Chapter Text
The first sign was his body aching. As he awoke, he sensed the change in his magic. He reached for his wand, defenses going up. It wasn’t in his possession.
The second sign was when he attempted to use wandless magic, and his magic core shocked him, making him yelp. A hand rested over his chest, sensing raw, wild energy thrumming in warning. The last time his magic had reacted against him like this was when…his hand.
He stared at his much smaller, unscarred hand. Eyes traveling up his arms, he observed in disbelief at how they were bandaged but overall, looked normal. Untainted. If he looked underneath his shirt, would it be pale and normal? This was wrong.
He bit his lips, arms wrapping around himself. Finn needed to see his reflection. No! No, not yet. He could see he was much younger than he was last night.
Finn perked up, sensing a familiar presence outside. Why was he here? Had he planned this? Is he responsible for his current predicament? Damn it, he didn’t have his wand and his magic was undeveloped.
The door broke off its hinges.
There was no time.
“Ah, I broke it,” Mash Burnedead blinked. A second later, he tilted his head just enough to avoid the punch his friend threw at him. “Uh.” Mash let out a surprised sound. “Is this because I broke it again?”
He placed the door in front of him, stumbling back in alarm as Finn recovered and attempted to kick him in the stomach. The door broke in half and Mash grabbed his ankle, stopping the kick. But Finn wasn’t done, because as soon as he saw Mash moving his hand, he hopped into the air and spun his body, his other foot making contact with the side of Mash’s head.
“Ow,” Mash said monotone. “I deserved that. I really should learn how to open the door.” His grip slackened, allowing Finn to free himself.
Finn landed in a crouch, heart beating rapidly. His attacks did nothing to him. How could it, he could feel it himself. This feeble body of his was untrained and weak. His magic core was laughable. His speed and strength was nowhere near where it should be. Just breaking that door alone made his foot throb painfully.
Mash Burnedead could finally kill him without having to worry about him using his Secondth, Butterfly Sanitatem. He couldn’t use Changeas either, it would put any wandering student in danger. The students…where were the teachers? He hadn’t heard any screams. Not even now. Finn panted, a sense of hopelessness threatening to consume him.
“Hey, are you okay?” Mash finally noticed how disheveled Finn looked. His eyes gazed at him differently. He almost flinched at how scared Finn seemed towards him.
Finn’s eyes narrowed, a hateful glare meeting his gaze. “What have you done to the students?” He demanded. “How did you break in? And why leave me in this room?”
Mash took a hesitant step towards him, raising a hand in his direction. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” He stopped, immediately noticing how Finn flinched, how his body positioned itself into a defensive stance. “Finn.” Mash said quietly, unsure of how to proceed. Was he really this mad about the door? “What did I do wrong?”
“You-” Finn’s hands trembled, fury trampling out his fear. How dare he. How fucking dare he. As if he isn’t responsible for all the casualties and destruction left in his wake. As if he hadn’t almost killed his younger brother, using him as an unaware hostage to force Finn to do Mash’s bidding. The torture he experienced under his hands… Finn had lost track of how many times he should’ve died.
A bitter laugh escaped. “You really are something, Burnedead. You finally grow tired of not being able to kill me? Is that why I look like this? Trying to relive the old days one last time?” He spat out.
Mash was confused. And worried. Something was terribly wrong. He should go find someone, right? His attention redirected back to Finn. “I’m sorry about this,” he said sincerely. “Don’t worry, I’ll go to a professional.”
Finn was hyperware of Mash. It’s for this reason that he could see how Mash had been by the door one second before reappearing in front of him, hand stretched out. A strong force struck him in the head, and he felt his consciousness slip.
He never even got to tell Rayne goodbye.
“This is stressful. I need a creampuff.”
With those words, he slipped away, nightmares awaiting him. Arms embraced him warmly.
He was surrounded by warmth. And it was soft. Finn hummed approvingly. He rolled over, snuggling closer. And then he froze. His bed didn’t have anything soft or cuddly. Pain flared up in his arms.
His nose twitched. Finn picked up on the sweet scent of cream puffs. His eyes fluttered open, slowly glancing upwards. His neck screamed at him in agony. Mash Burnedead stared down at him, chewing on a cream puff. But something was wrong.
Pushing aside the fact that he just woke up on Mash’s lap, Mash’s arms awkwardly wrapped around him- oh who was he fooling, his face turned rapidly red at the embarrassing pose. The only thing stopping him from moving at all was the intense stare his friend was giving him. His friend who looked way older than he was just last night.
Finn stayed frozen, internally screaming as he wondered how he got into this situation. But he needed answers and at the very least he could ask Mash if he could let go. But fate seemed to have other plans because when he attempted to speak, his throat clogged up and he is now realizing how much it hurt to breathe.
Mash seemed to pick up on his discomfort because his lips curved downwards. Finn let out a shiver. He didn’t understand why but as Mash continued to observe him, a feeling of uneasiness clung to him.
“It wasn’t me,” Mash said suddenly. Finn blinked slowly. He suddenly felt guilty as Mash looked at him with a pained grimace. “Finn, believe me.” Hands cupped Finn’s face and okay, when is he going to wake up and why is he dreaming of Mash being more touchy? “I would never hurt you. You know that, right? I know I’ve done a lot of bad things, including towards you, but never to that extent. It was Cell War.”
Finn’s heart dropped at how Mash’s voice dropped an octave, cold eyes looking into the distance. Was it physically possible to sense someone’s bloodlust? At that moment, Finn felt paralyzed. This scary aura reminded him of Carpaccio, but seeing that menacing look on Mash’s face, it was worse.
He inhaled sharply, and promptly broke into a coughing fit. This seemed to break Mash out of his thoughts because he swiftly helped him sit up, causing Finn to painfully wheeze. His throat punished him with another painful squeeze. What was wrong with his body?
A cup touched his lips, and cool, refreshing water slightly relieved the pressure. But Finn was Finn, if someone were to check how he ran, they would see he lived to love and cherish people he cared about, no matter how cruel or weird or cold they could. Despite how he should be questioning his circumstances, where he was, why it felt like his very being was contradicting in on itself, his attention diverted to Mash.
There was tension in his shoulders. His hands trembled as they helped him drink and take away the cup. His gaze was downcast. He wasn’t in his school clothes. There were no lines on his face. He was just Mash, normal, ordinary…adult? Cusp of adulthood? Well, nonetheless Mash resembled a lost child. A lost child who seemed to be consumed by guilt that somehow involved Finn.
“Mash?” He attempted to speak. It came out weak and raspy. In the odd room, where it was just the two of them, it was like raindrops falling on a puddle. Mash squeezed and when did that happen, Finn stared wide-eyed at their intertwined hands. Hands…why did they look longer and more slender?
Finn’s eyes trailed up his arms and oh gods, he had muscles. Not Mash levels of muscle but they were noticeable enough to shape underneath the bandages. Now that thought about it, his eyes landing on his legs, his body was bigger. Thoughts piled on top of one another and abruptly, he attempted to sense his magic core. That’s when something wrong happened. Again. Why did he have such bad luck?
Mash’s voice sounded panicked. “Finn!”
Black spots traveled across his vision, rapidly expanding and his eyes struggled to keep open. He suddenly felt light, almost as if his body was floating. Is this how his brother feels when he uses one of his swords to fly?
Distantly, he acknowledged a bright light in front of him, making out a tall figure with large wings. His magical core was going into overdrive, shocking him entirely as it wheezed and stretched to exist.
Why him?