A/N: Huge hugs of thanks to the lovely readers who helped me decide that my plot twist *wasn't* the worst decision ever and gave me encouragement to continue. Individual responses and a PSA are at the end!
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Everything can change in an instant. And then there is only before and after.
- Phyllis Reynolds Mayner
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When Spirit saw Lord Death wrestling on the floor with Sophie, he understood why his boss' call had been so uncharacteristically hysterical. He was so stunned by the sight that he barely registered Stein and Marie barreling through a second portal Lord Death had hastily opened. He might have stood there indefinitely, had he not heard his daughter sobbing. He looked frantically around the room and was utterly petrified to see her kneeling beside his bleeding, broken, ex-wife.
"Mama!" Maka rasped through the sobs blocking her throat as she tried desperately to figure out where her mother was hurt. Spirit tumbled down next to the crumpled body of his child's mother.
"Kami? Kami! Can you hear me?" he shouted, adding to the deafening din.
The demented Lady Death hurled herself toward them, dragging her husband along for the ride. She bit his wrist, freed her upper body and reached desperately for Kami. One of Kami's arms was drawn up and obviously injured, but she flung the other out, nails digging into the rug as she pulled herself toward her attacker.
"Sophie, stop! Kid's watching you. Please...stop!" she begged, already knowing in her heart that her words weren't going to affect someone in the thrall of madness.
Her mother's blood covered the wild woman's grasping fingers and fury boiled through Maka.
"Stay away from her!" she snarled, leaping in front of Kami. Both of her parents protested wildly, and Spirit covered them both with his own body.
"Maka, no! Spirit, get the fuck off me, that hurts!" Kami cried, "Sophie. Oh my God!"
God finally took control of the situation, hands glowing as he resorted to Reaper magic to contain his wife. It disabled her body but not her voice, and her mad ranting bounced off the walls of the enormous room as she was carried back through the mirror opened into Stein's lab.
"Kid, come with me!" Death said sharply.
Kid didn't acknowledge his father's command. He was white as a sheet and still standing in the doorway where Maka had left him. Marie ran to his side and put her arm around him, whispering encouragingly as she led his shock-stiffened body across the office. He didn't spare his girlfriend or her injured mother a glance.
Maka didn't look at him, either. Her mother needed help, and that was all she could focus on. She and Spirit were both horrified to see tears in Kami's eyes. Kami never ever cried. Maka tried to stop her own tears from falling as she held on to her mother's good hand, begging out loud for her to be okay.
"Maka, you need to let go," Stein said, "Medical attention is what she needs right now. I'm going to take her to my lab, and Nygus is on her way there right now to meet us. Now let go...that's it. Let go."
Maka nodded and turned toward Spirit, holding on to him for dear life as Stein knelt beside Kami. His grey eyes were coldly professional as he looked over the damage that had been done to his friend and former classmate.
"Surgery," he said shortly. Kami didn't respond; she'd fainted clean away when Stein lifted her broken arm. He tucked it gently across her chest before lifting her and carrying her through the glowing mirror.
Spirit helped his daughter to her feet and embraced her tightly. She was shaking like a leaf and hugged him back without reservation; the way she had when she was little. He paused in the abruptly quiet room for a moment, stroking Maka's damp hair. He refrained from telling her things would be alright; they both knew that would be a lie. Instead, he reminded her how strong she was. Maka struggled to believe it as her father finally led her through the portal.
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RESPONSES!
multyfangirl20: I kept thinking about leaving her dead, but curiosity got the better of me. Now we'll see if curiosity kills this cat!
Guest: Thank you so much for the comments and the compliments. I deeply appreciate the former and blush under the praise of the latter. I hope this story continues to keep you interested!
DJKatt: Nobody saw that one coming. Even *I* didn't see this coming until I was most of the way finished with Life Lessons. And it's taken me, what, three years to be brave enough to actually write it!
fashiongirl23: I am equally glad you're back in the fandom. SE needs more fandom love. And I really appreciate you reading and commenting!
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PSA
From this point on, there will be discussion and representation of violence driven by "madness" or "insanity". Madness in the Soul Eater universe has been explained as an external influence. While some characters, notably Stein and Kid, may have DSM5-accurate illnesses, exposure to Madness pushes the characteristics of those illnesses to the extreme or introduces new symptoms altogether.
Sophie's mental and physical behaviors are driven by a witch's spell which has infected her soul with Madness. While this causes symptoms of schizophrenia (delusional or "bizarre" delusional thinking), Borderline Personality Disorder (impulsive behavior, acting without thought of consequences, unplanned violence) and symptoms of acute psychosis/psychotic break (1), Sophie's behaviors are in no way meant as accurate portrayals of mental illnesses that exist in our world. If anything, her symptoms are closer to those suffering from substance abuse issues. In the SE universe, Madness generally affects an infected person just like a drug, and it's important to keep this in mind. Actual persons with mental illness are no more likely to be violent than the average neurotypical person. (2)
Also, portrayals of "insanity" in SE are shown to be "curable". There is usually no magic cure for mental illness and it's important to emphasize that these are, indeed, illnesses. They may respond to medications (as do forms of diabetes) or may result in carefully managed but irrevocable lifestyles (like patients who have had extreme cardiac events or strokes).
Thank you for reading. This is a topic that is important to me personally and professionally and I would hate to be considered a participant in the innumerable media portrayals of mentally ill people as "violent crazies", a stereotype that continues to make mental illness something that is feared, misunderstood and hidden in our country.
(1) - As currently listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: /
(2) - 17.9% of mentally ill patients without a substance use diagnosis were violent, which was equal to the rate of violence among non-mentally ill persons who did not abuse substances. (Buckley, P.F et al May, 2003. Treatment of the psychotic patient who is violent. Retrieved from URL)