The feeling of being safe didn't fade.

It was… Well, it was strange enough that Danny couldn't help but be aware of it. He just usually didn't feel safe. Not unreasonably, he thought. Ghosts could attack at any time. Not to mention his parents. And the house. And the food. He was just usually a little on edge, always, and now that edge was gone.

Maybe it was how the rest of the summit was… normal was probably the wrong word. 'Not particularly remarkable,' maybe? Okay, for humans other than Danny and his social circle, it probably was remarkable, and for most ghosts, too, but… No big fights broke out. All of the delegates went home with all their limbs attached. Danny didn't do much besides run minor errands, deliver messages, and stand in corners. The only two remotely strange things were fixing a ghostly copier (more a negotiation with a malicious spirit than an engineering problem), and sharing his opinion on sports memorabilia with a group of maybe-gladiators (they'd wanted the take of a 'modern audience').

Seeing so many ghosts working together (mostly) peacefully must have left an impression on him?

Yeah, he didn't get it, either. But the feeling was there, even if he was still fighting ghosts whenever he went home. It stuck around even when the summit ended and everyone went home.

It lasted up until Danny started to realize it was a problem. Or… something was a problem. Maybe it wasn't feeling safe, exactly, but he didn't know what else had changed.

(Well, he knew some other things had changed. The wisps in Amity Park had gotten even friendlier, but that was probably just because he'd spent so much time with the ones at the summit, right?)

Because here's the thing: after the summit, ghost attacks got a lot harder. The ghosts didn't seem to get better at fighting, or stronger, and they didn't get new powers, they just seemed tougher. It took longer to bring them down. None of the damage he dealt stuck.

Ghosts usually didn't bruise all that much, but he could swear he saw cuts just melt off Ember's skin, after he'd gotten her with a shower of ice shards. Technus, when in his base form, usually gave up after only a few punches. The last time he'd shown up, it had taken dozens. Even animal ghosts and ectopusses took more time and energy to handle.

Since Danny's overall strategy was weakening ghosts enough for the thermos to suck them in, that was a problem. Ghost fights were taking way, way longer, and while that was doable in the Summer, with school coming up, Danny was getting nervous.

And nerves were one thing, but thirty minutes to catch the Box Ghost? Yeah. Something was wrong.

He looked at the thermos itself, first. It'd make sense if wear and tear had reduced its power. He tried to maintain it, but he wasn't his parents. There could be something he didn't see. But when he tested it with Jazz, it sucked him in just as readily as always.

Which meant the problem was with him.

He needed help.

Clockwork hadn't said anything, so he probably couldn't until Danny figured out what was going on. It'd be a future thing, not a past thing. If he needed help with fighting, Pandora would be the one to go to… But this seemed more like a health thing. And Frostbite was the one to go to for that kind of thing.

So, he made up his excuses, asked Tucker to cover for him, and hopped through the portal. The Far Frozen was far away at this time of year, but in this particular instance, Danny would have to bite the bullet.

He was, however, pleased to note that it didn't take him any longer to get there than he had expected, and he wasn't any more tired than usual, either. It gave him hope that this might be an easy problem to solve.

It wasn't.

.

As usual, Frostbite was the first to greet him when he flew into the Far Frozen. They had to have some kind of early warning system, to always know when he was about to show up, but questions about it always just got him confused looks, so he figured he probably wasn't using the right words.

But that wasn't why he was here today, so he pushed that thought to the back of his mind in favor of diving at Frostbite and snuggling deep into his fur. Of course, his thoughts then turned to 'why am I doing this' and 'this is way too much cuddling for someone not in my family' and 'oh my gosh what is wrong with me.' But by then, he was already too engaged to extract himself, and Frostbite was laughing and patting him heartily on the back.

So. Danny let himself relax and allowed his tail to twine around Frostbite's upper arm.

"What brings you here today, Great One?" asked Frostbite.

Danny pressed himself closer. "I'm having trouble with something, lately."

"Ah," said Frostbite. "And what is this something?"

"Fighting ghosts," said Danny, "it just seems harder for some reason."

"Hm," said Frostbite, starting to carry Danny deeper into the village. "We can take a look and see if anything is causing that. But from what I can see and feel, it looks like you're healthy, on a surface level. We might have to do some more in-depth scans and tests than usual to find the problem."

"That's okay," mumbled Danny. "I kind of figured. I've got the whole day free."

They walked into the medical cave network. The doctors waved and smiled at them. Danny waved shyly back. Some of the smiles seemed awfully knowing for some reason.

"We're going to start with some of the simple scans," said Frostbite. "The ones we usually do during a regular checkup. Is that okay?"

"Yep," said Danny, sliding down onto the examination table. He knew the drill for these.

"I want to ask you a few questions while the scans are processing, if that's alright."

"That's fine."

"When you say that you're having trouble fighting, what exactly do you mean?"

"I don't know, that's the problem. It just is taking longer, and none of my hits seem to do much for long. Like I've gotten weaker, but I can't figure out how. When I test things, everything seems to work the same as always."

"And when did this start?"

"About when the summit ended," said Danny. "Or during the summit? I don't know. Around then, anyway."

"I see, I see," said Frostbite. "Have you been experiencing anything else out of the ordinary since that time? Even things that don't necessarily seem connected."

"Um," said Danny. He didn't really want to talk about his feelings, especially not feelings related to Frostbite himself, but… Ghosts were strongly influenced by their feelings. "There was, um, there was… During the summit, I, uh."

"Did someone do something to you while you were a page?" asked Frostbite, obviously concerned.

"No. No. When I was… When I fell asleep. Oh my gosh, this is embarrassing," he said, under his breath. "When I fell asleep, with you guys… since then I've felt a little, um. Weird. About things."

"What kind of things?"

"I don't know. Until fights started to get so much longer, I guess I just felt…" He knew he was blushing hard. "Safe. I guess."

"Ahh," said Frostbite, in a tone of understanding. "I think I see what might be happening, but I will need to check your core readings to be sure."

"What do you think it is?"

"Your core may be settling."

"What do you mean, my core's settling? What does that mean? What's settling?"

"You do not–? Oh, I suppose you would not know. I forget how young you are, sometimes. Which I shouldn't, considering we're talking about your core settling, but, hm, how to explain? It is a bit different for different age groups, but when a newer ghost feels as if they have found their place, or feels truly safe and comfortable, their cores start to settle. For ghosts your age, that's usually when they, consciously or otherwise, decide that they have found their parents."

Danny blinked up at the ceiling. "I've known where my parents have been the whole time I've been a ghost, though."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Great One," said Frostbite, "but settling isn't about living parents. It's what you've chosen on this side of things."

Danny was aware that he was probably bright red at the moment. "Oh," he said.

"If I may ask… Who was it?"

"Huh?"

"I have to assume it was one of the three of us," said Frostbite. "Pandora, Clockwork, or myself."

"Oh, um. It was. It was all three of you, actually." He swallowed. "But what would that have to do with fights being harder? Does settling mean that you lose power or something?"

"Not at all! But it does generally mean that the ghost in question develops fewer abilities related to combat and defense, and starts developing abilities more in alignment with their purpose. You could say that settling is a sign that you are moving out of survival mode."

"Okay… But why would that make fights harder?" Maybe he was being slow and stupid, but he didn't get it.

"I suspect you are developing or about to develop a new power, one that you don't know how to control or compensate for yet."

"Like when my ice powers came in?"

"Yes, just so. Was it really all three of us?"

"I… think so? I, um. I was asleep on all three of you, wasn't I?" He really wanted this conversation to be over.

"Ah, yes. You were very…" Frostbite made a vague hand motion. "So we took turns passing you around."

Danny would never be able to live this down in any way, shape, or form, would he?

"Are the scans done yet?"

"Not quite. Just a few minutes longer."

Danny took a deep breath, then sighed. "Okay."

"Actually, if it is because of a new power, we may be able to see from just these scans."

"That would be good," allowed Danny. "Is, um. Is this going to make things weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"That, you know, I have… feelings. Like this."

"It is perfectly natural, so I don't see why it would."

Before Danny could scrounge up the bravery for another question, the console in front of Frostbite dinged.

"There we are," said Frostbite. "Now, if you'll just give me a moment to analyze this…"

Danny sat up and nervously kicked his legs back and forth as he waited. It would be good if Frostbite was right and this was just a new power coming in… Sometimes, his powers could be really inconvenient, but he could usually get the downsides more or less under control with practice. Once he knew what they were, that is.

(Although, he still slipped up with almost all of his powers once in a while. They were just very instinctive. Reflexive, even.)

"Yes, I would say it is a new power… Not that we shouldn't still run those other tests, just to make sure. You come in so rarely, after all."

Danny groaned, dramatically, hiding his relief. And the fact that he'd already planned on coming more often, because those feelings he'd mentioned? He liked them.

"Okay," he said. "But can you tell what kind of a power it is?"

"Possibly, possibly." Frostbite looked up at Danny with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Were you hoping for something in particular?"

Danny shrugged. "Something less destructive than my Wail, I guess," he said. "And not mind control." He really had enough of both of those things. "Maybe something that will actually help me end fights faster once I get it? I don't know."

The thing was, Danny already had a lot of powers. He had the 'standard set' of flight, invisibility, and intangibility, like every other ghost, but he could also bench press a bus, bounce back from being thrown through walls, do stuff like catch arrows in his bare hands, heal from basically anything (including Freakshow melting him that one time), shoot ghost rays, make shields and other ecto-energy constructs, tase people, set things on fire, freeze things, use telekinesis… The list went on.

It was no wonder he couldn't keep track of them all.

(What he really hoped for was time to actually master his powers in peace. But he knew he wasn't going to get that.)

The question was less 'what did he want' and more 'what didn't he already have.' Maybe something like Ember's powers? Or Desiree's? Those seemed so personal… On the other hand, he'd picked up some technopathy from Technus and dream diving from Nocturne, so maybe not.

"Hm," said Frostbite. "I could not say if they could let you end fights faster, but I would say these fulfill your first two requirements."

"'They?'" echoed Danny.

"Yes," said Frostbite. "You're developing a set of aura effects - that is, powers that affect all space within a certain radius of yourself. It is somewhat difficult to determine where one aura effect begins and another ends; however, I believe there are at least two distinct ones here. One is a healing aura, which is rare, but I've examined a few of them in my time, and the other appears to be an aura designed to increase the power of nearby ghosts, similar to that of a wisp."

"Oh," said Danny, a little stunned. "I guess that explains why fights were so much harder. I was healing them?"

"And possibly increasing their power," said Frostbite.

"Healing powers. Healing powers," he repeated, testing out the idea. Sure, he'd gotten them in a typically inconvenient way, and he'd have to figure out how to turn them off if he didn't want ghost fights to stay long and annoying, but being able to heal people… "Do they work on humans?"

"I am unsure," said Frostbite, frowning. "Possibly. I would have to run some tests… Perhaps your friends might volunteer?"

"Would they have to get hurt?" asked Danny, because he could go without knowing.

"Not necessarily. Simple readings might be enough."

"Okay," said Danny. "I'll ask them. Wow. Healing powers. Will you help me figure them out? How to control them and stuff?"

"Of course, Great One," said Frostbite with a soft expression on his face. "I would be honored. But you ought to speak with Clockwork as well."

Danny tilted his head. "About healing?"

"Yes. After all, time may wear away mountains and topple empires, but it also heals all wounds."

Danny made a face. "Isn't that just a saying?"

"And Lady Pandora is just a myth."

"Uh, yeah. I get what you're saying."

"Although, it would perhaps be a good idea for you to speak to both Clockwork and Pandora, considering."

"Mhm, yeah," said Danny. "So, can we start with how to toggle it on and off?"

"After your other tests," said Frostbite. "I want to give you a full checkup."

Danny sighed. "Okay."

.

"When dealing with aura effects," said Frostbite, "I have found that it is often best to start with making the aura visible. Once one can see the aura, it is easier for one to impose one's will on it."

"Okay," said Danny, bouncing into the middle of the practice field and stirring up a flurry of snowflakes. "How do I do that?"

Frostbite sat down next to him. "I will show you. All ghosts have an aura, even if the only effect it has is light and attraction or output of ectoplasm."

"Are those the only effects yours has?"

"Mine is also attached to my cold core," said Frostbite. "My ice powers. That is fairly common, as these things go. Most of my people have something similar. That's why it is so cold here, in the Far Frozen."

"Oh," said Danny. "I always thought it was the other way around. That you guys lived here because it was cold, not that it was cold because you lived here."

"Well," said Frostbite with a chuff. "This was never a warm place. We picked it because it was already cold. But, yes, our auras make it even colder. You may also start to experience that, in the future."

"But not yet?"

"I did not see any evidence of it in your scans. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes," said Danny.

"Good. Now, watch and feel."

The practice field began to fill with odd motes of light, like dust caught in a sunbeam, but icy blue instead of gold. More appeared, until it was as if Danny and Frostbite were sitting in a mist made of light. It was difficult to see very far in the mist, but it wasn't so expansive or so thick that Danny couldn't see the edge of it, well within the bounds of the practice field.

It felt odd on Danny's skin. Like there was something, some vibration, some emanation, that he hadn't felt before.

"Focus on what you feel from me, and see if you can replicate it within yourself."

Danny closed his eyes, searching, like he often had to do with new powers. He could do this. He knew he could do this.

And, this time, he would do this without freezing Frostbite or any of the other yetis solid!

"There you are," said Frostbite, softly. "Go ahead and look."

Danny opened his eyes. Frostbite had stopped making his aura visible at some point while Danny focused on his own, so it was only Danny's aura that illuminated the space around them, now. His bubble was much smaller than Frostbite's, only extending a few meters beyond Danny, and more diffuse, fading out towards the edges. But, to Danny, the color was the most striking thing about it. It was silvery-white, like moonlight. Like the glow his body cast while he was in ghost form, too, actually, but looking at it like this, it reminded him most of moonlight. He wondered–

His concentration slipped, and the light rapidly faded into nothing.

Frostbite patted his shoulder. "That's alright. It takes a while to learn how to keep that up consistently. We will practice, and once you are able to do it, then we will move on."

"Right," said Danny. "Aura powers will still be there, right?"

"Indeed, and as I said, they are not fully developed yet. But, before you try again, allow me to give you some pointers…"

.

Unfortunately, by the time Danny had to leave (because summer or not, his parents weren't that oblivious), he hadn't made that much progress. At least, he felt that way, even if Frostbite disagreed.

Apparently, auras were hard to get control over, because they were so tightly tied to what a ghost was… Ghost could communicate with them… And most did it subconsciously… It was a lot of information, and Danny felt like he had hardly absorbed any of it.

But who could blame him? Healing powers.

As long as he really could get them under control, and not spend his fights healing his enemies - and maybe powering them up, too - they would be amazing. A huge relief. He didn't exactly spend his days and nights wracked with guilt or anything, but he was the one who had opened the portal and let most of the ghosts into Amity Park (ones like Vlad, Spectra, and Desiree notwithstanding), and he hated it when people got hurt during ghost fights. Helping with that… It sent a little thrill through him.

A little thrill, and a spiraling fantasy about how maybe this was a sign of things to come. Fighting to protect was all very well and good. He often enjoyed what he did for Amity Park. But sometimes he felt as if he was bailing water out of a sinking ship, never able to take a moment to fix the holes in it. Maybe he could help Sam with her activism, or Tucker with his robotics projects. Maybe he could spend more time learning from Frostbite - depending on how big his aura wound up, he could sit in the medical center, or with patients, and help them heal. Maybe he'd get a power that would let him repair things, and help Clockwork, or fix some of the property damage he often caused. Maybe…

Well, he was definitely getting ahead of himself. He couldn't see the future. For example, he hadn't seen that Long Now would be here, smack dab in the middle of his path home.

But maybe he should have.

If Clockwork was here, that meant he had time. He flew through the doors, and landed in front of a very smug looking Clockwork.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" he asked, hands on his hips. "This whole settling thing. You knew when you set up the page job."

"Yes," said Clockwork. "I did."

"Why? Why would you do that?" Because even if he didn't mind having healing powers, having a power that strengthened other ghosts was inconvenient, and he was hesitant about… well… the meaning behind his core settling. And not just because he was embarrassed.

As much as he liked them, Clockwork, Frostbite, and Pandora were not his parents.

(Even if part of him wanted them to be.)

"Am I not allowed to want more than endless fighting for someone I care about?" asked Clockwork with an exquisitely arched eyebrow.

Danny blushed, ectoplasm cold at the surface of his skin. "It isn't like I won't still be fighting other ghosts. They're not going to stop coming and fighting just because I have new powers. They're not going to stop coming, period. They've got stuff they want."

Clockwork hummed, then turned his head upward, towards the spiraling heights and hanging bells of the clocktower. Will-o-the-wisps, the ghostly equivalent of remora, floated lazily among the dark shapes of bells and chains.

"When was the last time you saw a ghost attack a wisp?" Clockwork asked.

Danny made a face. "That's different. They're harmless. And I've got to protect Amity Park. They don't."

"You have never seen a nest of wisps swarm an enemy," said Clockwork.

"Do they have enemies if they're never attacked?" asked Danny, trying to put a hole in Clockwork's argument.

"I did not say that they were never attacked. Only that it was very rare."

"I still don't see your point," said Danny.

"Perhaps I do not have one." Clockwork's smile faded, and he put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Just think of this as another option for you, another path you can take, another tool in your belt. You do not dislike the idea of having them, do you?"

"No," said Danny, who was still rather excited about it. The manipulation just got to him, sometimes. "But there's not going to be some kind of, I don't know, disaster where I'll need them, is there?"

Clockwork's eyebrow once again went up.

"Right, you can't tell me." Danny sighed.

"Quite the opposite. Daniel, do you imagine that you will never be involved in a situation where healing powers may be useful to you? That you will not, in fact, seek such situations out?"

"I don't seek out trouble."

"So you would never participate in search and rescue? Or in disaster relief? Even if events that required them were nearby?"

"Well… I don't know…" mumbled Danny. "Maybe, yeah."

Clockwork patted his shoulder. "If it ever feels like too much," he said, "the fighting, the expectations, any of it, my doors will always be open to you, for however long you need."

And– A part of Danny, the part that feels so safe right now, the part that knows that no matter how heated this argument gets, Clockwork won't hurt him (which is weird in and of itself, because they fought the first time they met), already knew that, but the rest of him relaxes further.

This is so weird.

He's not sure he likes it.

He's not sure he doesn't.

But whether or not he likes it, he goes in for a hug, and gets one.