lucy... I can't betray her." Todd then wore an expression as if he was about burst into tears, but he held a firm face.
"Why would you betray her?"
"Because of Eleanor," he quietly answered; looking ashamed.
"Eleanor as in your former landlady?"
"Yea... but don't let Lucy know, she can't know, she'll hate me if she knows."
"So are you saying you have feelings for your former landlady?"
"... I dunno... I mean when I was sent to prison... she didn't lose hope that I'd come back. For Christ's sake she kept my razors thinking I'd return. But Lucy... she went and poisoned herself. She lost hope, thinking I'd never come home."
"Interesting," Vincent commented as he took more notes.
"But that hope doesn't exist anymore. Eleanor hates me. I don't blame her. I hate myself too."
Vincent then glanced at the pocket watch. The session was nearing its end and he thought he'd put enough pressure on Todd. The man looked lost in despair and tragedy and he couldn't bare to see that anymore.
"Alright, Mr. Todd, wake up," he atlas said and clapped his hands twice.
Todd's eyes then widened as he quickly sat up. He could barely recollect what all he told the doctor. He had no memory of admitting his feelings towards Mrs. Lovett. The only person to know of this was the doctor.
"Did I just sleep the entire time?" He asked while fixing his hair up a bit.
"Uh... yes, but I took all the notes I needed. Tomorrow again at usual time, alright?"
"Uh yea sure," Todd answered in a mumble; a little confused on what happened. He then headed for the door and vanished.
As the former barber left, Vincent went and reviewed the notes he took. Todd did have feelings for Lovett, he just didn't know how to express it, especially with the past he had with Lucy. And he'll never admit it to her unless someone breaks his hard exterior.
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bam! another update! a long one too! So as you can guess Sweenett is coming, but Sweeney still desires to erase himself from the world.
I'm also gonna make some fun criminal bond between Todd and Thomas.
I got the hypnosis idea from a scene in Donnie Darko.
Also, as you can guess, Margery is gone. So she can't torture Todd anymore.
Next update will in a few weeks.
And as always, thank you so much for reading and please leave votes and especially comments, I LOVE comments!!
Follow my Instagram @ demon.of.depp for more Sweeney Todd💕💕