Like a Moth to a Flame

by RiddlePanda

Summary:

Sometime after the defeat of Innocent Zero, the consequences of his magic began to affect the people that were close to it at the time.

For the second time in his life, Finn was a late bloomer...

...much to the concern of his friends despite saying he was fine.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Messing with the fundamental intricacies of magic had consequences, even if Innocent Zero had told Mash there wouldn't be. The man had no idea himself what would transpire until he woke up in his jail cell one morning, transformed back into his six heart pre-godmode form, but without the extra power boost.

His sons with him were equally transformed into various supernatural creatures. As were the guards. And the Divine Visionaries that visited him not long after that.

Try as he, and the others might, there seemed to be no way of stopping what was happening. The entirety of the magical realm, specifically everyone that had been in the radius of Innocent Zero's god-like magic, was changing into a more supernatural entity.

"Delisaster, can you stop complaining? At least you still have arms in that form."

"Fuck you father!"

---------
A muted ripping noise sounded above Finn and his back tingled as he was finally exposed to fresh air after a week.

He coughed the remaining fluid out of his mouth as he shakily sat up, feeling the large and wet thing nestled on his back unfurl and dry.

"How do you feel Finn?"

Finn turned to look at Mash, grateful he had already been used to his new vision in the "first stage" of his transformation.

"Like my body just spent a week liquefying and reshaping itself even though I really just grew wings. It was really unnecessary."

"Oof. That's rough. Sorry."

Finn sniffed at his arm and recoiled slightly at the smell. "I'm gonna need a shower. Do I look okay enough to walk there?"

"You look-"

Mash reached over and gently ran his fingers along the underside of one of Finn's new antenna.

"-cute."

Finn's face immediately grew red as he squealed in embarrassment, lightly slapping Mash's arm.

"M-Mash! I'm not-"

*Plop*

The two looked down at Mash's fallen arm.

"Yeah...uh it's been loose since last Saturday. I've been real careful though. I promise."

The day after Finn cocooned himself.

Mash picked up his arm and gave it to Finn, who examined the place where it was hastily stitched. He sighed as he inspected the damage.

"I can heal it back for the moment, but we'll need to get you an arm replacement soon."

He went to grab his wand from the nightstand, only for Mash to grab his arm.

"You shouldn't use your magic yet. You just transformed."

Finn noticed the concern in Mash's eyes with good reason. Each of their friends couldn't use their magic correctly for days after their own transformations. Still...

"I've been gradually transforming for months though. It wasn't sudden like everyone else. I think I'll be fine. Besides...I think I'm gonna need help washing my back and wings and I really don't think you can help with just one arm. Take your shirt off so I can reattach it."

The spell was a bit wonky in the beginning, the butterflies that usually appeared more curious to check out their caster's new form than do their job, but eventually the creatures settled on the part that needed healing and Finn successfully put Mash's arm back.

The teen flexed it a bit, satisfied with the work. "It's weaker but I can manage."

"Good. Because I don't think we can go to the graveyard until this weekend. No fighting any dragons or something like that."

"Carpaccio's trying to be good this year. That won't be a problem."

Finn snorted as he carefully stood up, only for the weight of his wings to nearly topple him. Luckily Mash was able to catch him before he hit the floor.

"Okay...I'm gonna have to get used to walking again. The wings are a bit top heavy and I'll need to find my balance again."

---------

Ever since the transformations happened at Easton, the rest of the friend group had been worried about Finn. Even while Mash had changed somewhat, Finn had remained human. And it was definitely affecting him despite the teen assuring them he was fine.

There had been small changes at first to their friend, barely noticeable. But as the months progressed, there was cause for concern. His mood changed, as well as his eating and sleeping habits.

The latest incident had been the last straw. The Friday before they had their week long break, Finn had grown deathly sick and sequestered himself in his room, the only person allowed to stay with him was Mash, after the teen went to Wahlberg himself to ask to stay when everyone else was to vacate the school.

Even moving Finn to one of their houses to recover was out of the question once their Headmaster got involved. Finn was to stay put where he was with Rayne personally taking time out from his Bureau duties to come by and see his brother, before exiting quickly and using a multilayered spell to keep the door closed to anyone but the two locked inside.

That had been over a week ago, nine days to be exact, and the three had worried about their friend the entire time they were on break.

They had got back the following Sunday, before class was to start the next day, but the door remained closed the entire day, even when Lance had knocked on the door earlier. He got a response from Mash, saying Finn was fine, but their friend refused to open the door.

Dot paced around the room, his new werewolf status increasing his energy output since he had been doing it for hours. "We have to do something!"

Lance sighed as he saw Lemon float back in, shaking her head.

"I can't get in either. Whatever spell Rayne put on the door applied to the entire room on every side. Even the window is blocked and blacked out so I can't see inside."

"It doesn't make sense."

Dot and Lemon turned to look at Lance.

"It doesn't make sense that Rayne didn't take Finn to a healer if he was as sick as Mash said. And Wahlberg allowed them to stay here despite everyone being forced to leave. No offense to Mash but he's the last person that's qualified to take care of a sick person, even if they're dating."

Before the two could say anything, there was a crash in the hall, followed by a muffled "Sorry." and a familiar laugh. Their eyes all widened and they rushed to the door to open it, only to see the door of 302 close quickly.

Lance quickly walked to the door and banged on it. "Okay Mash! We just heard you and Finn! Open the door!"

There was muffled talking before the door slowly opened and Mash appeared. "Hey."

Dot pushed Lance slightly out of the way. "Don't "hey" us! How's Finn doing?! We want to actually see him. We've been worried sick about him dude!"

Mash turned to look over at the couch by the fireplace before opening the door fully to let the others in.

Finn was sitting on the couch, a large fluffy blanket around his shoulders. He was staring intensely at the fire while holding a cup of, by the smell of it, an herbal tea with a lot of honey in it. He didn't seem to notice anyone there until Mash put his hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.

Finn blinked several times before he finally realized everyone surrounding him.

"Oh...hey guys. Sorry about scaring you like that. I think I'm finally over the worst of it. Breaking out of that shell I was in has been a long time coming. My body feels a lot better than it has in months!"

"The shower helped him a lot."

Finn nodded. "Washing all that gunk and goo off was certainly refreshing. Thanks for helping me wash my back and...other places. They're still pretty sensitive, especially around the base."

There was a shared glance between Lance, Dot, and Lemon at what Finn said, a silent response refusing to be spoken. Surely the two hadn't- Especially just after Finn had recovered...

The room had grown silent as Finn focused back on the fire until Dot walked over and ruffled his hair. He thought it felt...fuzzier...but then again, his hands were covered in fur now.

"Uh...glad you're feeling better. But...are you sure..."

Finn snapped out of his daze again to look up at Dot. "I'll be fine now. But thanks for your concern. I promise I won't worry you again about how I was acting the last few months."

"If you say so buddy."

The three left, mostly satisfied with at least seeing that Finn wasn't at death's door. Still...despite Finn's assurances again, they were still concerned for his wellbeing and would make sure he didn't get as bad as he had got again.

-------

"You're zoning out again."

Finn blinked and focused on Mash instead of the fire. "Sorry. It's a moth thing."

"So you're definitely one."

Finn nodded and stood up, pulling the blanket off to unfurl his wings, fully dry thanks to the blanket and fire.

"I don't recognize the pattern of any butterflies Kaldo and I researched, plus they're fluffier than a butterfly's would be."

His antenna weren't flush in his hair at the moment and he touched one gently. "Moth antenna are fluffy and thick and..."

He pointed to the remnants of the cocoon he had been in the past week. "Moths usually have silky cocoons while butterflies have hard chrysalis. Also...I'm sure it would have been fine to move my c-"

"No. Too risky either way."

"I'm not that fragile and I still have my healing magic as a factor. I-"

"Finn..."

Finn sighed and held up his arms, Mash embracing him a moment later, careful of the delicate wings behind Finn.

"Thank you for taking care of me Mash. Like I told the others, I promise I won't worry you again."

Chapter 2: Eating Habits

Finn was immensely glad for the fact that he didn't fully transform into a moth or have more noticeable characteristics, save for the massive wings he was slowly learning to walk with. Then again, most the people that changed still had their human bodies in a way, so he really shouldn't have worried the way he did.

Especially in the beginning of his transformation, the "larva stage" as it were, where he craved the most unusual things to eat and tried to hide the fact he was eating the paper bag Mash's creampuffs were housed in one day while coming back from a shopping trip date.

Mash's only reaction had been to take out the creampuffs and eat them, leaving Finn to happily munch on the bag they usually threw away.

And it hadn't been just paper (his poor homework always had slight bite marks in it from chewing on it), but he had started eating holes in his clothing and bedsheets and while he tried to eat in spots that wouldn't be noticed, eventually he got careless and Lemon noticed one of his sweater sleeves close to unraveling when he had bit a hole in it earlier.

The reinforced cloak from Rayne really helped his chewing habits, even if he was a little mad his friends had gone to his brother in concern in the first place. It was now working as a perfect shield for his wings so they didn't get damaged or were in the way while he attended classes.

And at least he had craved actual food as well. Leafy vegetables and a lot of carb heavy foods were his main diet during that time. Although...try as he might to still eat the things his human body needed, the smell of meat disgusted him for the moment which Mash helped him compensate for with protein shakes.

He was aware his body changed a bit, losing some of the muscle he had and replacing it with fat due to all the carbs, especially during the last week of his larva stage, but he knew it was just to prepare for the "pupa stage" of transforming. He'd need the fat and energy since he wouldn't be able to eat for at least a week or so while cocooned.

But, that part was over. He had slimmed back down post transformation and was glad he was back to eating well balanced meals again for his partially human body, albeit with a huge sweet tooth now.

----------

Dot swallowed thickly as he watched Finn completely saturate his pancakes in a whole jar of honey, one that was personally rendered by Kaldo's immense beehives he now kept upon the man becoming partially one himself.

Finn was practically shaking in excitement at his creation as he topped the pancakes with various jams and jellies and a huge whopping heap of whipped cream.

He took a bite and moaned in bliss. "Gods! You can really taste the honeysuckle in this! With a slight hint of orange blossom and ooooh lavender! Kaldo really outdid himself on this honey blend!"

Lance looked over to Dot who looked visibly shaken, his own fangs aching as he tried to drink his blood smoothie while trying not to watch or listen to Finn gush about the literal pounds of sugar he was consuming. Could you even get secondhand cavities? It...would be possible with Finn's personal magic, but surely their friend wasn't that cruel.

Mash was unfazed as usual with his boyfriend's antics, indulging Finn in the teen's self destructive habits by not saying anything. The only thing he did was place a couple of pieces of sausage on Finn's plate, who dragged it into the puddle of honey before eating it.

At least he was eating meat again and not outright rejecting it like he had been for months. But that amount of sugar wasn't healthy. Especially with the massive weight gain the three had seen the days before Finn had got sick. Sure he was skinny again, but he was bound to put back the weight with that amount of sugar.

A letter was written by the three after Finn and Mash said their "goodnights" and was sent by dawn before they went to bed.

---------

"Thank you so much Rayne! I hope Kaldo is able to determine what kind of moth I am with the pictures you took."

Rayne nodded and pocketed the small prototype camera he had been working on in his department.

"You know I'm not here only for your request. Your friends are worried again."

"What now?"

"Your eating habits again. Lemon wrote to tell me you've been dumping whole jars of honey on your food."

Finn grew silent for a moment, folding his wings around him. "Would you...be mad if I told you I'm still not eating right?"

Rayne raised his eyebrow, making a check of Finn's remaining time with his new lifespan ability. It was still the same, so no danger. "Go on."

"I'm eating properly human-wise but still need more sugar to maintain the rest of me, especially once I learn to fly."

"Hmmmm."

A week later, a huge package was sent to the dorm, filled with colorful water bottles and several types of sugar. There was even a packet of dried honey, courtesy of Kaldo.

----------

"Wait Dot! That's-"

"BLUUUUUGGGGHHH!"

"I'll go get you some water! Hold on!"

Dot whimpered as he clawed at his tongue, the cloying taste of pure sugar stinging it. He really should have realized Finn's water bottle wouldn't have had untainted water in it, especially since his sugar intake had increased, their concerned letter to Rayne apparently ignored.

Notes:

Rayne- Grim Reaper - has an ability to see the lifespan of every living creature

Kaldo - bee creature mostly in the same way Finn is. He can't make honey himself but is able to communicate with his hives and supervise them.

Chapter 3: Eyes

One of the definite shifts of the magical realm post transformation of its populous was the fact that many of the became creatures that were nocturnal or worked better during the night. There had been many shifts to businesses and schools due to this and many changes to personnel to accommodate.

Students that weren't affected to the shift could choose to keep their day classes or switch to night classes, but were responsible for changing their sleep patterns themselves. If there seemed to be a problem regarding grades or mood shifts, they would be forced to switch back.

-------

Early in Finn's larva stage, before he even knew he was transforming, he woke up to find the sun blinding and disorienting to him and instantly got a headache from it. He buried his face in his pillow and whimpered loudly, causing Mash to instantly be at his side.

"Finn?"

"H-Hurts. The sun."

He laid there for a few minutes as Mash shifted off his bed, coming back and putting his hand over Finn's eyes.

"Lay on your back."

Finn shifted slowly as Mash kept his hand across his face, until he was laying on his back like Mash instructed. Mash pulled his hand away, only for it to be replaced by a wet washcloth.

"I'm gonna find something to block the window. I'll be back."

Finn could only nod, but even that movement made his head pound.

He must have fallen back asleep when he felt someone lightly shaking him and realized the washcloth was dry. It was slowly peeled away and Finn blearily opened his eyes to see Mash looking at him in concern. The room was noticeably darker, the only light coming from the fireplace on the opposite end of the room.

"How are you feeling?"

Finn slowly sat up, Mash helping him, as he clutched his head and blinked. "A bit better. But my eyes are still blurry. Can't seem to focus on anything."

Mash tilted Finn's face up to check if he could see anything wrong with Finn's eyes, his own widening in surprise. "Uh Finn? Are you sure you stayed human?"

Finn frowned and nodded. "I was right in the middle of everything like the others but there wasn't any changes to me like they got hit with."

Mash hummed before he stood up and lifted Finn out of the bed.

"Wh- Mash! What are you doing?!"

"Taking you to the bathroom for the mirror. Keep your eyes closed. It's still daytime."

Finn did as he was told, burying his head in Mash's chest for extra protection, as Mash walked to their destination.

"We're here."

Mash set Finn down, the teen grateful the room wasn't too brightly lit.

He walked to the mirror and looked into it. At first, he didn't notice anything. His eyes were still blurry so he tried to focus looking at the freckles on the right side of his face. After a few minutes, his vision cleared and he was able to see himself fully.

He was confused. Everything looked normal on him. He still had a human face. Mouth, nose, ears...all normal. Eyes were...nor-

Oh.

Finn leaned in closer, focusing on his right eye. It looked normal initially, but up close he could make out very tiny sectioned chambers. He had seen this on one other person.

"I think I need to talk to Kaldo."

---------

Kaldo, upon his own transformation, and then when Finn showed him his own, basically wiped the Bureau library of every insect book he could find.

"You know, you're lucky it's gradual. The clinic still has patients that couldn't handle the sudden changes. Even some of us Divine Visionaries had a bit of trouble to adapt. I think the three that didn't have any trouble was Renatus, Orter, and your brother."

"Speaking of Rayne...can you do me a favor? Tell him to please come talk to me."

"He's avoiding you again, isn't he."

Finn nodded. "I know it's not for the reason I used to think. I know he cares about me now. It's just...I know what his new ability is and I know he's avoiding me because of it. He doesn't want to see when I die."

"Even though it seems the ones that transformed basically inherited Innocent Zero's goal of immortality? You would count now."

Finn gave a frustrated sigh. "Yeah. I would. And maybe my transformation was already starting like everyone else's did, but my stubborn as fuck brother decided to not look at my lifespan like everyone else because he's a damn coward."

Kaldo winced at the colorful language Finn used. While he knew the teen cursed, it was still jarring to hear from a usually polite and well mannered person.

Finn took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's just...it would have been nice to have a heads up is all. Give me more peace of mind. And Mash's."

Kaldo nodded. The two teens had recently started dating before the transformations started. Mash was immortal...but due to what he became, was also dependent on someone with healing magic to keep his body fresh and maintained. If Finn had stayed human...both of them would eventually die.

"I'll talk to him."

------------

His vision had improved after his final transformation and he was able to focus better on seeing what was in front of him. His "moth vision" finally blended nicely with his still partially human eyes, so a big hiccup he had been facing with fast moving objects had corrected itself.

The only problem he faced was the pull of the moon, especially once it was full. While Mash or anyone else could bring him out of his daze with any other source of light, the moon transfixed him, as if he were under a spell.

The dark curtains stayed up in their room, but Mash wasn't able to keep watch of Finn the entire time, and there were times the teen had nearly fallen out of a window trying to get closer to the moon.

-------

"We write Rayne a letter about Finn's eating habits and he just encourages it, another letter for his apparent sleepwalking because he can't adjust to the night hours, and he just...just...AHHHHHWOOOOOO!"

Lance let Dot howl for a bit before finally clamping his hand over the werewolf's mouth to silence him.

"I'm just as frustrated as you. It's one thing when Mash encourages it, it's another when Rayne does it too."

Lemon tapped her quill on the table. "Maybe we weren't clear with our letters? Enough so that Finn couldn't talk his way out of what we're concerned about."

Lance removed his hand and crossed hia arms. "I'm quite sure if I received a letter saying Anna was stumbling around, had bags under her eyes which...did actually go away, and was mostly in a daze, I'd immediately take action, not just send him a pair of sunglasses."

"You'd never let her out of your sight which would make it preeeety awkward when we're-"

Dot once again had his mouth covered.

Lemon went back to her parchment. "What can we even write to Rayne to force him to take action?"

-------

"Do they work?"

Finn stared directly at the moon, at the moment just a sliver, but still would have a slight pull. He didn't feel anything wearing the sunglasses Rayne sent.

"They do for the moment, but Rayne told me to document wearing them so he can give the research to Wirth if there needs improvements. Rayne tells me Wirth has been enjoying creating specialty glasses for the more extreme transformed people."

"Seems he found a good job."

Finn nodded. "He gets to go through the library at the Bureau for research in topics he didn't think to learn about, so it's the perfect job for him. Especially after Orter worked with him to control his form."

He walked around the room, amazed the light didn't trigger and throw him into a daze like before.

"I think we'll be able to visit the graveyard with no issues anymore."

Notes:

Divine Visionaries

Ryoh- Asteriai nymph
Kaldo- bee creature (kind of like a Melissae but not so many features)
Renatus- zombie but functional. Just needs to eat a brain once in a while, which are plentiful in the graveyard he keeps
Rayne- grim reaper
Orter- sand golem (looks human most the time due to practice)
Sophina- harpy (owl)
Tsurara- yeti
Agito- dragon

Wirth- mud golem (learned how to look human again with Orter's help. In turn, created a pair of glasses that could withstand Orter transforming and back again)

Chapter 4: Musings

Rayne sighed as another "well-meaning" letter from Finn's friends was dropped on his desk. He fed the owl that delivered it and the thing happily flew away, not knowing the potential dangerous situation that was brewing due to the letter it had carried.

He summoned a mini partisan and sliced open the seal, reading the contents with another heavy sigh. He understood the need to be concerned, but more often than not, the concerns that the three would bring up was overkill.

He grabbed a book from one of his drawers and thumbed through it, pinpointing the exact thing that was "ailing" Finn, and got to work drafting up what he needed. No doubt by the time he was done, it could be in production by the time Finn sent him the request himself.

Sure enough, by the time he sent for his assistant, Finn's letter arrived. He had finished reading the contents and drafted a few changes when there was a knock followed by the door opening.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

Rayne gave an annoyed glare at Wirth.

"You're mad at Orter again."

Wirth chuckled and came into the room, closing the door and sitting down. "How'd you guess?"

"You only call me "sir" when your brother's done something to warrant it."

Rayne looked over the contents of what he wanted one more time before sliding the papers to Wirth. "So I have a project for you. Something you'll really enjoy researching."

Wirth took the papers and began to leaf through them. "Let's see about that. I thought the same designing Orter's glasses but the dumbass keeps turning them into sand when he transforms and can't change them back afterwards. I'm tired of making the same damn- oh."

Wirth's eyes lit up as he began reading. "You know Love was just talking about Finn the other day. He asked her if she could join her in learning how to fly since her fairy wings have mostly the same mechanics. Still can't believe he ended up changed too. But well...given what he is, it makes sense. The glasses should be no problem to make."

Rayne sighed deeply. "If only his friends would stop acting like he's dying due to the changes."

He held up the latest letter from them. "Every damn time Finn shows any sign of change, I get a "concerned" letter. I know moths and butterflies are fragile, and...his mental state wasn't the best before that final battle, but Finn has grown. He's strong. And I truly believe it when Kaldo says he's only at the cusp of the magical power he can eventually unlock."

"Can I read the letter?"

Rayne handed it to Wirth and began to grab the other letters that had been sent to let him read. After a few minutes Wirth looked up.

"So...this is just a shot in the dark, but...is it possible...they don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Finn's a moth creature."

Rayne slowly blinked at him before holding up the pictures he took. "Pretty sure it's hard to hide those Wirth."

"Damn! Impressive wingspan! Yeah...those would be hard to hide."

"Not to mention his eyes have changed and he's got antenna. He's very clearly a moth creature. There's no way those three idiots are that stupid not to notice."

-----------

"Would you still love me if I was a worm?"

Mash had taken a long time to answer when Finn had first asked the question, back when the changes started, causing him to frown before Mash walked over to his desk and wrapped his arms around the smaller teen.

"No, cuz you're a caterpillar. They're different... I think."

Finn had laughed at Mash's blunt response and it was still an ongoing inside joke to them to show their affection. Of course Mash wasn't comfortable with showing affection around others like he got with Finn in private, so it was mostly whispered in his ear, causing Finn to giggle each time, even when the term got changed to moth.

Dot's ears pricked up at the beginning of Mash's answer to the question Finn constantly asked Mash, but never could quite make out what Mash would whisper to him.

He didn't know why it annoyed him so much, whether it was not being able to hear despite his new enhanced hearing or Mash still not registering just how fragile Finn was. He knew being lovesick would cause you to not see if your partner was in danger, but Finn had just been on death's door, so Mash should be more careful. Especially since Finn still walked a bit wobbly even a month later after he had got sick.

And he wasn't just going to forget about the incident in the laundry room the week before, when Finn had gone to get the soap out of the closet, only to become violently ill and nearly passed out. He was glad Finn hadn't thrown up as he helped the boy back to his room. He wasn't sure if the smell of vomit combined with the strong soap smell and mothballs that were in the bottom of the closet would mix well for his sensitive nose.

But it seemed like no one, save for the three of them, even cared about Finn's wellbeing or the drastic and dire situation he was in.

-------

Lemon waited until Finn and Mash went to bed before she ventured into Lance's and Dot's room, shaking her head.

"Love was a bust as well. All she told me was that she was helping Finn with flying lessons. She even sounded annoyed when I asked if that was it."

Lance crossed his arms and sighed. "We have to do something ourselves then. None of the people that would care about Finn are purely human anymore so I think they're forgetting just how fragile we were. We have to confront him and not rely on others to do it. As much as I hate to do it, we have to be firm in letting him know he can't continue on with trying to keep up with us. If that hurts our friendship with him, so be it. I'd rather him be alive than mourn our friend because of what this is doing to him."

Notes:

Love- fairy

Notes:

I'll update each chapter with the characters and various creatures they became if they're mentioned

Finn- Moth creature
Mash- Frankenstein monster-esque
Lance- Vampire
Dot- Werewolf
Lemon- Ghost/Poltergeist

Carpaccio- Dragon
Delisaster- Naga
Innocent Zero- six heart form before ultimate God form