Title: Tortured Scream

Author: WingedPanther73

Pairing(s)/Characters: Schreient

Rating: PG

Summary: This is an idea I had for what would make Schreient special, while being (reasonably) consistent with canon

Warnings: None.

Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz, its names and characters belong to Koyasu Takehito, Project Weiss, Marine Entertainment and Animate Film.

Beta Reader: Sybil Rowan

Chapter 1

The host twitched in response to commands sent through the corrupted nervous system. Breaks were repaired as errors were located. Test signals resulted in the host spasming and launching itself off its table. The damage the host sustained was minor, compared to the bullet wounds that would have to be addressed. Soon, the neurological repairs were complete, and the host stopped thrashing violently.

The hive opened the host's eyes, taking in the environment. Another entity was present in the room. The hive was programmed to obey it. So be it. "What are we to be called?"

"I will call you Neu. Refer to yourself in the singular from now on."

"Understood. Thank you for this host, Master."

"Call me 'Father' from now on."

"Understood, Father. Healing of the host is complete. What should I do?"

"Get dressed, and eat. We will discuss your future shortly."

"Mr. Masafumi, adopting a child who has been a victim of sexual abuse can be very difficult. This girl will have a lot of trust issues."

"I understand that. I hope to give her a loving environment where she can forget the horrors of her past and instead live life with a purpose."

"That's very admirable, Sir, but have you considered the challenges you will face without a wife to help you?"

"I assure you, Ma'am, that will not be an issue. I have other daughters who will happily assist me, as needed."

"Very well. Your adoption of Nanami has been approved, though I think you're making a grave mistake."

"Thank you. Come along, Nanami. Let's see if we can't kill those bad memories."

"Doctor Takatori, Miss Karen cannot be helped. The acid burns are much too deep for any plastic surgeon's skill."

"Nonsense, Doctor Schmidt, I have some new techniques that are still highly experimental, but should be more than adequate to restore her to her former beauty."

"I haven't heard about this research, Sir."

"That's hardly surprising. There are no publishable results, at this time. I can assure you, however, that Miss Karen will be ready to start modeling in no time. Besides, keeping her sedated in a psych ward is no kindness to her."

"If you can alleviate the cause of her depression, it would be a great thing for her. We'll release her to you immediately."

"I'll restore her beauty to her. I assure you."

Chizuru sat in the chair, wondering about the advisability of playing guinea pig. As the only normal person Masafumi had acquired, she was more colleague than test subject, yet she found her skin itching uncontrollably as the retrovirus spread through her system.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to resist scratching everywhere?"

"No, but I wouldn't advise it. Your new nails are likely to damage that lovely skin of yours before the effects are fully implemented."

"I know that. Growing scales is still an itchy business, however."

"I'm sure it is. How is Nanami's restructuring going?"

"Her brain has been thoroughly dispersed, as has her heart. She seems to be extremely disoriented right now."

"To be expected. The advanced regenerative abilities are taking effect on Karen, but we need to add a regrowth factor to finish pushing out the scar tissue. I'm thinking a mixture of skink and starfish should prove most effective. The starfish should also enhance her strength quite a bit."

"I was thinking that as well, but the skink-starfish combination on a monkey proved problematic. Starfish alone is working much better, and there's a nice coral element that can be combined to facilitate bone regrowth."

"Excellent, Chizuru! We'll implement that once your itching has passed."

She glanced down at her skin. The chameleon-komodo blend was doing a good job. She had to shift the spectrum her eyes were tuned to a few times to catch the presence of the newly forming scales. Her nails seemed to be toughening as well.

"Fair warning, love, I think the komodo elements are affecting my salivary glands. We'll have to do some tests before we retire."

"That was anticipated, my dear. I gave myself immunity as a precaution. I intend to kiss you goodnight every night."

"I love you, too."

"This host has many memory fragments, Father."

Masafumi sipped his tea as he gazed at the resurrected body. The plasmid hive was doing a poor job of distinguishing between itself and the host it was inhabiting. It was unfortunate, but they were aware of themselves being within the corpse he'd acquired for it. "Use them. Learn from them. They will help you adapt to human society."

"What does, 'I love you, Youji', mean?"

"Do you have memories of emotions?"

"Yes, Father. They don't make sense, though. What is their purpose?"

"They are what makes humans, human. You will need to be able to fake them, when necessary, to blend in."

Neu merely nodded, and sipped her tea. It would take a while for the hive to accept human society.

The girl twirled her parasol, staring at the patterns of light and dark it formed on the edges.

"Are you doing well, Tot?"

"Yes, Daddy! Tot loves her parasol!"

Her reflexes were amazing. Distributing her brain throughout her body had created a being with unparalleled reaction time. The fact that her heart and lungs had also been distributed resulted in spot oxygenation at the precise place where her body needed the most energy. Unfortunately, she was also a bit... distractable. Her thinking was optimized for combat, not cognition.

"Tot, do you remember what happened before you came here?"

"Tot remembers waking up this morning, Daddy." Her innocent smile was brilliant.

"I mean before you came to live with me."

"Tot was called Nanami, and something bad happened. Tot can't remember what." There was a frown of concentration, as she attempted to reassemble the scattered bits of memory.

Masafumi knew he would have to figure out how to fix the glitch with referring to herself in the third person. He suspected she thought of herself as Nanami, and had to call herself by "Tot" to remember it.

He gave her a quick hug and let her play with her parasol.

The patient was breathing steadily, her face wrapped in bandages.

"It's time to remove the bandages, my dear."

There was panic in her eyes. "You can't! I can't see my face again! I won't!"

"Karen, I've strapped you down because you needed to be still for your treatment, but it's time to heal your mind, not just your body." Masafumi could see the terror in her eyes, as he brought the scissors to her face, and began snipping bandages.

Karen hyperventilated, terror in her as she stared in dread at the mirror above her. When the bandages where peeled away, her face softened, and a single word was barely audible. "Schön!"

"So shall you be known, from now on, my beautiful one."

Masafumi and Chizuru panted, their love-making complete. He wasn't sure, but it almost seemed that she was becoming wilder, more animalistic, in bed. It was a wonderful side-effect.

He gently kissed her forehead, as they collapsed into exhausted sleep.