Writer's Note: Hi there! As promised to some, I gave a stab at writing one of my first fanfic! Yay! lol I mainly wrote this one for Nanowrimo this year, but I thought it would be nice to share with everyone my perspective of how I think Remington was brought up and besides the man needs more love in the fandom~ so I hope you enjoy it! As always any review is very appreciated, so thank you so much for taking your time to read my story.
Disclaimer: Chrno Crusade © Moriyama Daisuke
"Son, are you all right?" A warm hand reached out to the blond haired boy crouched behind a barrel hugging his knees with eyes dead of everything around him. Slowly looking up he took notice of the young gentleman dressed in black with the distinct white lining; a traveling minister, he guessed. With a sudden explosion heard in the distance, the minister quickly snatched the boy up into his arms and ran for cover.
"Where are your parents?" Asked the young man when the boy simply pointed at a burning house with a somber expression on his face. Stopping, the minister watched it collapse a second later in horror as he hopelessly looked away. The poor child, the man mumbled as he glanced to see how the boy was taking it.
"Demons.." The child murmured. "Demons did this." With a stream of tears coming out from his eyes, the boy watched the last of his home before burying his face into the minister's chest. Placing a gentle hand onto his head, the man narrowed his eyes as he silently thought to himself. "Demons… huh. Perhaps he's right. There have been rumors that even this Civil War had been started by the dark forces. The greed and lust for power within the human soul would be the precise catalyst for this kind of thing to start and a good reason for them to lurk and take advantage of. What has the world come to…" Shaking his head and letting out a deep mournful sigh, the man stepped into a carriage with the boy and took him back to New York, where their base was located.
Edward Hamilton aka Elder; A minister and inventor of numerous weaponry for the Magdalena Order and the man who saved my life.
[1933 Michigan state Seventh Bell suburbs Frankfort Magdalena branch]
Ewan Remington sat in a small white church located in Michigan as he silently reminisced about the old days. Having spent the past several hours at the memorial service for the late Elder, he began to look back on his own life as he recalled the first day he had met his mentor, his parent figure, his good friend. One hand brushing across the scars on his now aged face as the other held onto his walking cane, he softly gave a sigh and closed his eyes. It had been years since he had been able to enjoy a moment of true peace like this. With the destruction of Pandaemonium, he was relieved that he no longer had to hold back the legions within his body as much as he used to.
In fact, his time had long passed yet his determination, ambition, and perhaps God's will (or so he liked to think) had made him live beyond what was originally planned for him. He had in a way been given another chance and to think the only way he can truly repay for it was to finally actively participate and spread the teachings he was first introduced to by the Elder or more so the Order. Never had he recited many passages from the bible as he had within these past few years.
Remington was never a man of God no matter how long he had served the Order as a member of the Militia and as an exorcist. It was all a tool to achieve his goals; his long battle against the so called demons and for his revenge. Thinking back on it now, he was much like Rosette. Always ready to jump the gun, a young man who couldn't simply sit still and allow things to happen. He had to be in the action. Perhaps that was why he had such fondness towards her. Much like how he had suggested the young girl to take matters into her own hands by becoming an exorcist, the Elder was the one who had mentioned it to him over one dinner.
"Ewan, you feel that powerless?" The young Elder asked as he watched the seven year old boy ball his hands into a tight fist as he stared down at his meal with tears in his eyes. His body shaking, all Ewan could manage was a nod of his head before wiping his tears with the sleeves of his shirt. "And you want the power that badly to fight against the demons?" The man narrowed his eyes and asked as the boy nods again. With a defeated sigh, the Elder picked up his spoon as he finally decided to make one hell of a suggestion. "Then why not train to become an exorcist?" Ewan glanced his way to watch the man eat his soup as he gave him a look of confusion. "An e-exorcist? What is that, sir?" Missing the soup to his mouth, the man stared back at him dumbfounded to be asked such a question. With a hard laugh and making the boy feel embarrassed for even asking, he pridefully answered. "They are those who fight the demons for the Order." Seeing a sign of hope within the boy's eyes, he warmly smiled and pushed the bowl closer to the boy, giving him an incentive. "Here, now eat. If you don't eat properly you won't grow strong enough to become one." Sitting up straighter, Ewan immediately grabbed his spoon and began scuffing down his soup as the Elder tried to tame him, telling him he didn't need to be so hasty and that there was plenty of time.
Remington lightly chuckled to his young foolish self. How hard he worked to become stronger. By age ten, he was already getting involved by becoming Elder's research assistant until he was old enough to be taken under someone else's wing to start his crucial training to become an exorcist. It was tough to say the least with long exhausting days, but in the end, he couldn't be grateful enough to those mentors who have pushed his limits to get where he was today.
That was around the time he had met her; the foreseer and Saint, Mary Magdalene. Ewan clearly recalled their first meeting. An ecstatic eleven year old running down the hall to his first lessons on using the principatus, the cross barrier, and face dives into the graceful saint's rather voluminous chest. The thought till this day stained the minister's cheeks red in embarrassment. The sister, who accompanied her, was expectantly appalled by his actions, but the sixteen year old Mary simply chuckled and placed a hand onto his head, asking if he was all right. Even after getting scolded and ushered away to his lessons, all he could think of was the mysterious girl. It was only later that he learned she was the secret Saint the Order had hid for safety.
Once Remington became a Converser (third rank exorcist), there were more opportunities to speak with her face to face. Sometimes he would join her in the library to talk about anything that was on one's mind from the types of food she enjoys to the kind of flower she likes. Slowly his sole intentions on vanquishing all demons for his revenge became his wish to only protect her and carry out his duties in the process. Talking to her gave him strength and the amount of admiration and respect he held for the Saint was vast. Finally becoming a Novice (second rank exorcist) at age fifteen and given special privileges to be a part of the Saint's bodyguards, Ewan held great confidence in his abilities until that one day when it all came crumbling down.
1870, the day a demon, the sinner, Chrno, came to abduct her from the Order's library. He now understood why the Saint had assisted in her captor's escape. She must have been quite lonely at the Order much like a bird in a cage and stripped of her freedom despite the good intentions behind it. It protected and yet at the same time segregated her from society. All the things an ordinary young girl was to experience, she couldn't simply because of the gift given by God. Of course, he was too young at the time to comprehend any of that. For those two months of working hard to find her with the Elder and journeying across country must have been her happiest moments. And the whole time, Ewan carried on his shoulders his failure to protect her. When he learned of her contract with Chrno, he was distraught and then to find that she had passed on destroyed him for a good month or so. Learning of the Order sealing away Chrno along with her body added to the fire as his only means to repent for his mistake was taken from him. The demons yet again taking away everything he cared for.
He eventually brought up his skills though equal sacrifices were made to obtain such strength. Having become a first rank militia, Remington was given the right to start his own investigations and take on tougher enemies. He often had to travel to Chicago to join with Jack Gilliam, a veteran in weaponry and another first rank member as himself. Throughout the years, Jack had taught Ewan the ropes of how things work and over time they've become not only great partners but good friends. Ewan had improved quite a bit since then, but it wasn't until the one case that his bar was raised yet again; the one significant incident and choice that helped him become the elite exorcist he was.
"Hey, hang on there, Ewan! Don't give up on me now." With Ewan's arm over his shoulder, Gilliam dragged the heavily injured man over by the side of a building to take cover from the oncoming attacks by a group of demons; ones a Satanist had summoned to take revenge for his fallen family due to an accident caused by one of the police force. Bleeding profusely, all Ewan could see was a glazed vision of his friend and the world spinning around him. The Elder rushing to his side from the opposite end of the building along with five heavily armed men, he knelt down to examine Ewan's condition before giving orders to Gilliam and one of the men to take him into the nearby car while the others keep the enemy at bay until further back up arrives from the Order.
"Idiot! What the heck were you thinking back there! Pushing yourself like that, you son of a-ugh." The Elder scolded the dying man with a distraught look to his face. Firmly holding down a piece of cloth to his open wounds, he could see the half smile on Ewan's grateful face. The young man thought this may be his final hours until he heard the next line from his mentor. "Ewan. How far are you willing to go in order to fight against these demons?"
"What… do you mean by that?" The young minister managed to inquiry as he struggled.
"It's just as I said. Just answer the damn question! You really shouldn't be talking." The Elder impatiently demanded with an uncertainty heard in his voice. Ewan stared at the man and with a determined look he firmly answered. "As far as it takes." He closed his eyes and heavily breathed, feeling himself losing his ground.
With a brief silence, the Elder then mumbled his response more to himself than anyone else in the car. "Then you better hang on if that's the case. We're almost there." He then prayed and came to peace with what he needed to do the whole way until they finally arrived at the Order. The men carried Ewan to the Elder's research lab in a hurry and once there, the older man quickly got to work. Starting up his apparatuses and getting the vials that he had saved for just the occasion, he silently worked through the night behind closed doors with only a few men having the privilege to see the miracle he was about to perform.
The next morning to his surprise, Ewan groggily opened his eyes to the sun's rays glaring his way; a light he thought he saw that was bound to bring him to the gates of heaven or hell in his case. Lost in his thoughts, the young man laid in bed for a while as he recalled the last thing he saw. It was a vision. Something along the lines of seeing ones life flash before his eyes prior to death greeting him, but in his case it ended with a warm soft hand taking his and supporting him. That warmth, he knew it had to be the Saint's, Mary Magdalene. Silently thanking the Saint for her help with a grateful smile on his face, there was a knock on the door before the Elder walked in. "Good, you're finally up." He spoke with a sense of relief. His slow movement and the bags under his eyes that could be seen despite having his odd looking glasses on were a few signs that said the man hadn't slept all night. "How are you feeling?" The older man pulled back part of the covers to examine the bandages across Ewan's torso. "Have I been drugged?" Ewan softly spoke, exhausted, sensing that something wasn't right. "That's right. Though that's not what's important. What is is what I'm about to tell you so listen carefully." The Elder calmly ordered him as he began to undo the bandages around the young man. "I've reconstructed your body so that it can handle legions." He glanced down at his pupil, who stared at him with wide eyes astound. "You know what that means, don't you?"
Ewan knew better than anyone of what that entailed. He looked at his hands and then down at his body. Finally recalling the last conversation he had with the Elder, he softly let out a sigh and then smiled. "Of course. It seems my life will be in your hands for a while longer then." The Elder grumbled to the rather carefree minister as he checked the fully healed wounds and the incisions he made in order to create the body he had now. "It's only now that you could say those things, idiot, geez."
The first few nights with his new body were rough, especially without the suppressant. Spending most of the night grunting in his room, Ewan fought against the legions that tried to overtake his body. As convenient as it was, there most certainly were sacrifices he needed to make as well. In exchange for the ability to regenerate his cells, he was left with having to discipline himself to keep the cells tamed, especially when he was to head to sleep. The Elder from that day forward had to keep up with the maintenance of his body and his sole life force in order for him to survive.
"How I've troubled you, Elder." Ewan murmured as he wearily stared down at his worn out hand. "But it was all thanks to you that I was able to get this far and I am forever grateful of that." That was the day he obtained the one mean to fight equally with those demons. By becoming one, there was nothing to fear and he could take down any and all to his fullest ability. Perhaps it really was God's will to give him such an opportunity. It certainly gave him the chance to repent for his mistake later on. Without the longevity that this body gave him, he wouldn't have been an active member of the Order due to age and especially when it came the time to support Rosette.
Remington gave a deep sigh when he thought of Chrno and then weakly smiled. How that demon had influenced his life in numerous ways. He both took away and gave the most memorable moments in the lives of the ones he deeply cared for. Remington too wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. When he challenged Chrno to a duel on that Christmas Eve, he definitely wanted to make certain that he was handing Rosette over to a reliable man. The precious jewel he had brought up with his two hands just as the Elder had brought him up.
Rosette Christopher. And now that everything was all said and done, his heart was more at peace. He was about to scold Chrno for making Rosette wait so long but when they found the two bodies together he knew that the man had kept his promise. The bright smile on Rosette's face was enough to say just how happy she was in the arms of the man she loved once again.
"Father Remington, there you are. It's time for supper. Everyone is waiting." A soft voice from the back of the church spoke.
"Ah, I didn't mean to make you worry, Azmaria. I'm coming now." He slowly stood up from his seat, taking his cane in one hand and made his way to the back where the young woman stood. Taking the older man's arm, Azmaria guided him towards the other building where they all enjoyed a warm supper and reminisced about the old days, keeping those they deeply love close to their hearts.