A/N: Thanks to all those who've reviewed/subscribed/favorited my story! Those alerts get me more hyper than when I eat chocolate, and whenever I eat chocolate, I practically start jumping off of the walls. You get the idea, right?

… I would make up some stupid excuse for why my update was so late, but this is my normal pace. Well I finished a few days ago, but I didn't edit and went right to starting chapter two, thereby sufficiently procrastinating as usual.

Disclaimer: I believe I'm female… unless I'm mistaken (that would be scary). And Butch Hartman sounds a lot like a male name.

~~zZz~~

Chapter 1

~~zZz~~

Danny sighed, running his hand through his jet black hair. How many times had this happened in this week? Oh, yeah, over a dozen times now. And it was still Tuesday, for crying out loud!

"No, Sir Sanchez, I said this the last fourteen times and I will say it again. My son will not be marrying your daughter. My son and I have already agreed that he will only marry someone like him. No one else. There are many others out there for you to marry your daughter out to, and I'm getting impatient with this," John announced, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"But not many other hunters," the large man whispered, so that his daughter wouldn't hear. How had he even found out about puny Daniel Fenton Nightingale being the mysterious masked hunter Danny Phantom? Hunters always put masks on a part of their face when "hunting", so that problems like these didn't come up. Fathers were always trying to marry their sons and daughters off to hunters. Thankfully, all you had to do was put on a silly mask that only covered part of your face, change your name to something that sounded a lot like your original name, and put on an enchantment bracelet, and the whole village is clueless to your true identity. It was a constant joke in the League.

In the corner of the Nightingale household was Paulina herself, one of the prettiest girls in the village, looking around at the small, shabby home in disgust. "But papa! I don't want to marry a poor loser like Fenton," she whined. "Why not someone strong, capable, and rich like Kwan? They say he's good enough to be a hunter! There're even rumors that he's that one hunter, Danny Phantom. Just because his papa is a hunter doesn't mean he's a hunter!"

John laughed at that, and even Daniel had to chuckle. Didn't the town know anything about hunters yet? Hunters couldn't just be strong. They have to be lithe and quick, and light so that they won't make a sound when sneaking up on their prey. They have to be intelligent and sly. Someone as heavily muscled and stupid as Kwan would never make it into the League of the Hunters. Then again, the fact that Hunters were so anonymous meant people knew little to nothing about them. Other than his father, though. He was one of the select few that worked as Unofficial Hunters. They weren't good enough to be in the League, but they helped out when they could, albeit publicly.

His head perked up when a small, tinny voice filled his ears through the small green contraptions hanging from them, the Fenton Phones.

"Daniel? Can you hear me? It's Jasmine. There's a purple-eye in the shops," the girl said hurriedly. There was yelling in the background. "It's really weird though, it's not doing any damage… other than to the shopkeeper's mental health. Jeez, it's scaring the wits out of the poor man. He'll need some therapy at this rate."

"Got it, I'm on my way," he answered. He got up abruptly, going up the wooden stairs to his room without excusing himself.

"Is he going… to his… job?" Sir Sanchez asked hesitantly.

John scowled at the man. "Of course, you'd know, being the nasty old buzzard you are. Keep your nose out of my son's business, and get out of my house!" he spat, glaring at him.

"And say another word about your daughter marrying my son, and I don't care what you say about him in public. Go ahead; tell the whole world his secret! My son is not marrying that witch of a woman!"

And with that, he shoved them out of the house. Daniel grinned as he peaked down the stairs. He punched the air childishly, thinking, Dad, 1. Sanchez, 0.

~~zZz~~

Danny threw on his "Phantom's" outfit, a black sweater with a white turtleneck collar and his trademark DP insignia, with black pants held up by a white belt that carried an assortment of daggers, knives, and pretty much anything with a cutting edge. He put on white boots and put on his mask, which covered the top part of his head, and slipped on his white gloves. The gloves blocked the effects of Blood Blossoms, which had been made by a slave sorcerer. In fact, many of the objects used to fight magical beings were made by the League's supply of slave sorcerers. He had to make a private order for his gloves, though, since he didn't want anyone knowing about his "other half". He then slipped on his enchantment bracelet, turning his icy blue eyes to a warm, honey-golden color, the mark of an official hunter. There were extra enchantment jewelry hunters could wear to keep their identities deeply hidden, but Danny preferred being as "himself" as possible.

He picked up his sword from under one of his floorboards, a silvery white blade tinted red at the edges with a pitch black hilt made of a black mineral as hard as diamond. Also courtesy of the sorcerers. He slid his sword into its scabbard, black with a swirling silver design, and let out a deep whistle. Two small birds flew in through his window and perched on Danny's outstretched arm. They were thrushes – nightingales, to be precise.

You would've thought that at least one person put together the pieces, but they were all too oblivious. Even his father was a Hunter, whether official or non-official, and people still couldn't figure it out.

He was no longer the clumsy, bumbling Daniel Fenton that got picked on by Kwan every time he showed his face in public. He was Danny Phantom, the hunter known all over for truly living up to his name. He was as swift as a phantom and disappeared without a trace. No, he was a phantom. He couldn't forget that. No matter how much he hated himself for that sometimes, it was a fact.

And with that, he swung himself out the little window in his room.

~~zZz~~

"Where is it?" he asked in a hushed tone. "Jazzle", the hunter side of Jasmine, pointed to a raven-haired girl gazing over the fruits with a thoughtful look, her back turned to them. They were hiding behind a large oak tree to keep it from seeing them.

She picked up a cob of corn, setting it inside her basket, which was already half full with fruits and vegetables of all sorts. She was wearing a pitch black cloak with a golden lining, with the hood off, and had on black gloves. She turned, and Danny saw her face before gasping.

"That girl? She's just like any other village girl!" Danny exclaimed. She didn't look overly beautiful, like sorceresses usually looked to seduce men, or ghastly like a witch usually looks to frighten away threats. She just looked like another average girl.

Tuck Fire shook his head. "That's not a girl. It's a sorceress." The shopkeeper was cowering at the very back of his little stall, and let out a yelp when the girl reached into her cloak and pulled out a long, pitch black staff with a purple orb set on the top. That confirms it, he thought. She is an it. A staff with an orb was the sure sign of sorcerer or sorceress. By her age, she was probably just an apprentice. They could deal with something like that.

The shopkeeper was now beyond terrified. "D-don't hurt me, witch! Please!"

The girl scoffed at the old man's pleas, waving around the staff. A purple mist gathered around in front of her, and left behind a green bag that looked almost like a furry spider. She put the staff back inside her cloak, and then looked inside the bag. She pulled out a few gold coins, leaving them on the counter before turning, about to leave…

… And found a glowing sword at her throat.

"I'd say 'freeze', but I feel that's unnecessary, witch," Danny said cockily.

"I am not a witch!" She scowled, staring right back at Danny fearlessly. "I am a sorceress! Isn't the whole "staff-thing-with-a-glowing-orb" a huge giveaway? Witches have wands. As a member of the League, you of all people should know."

"It doesn't matter," he countered, "What does matter is that your terrorizing Amity Village, home to one of the most skilled hunters, Danny Phantom. And for that, you will have pay the price."

The sorceress just scoffed. "Ohh, I'm so scared! Getting rather cocky now, are you?" She smirked, still keeping direct eye contact. She didn't even seem afraid of getting her head sliced off.

Now that Danny had a good look at her eyes, he decided it couldn't exactly be called "purple"… more like deep amethyst. Like you can almost literally see through it and into her heart. He'd never seen eyes like the pair in front of him.

"Sam! What do you think you're doing? Are you insane?" A voice demanded from behind him. Tuck Fire gasped into Danny's Fenton Phones. "Fall back! There's another sorceress behind you, older and probably a master. We're not strong enough for two, let alone a master." Danny jolted out of his train of thought, gritting his teeth. What was wrong with him? He could've, no, he should've cut off its head by now. He was majorly screwing up. What had gotten into him?

Danny narrowed his golden eyes at the younger sorceress, removing the sword from her throat with a scowl etched deeply into his face. He turned around to face the other sorceress, and his eyes went wide with disbelief just as his sister's voice met his ears. "D-Danny?" Jazzle asked shakily through the Phones, "Do you see what I see?"

"Yeah," he whispered back, staring blankly at the sorceress behind him. He felt numb. The sorceress had on a turquoise cloak lined with black, and a staff with a blue orb in her hand. But her face… she could pass for Jasmine's sister, or even mom. Her eyes were the trademark lilac-color, like any other sorceress or sorcerer, but her face, and even her hair color*, was identical. She was no doubt a master, too; her air of authority said it all.

"Sam" rolled its eyes. "Yeah, yeah," it muttered, stepping away from Danny and going to the elder sorceress.

"How many times do I have to tell you to wear an enchantment bracelet for your eyes when going into public?" The elder sorceress scolded, waving around the staff. The orb left a trail of turquoise smoke, enveloping them. When the smoke cleared, they weren't there anymore.

Danny cursed under his breath, and then took the gold coins on the table, replacing it with his own. No doubt the shopkeeper wouldn't even consider touching the money left by a sorceress.

With that, he walked away, ignoring the whispers of the local townspeople drawn out by the absence of the witch. The girls fawned over him, claiming they would one day have him as their husband or something idiotic like that. The boys scoffed at him, claiming they were stronger. And the adults simply dismissed him as another hunter wannabe. That was expected, though. Danny finished training started his line of work at the age of twelve, making him, by far, the youngest official hunter in the League. So it's only natural that the older townsfolk doubted his authenticity. Even Tuck was recruited at fourteen and Jazzle at sixteen. That was the pretty much as young as it usually got. Tuck and Danny were now fifteen, and Jazzle was seventeen, so Danny was more experienced than them by just two years.

He walked into the darkest shadow he could find, and felt his body turn invisible as he reached into the cold feeling in his chest. That was his trademark exit, since the "Phans" were always trying to follow him, and, well, because his name was "Phantom". His powers in his human form were limited, but he hadn't dared turned fully into his ghost side since the incident. He didn't even know if it was possible anymore.

'Right on cue,' he thought drily as curious Phans looked into the shadow for him. He stepped around them, making his way behind the large tree to meet up with his friends.

"Did you get the tracker on them?" he asked, turning visible. Tuck nodded, revealing a map with a blinking red dot. It was slowly gliding across the map. Jazzle looked confused and scared. "That was… creepy."

Danny nodded. "Don't worry, it was probably just coincidence. The next Gathering should be soon. We'll report this and leave it to the senior members to take care of."

Jazzle shook her head distractedly, before pulling her head back into reality and replying, "The next full moon will be in about a week, actually. It takes two days to get to the Salem Woods, so we'll leave in five days or so. Who's staying behind this time? Tuck stayed last time, so it's either you or me, Danny."

Danny nodded. "I'll stay behind. It's been a while since I stayed. Besides, you guys always find it difficult to fight any intruders alone. They always attack more on the days of the Gathering."

Tuck laughed. "Remember the first time I stayed back from the Gathering? I was terrified. I barely made it through the week. Thank god the Gathering lasts for only a day and a night!"

Danny grinned. "Let's go home. Knowing our fans, they'll be all over us if we stay long enough for them to find us."

Jazzle and Tuck nodded, and they each went their separate ways – Danny went home with Jazzle, while Tuck went to his own home at the other side of the village.

~~zZz~~

Five Days Later

Jazzle hugged Daniel again. "Promise you'll be safe, little brother!" she smiled, looking down at the boy fondly. She was in her Jazzle costume, as was Tuck, but Daniel was just seeing them off in his human persona.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Jasmine. And don't lose the map, Tuck," He added with a pointed look at Tuck.

"Yeah, Tucker," Jazzle scolded, a playful smile on her face. "And you'd better not mistake it for the toilet paper this time!"

Tuck's face reddened considerably. "That was just one time!" he protested, which just made the siblings laugh.

"Yeah, sure, Tucker, whatever you say. You guys should go now. And if Hunter Loki is still talking about beating me, do me a favor and publicly humiliate him for me. I won't be there to beat the crud out of him," he grinned.

Jazz shook her head. "Alright. But you should really stop provoking him. Luke only challenges you like that because you keep showing off. He's the second best hunter our age aside from you, and you know he hates being second."

Daniel grinned. "I can't help showing off. It's called male ego. Anyways, just make sure he doesn't try spreading rumors about me in the League again."

They nodded, but as they began to leave, he stopped them, smiling innocently. "Aren't you missing something?"

Tuck groaned. "Another one of your tests?" at Danny's pointed look, he sighed, muttering, "Alright…" He and Jazz both tilted their heads slightly and looked around them for anything out of the usual.

Tuck remained clueless, but realization and confusion dawned on Jazz's face. Tuck noticed her face and frowned.

"What? What is it?" he asked, looking around.

"Sir Sanchez? Paulina?" Jazz asked, peering at a large lilac bush in the sea of wildlife. Two sets of turquoise eyes peered out at them nervously.

Daniel chuckled. "You realized that just now? They've been watching us for a while now. No use in hiding now, Sir Sanchez."

The large, scary looking man came out of the bushes, followed by a dainty girl in a pink dress. Paulina looked confused, like she didn't know just what to believe.

"Come to convince your daughter that I'm 'husband material'?" he smirked, making the man glare at the boy.

Tuck sighed. "Great. Now both Sir Sanchez and Paulina know your secret. That means they'll probably figure out Jazzle and then me next. Wonderful."

Daniel shrugged, disgruntling to the two nightingales sitting vigilantly on his shoulder. "Hey, I didn't think anyone'd actually figure it out. You know what the League says. 'Anything short of the answer'll do'. I honestly thought everyone'd be too much of an idiot to figure it out."

Paulina gaped at him openly. "You really are Phantom, aren't you?" she asked, and then suddenly jolted up as if struck by an idea. "That makes everything so much easier! You're, like, socially a loser, so you'd fall hopelessly in love with me!"

Jazzle rolled her eyes. "You'll be dead before that happens. Actually, this all works out perfectly. By the order of the League of Hunters, any civilian with the knowledge of a Hunter's true identity, other than a Hunter's close family member, is either put to death or forced to join the League. And until then," she added, pulling out two sets of handcuffs and clipping them around their wrists, "you two are under arrest. You'll have to come with us to the Gathering to get a proper trial."

Sir Sanchez let out a sort of choking noise. "Under arrest? Put to death? Forced to join the League? I'll have you know I'm respected in Amity! I'm one of the mayor's private guards!

Paulina, on the other hand, looked mortified. "Me? Become a Hunter? I can't be a Hunter! It'll totally tarnish my flawless skin!"

Tuck shook his head, smiling amusedly. "Don't worry too much Paulina; I was caught in the same position. Being a Hunter isn't that bad… And besides, it's either that or death. Now come on, we've been taking too long. We'd better get going. I've got some wicked prank ideas to pull on Hunter Loki!"

Daniel grinned. "They'd better be good. I gotta go home, too. I have to feed Echo and Shine," he mentioned, gesturing towards the two nightingales on his right shoulder. They were pecking at his messy hair, as if trying to get his attention. Each had a sort of mini armor on them, one with glowing green and the other with glowing red engravings swirled on the silvery metal.

Jazzle and Tuck nodded, dragging a still complaining Paulina and slightly freaked out Sir Sanchez along with them.

Daniel smiled as he walked home, taking of his birds' armor, which were to protect them from ghosts and other magical beings, with his white gloves on. At least, after this, they would be out of his hair for the next couple of days. Fighting monsters for the sake of the town wasn't exactly a piece of cake when meddling townsfolk were stalking him like creeps. And of course, it would be amusing to watch Paulina try to fight and be a Hunter. No doubt they would choose to keep their lives by making Paulina a Hunter. And Sir Sanchez couldn't because you had to be around your teenage years to join, so that they'd be trained most of their lives to become expert hunters

He suddenly stopped, a cold dread slipping through his body. Paulina would go for life as a hunter opposed to death, wouldn't she?

~~zZz~~

Two days later

Jazzle led Sir Sanchez and Paulina up a rocky trail beside a waterfall, and ducked into a well hidden hole between the stones. The two followed, and Tuck went in last. It opened up into a dark cave, and Jazzle made her way forward into the seemingly endless passage that tilted up. By this point, the two Hunters were practically carrying to Paulina, who wasn't used to all the exercise. Even Sir Sanchez was just barely able to handle it. The sun was starting to rise on the horizon, reminding her that she had to hurry.

"We're almost there," Jazzle promised as they crawled out of what looked like a large rabbit hole next to a tree. It was a clearing surrounded so thickly by trees, that they couldn't see anything on the outside, and the huge trees blocked out most of the sunlight. On one of the high tree branches, a girl with caramel skin, wavy black shoulder-length hair, and turquoise eyes was peering down at them, taking a bite out of an apple in her hand. She was dressed in a red skintight suit with black gloves, boots, collar and belt, and had a red helmet tucked under her other arm.

"Hey Red!" Jazzle called up, and the girl waved down. She hopped off the branch, landing lightly on her feet with the grace of a cat.

"Hey, Jazz," she greeted. "You know you don't have to call me Red out of public. Valerie or Val is fine with me. After all, you let me call you Jazz when we're out of all the Hunting business." She looked around. "No Danny this time, huh?" she asked, looking disappointed.

Jazzle smiled. "Aw, you two are just so, cute! You know, even if you decided your guys' relationship should be kept strictly professional, practically everyone in the League is saying you two are perfect for each other!"

Valerie blushed. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's get going. Mind if I walk the rest of the way with you guys? I was just taking a break."

Jazzle nodded. "Sure! Can you help Paulina, though? She looks like she'll faint any moment now," she grinned, jerking her head in the exhausted girl's direction. "They're being taken to trial. Found out Danny's identity."

Valerie chuckled. "It's cute how much of a slip-up he can be when he's one of the League's bests." They started walking again, into a small hole in a giant Redwood tree. The inside was burned out, and there was a sort of staircase spiraling up to the top of the tree.

"So, fill me in on the last Gathering, Jayden got to come last time. What did Luke and Danny do? Give me a damage report," Valerie said teasingly, making her way up the stairs with Paulina.

Jazzle shook her head, smiling fondly. "Oh, it wasn't too much of a disaster this time. Loki sneaked magical confetti rockets into Danny's pants, again. And he was blown sky high, again. You'd think he'd learn all of Loki's tricks and be prepared by now. Of course, everyone knows Danny hates losing. He put permanent pink dye into Loki's shampoo, and now Loki has pink on the tips of his hair. It actually doesn't look that bad. You'll see later, if he decides to come this time. But Luke pulled the classical on him. Danny walked home with an inked mustache and glasses the day after," she smirked.

"So Loki won that round with two pranks, Danny with only one? That's odd," she commented, inspecting her nails. "Usually they get in at least five pranks each before the Senior Hunters separate them and give punishment."

Jazzle laughed. "No, that was just the pranks. After the hair dye incident, Loki was furious. He challenged Danny to a fight."

Valerie winced. "Poor Loki," she said sympathetically.

Jazzle nodded. "He ended up with a broken arm, three broken ribs, a nasty black eye, and a twisted ankle, not to mention a lot of bruises and cuts, before Danny decided that was enough and stopped. Danny came out without a scratch, and he didn't even use his knives. Loki used his wire, and he still didn't stand a chance," she said, shaking her head.

Valerie's eyes went wide. "And Hunter Jay didn't help Loki?"

Jazz sighed. "Jayden was ready to defend Loki of course, being best friends and all, but Loki couldn't swallow his pride and refused to have help. I know Danny is the best Hunter the teens have and therefore has a reputation to keep, but he could've gone a bit easier on him. After all, Loki is also one of the most respected of the teen Hunters. Danny, Loki, and Starr are supposed to represent our age group together. The Senior Hunters are always looking down at us as meddling kids because those two are constantly fighting. I swear, sometimes it looks as if Starr is the only capable one of the three, even if she's the weakest of them."

Valerie shrugged. "Well, it's partly Hunter Loki's fault. He's too stubborn to admit that Danny's more skilled. I mean, everyone respects Luke's skill as a Hunter, and his special skill with wire is better than even some senior members, but Danny is just better. Better at hand-to-hand combat, better at his special skill… Heck, he'd probably even beat Luke with wire when it's not even his special skill. He just outmatches us too much."

Jazzle nodded. "He's getting too cocky as a result, too. He hasn't met his match, lately. Except for that Sorceress master we saw earlier today, but Sorcerers are too hard for teen Hunters like us. I think that what he needs is for someone to show him that he's not invincible." She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm really worried for him. I mean… what if his overconfidence makes him slip up?" Valerie didn't respond.

They were at the peak, now, and Tuck, who had been silently following before now, stepped in front of the hole at the end, sweeping out his arms dramatically. "Welcome to the Gathering of the League of Hunters. Where, every month, a representative or representatives of each town come to the Salem Woods to exchange information and socialize," he announced in a deep voice to humor Paulina and Sir Sanchez. Their eyes were wide and nervous.

Jazzle rolled her eyes, elbowing Tuck, which got out a satisfying "ouch!" She smiled at the two. "Don't worry. The judge, Hunter Zaac, is fair."

Tuck snorted, muttering something under his breath. Jazzle barely made out the words "as if", soon accompanied by another "ouch!"

Everything would go well… All Paulina had to do was become a Hunter. She could do a side job, like Jazzle did. Something that didn't require much skill. Jazzle shivered, though, as a question nagged at her brain. What if Hunter Zaac decided Paulina was too weak to be a Hunter? Because if you didn't become a Hunter in this case… You'd be put to death.

~~zZz~~

A/N: Yes, I tried to do a DUN DUN DUN moment there… and failed drastically. I doubt anyone'd care if I cut Paulina out of the story, anyways. Cuz I certainly don't like her.

On yet another side note, I have absolutely NO idea what life would've been like in the 1700's, other than the obvious "no technology at all", or "they dressed up like pilgrims (I think they were pilgrims… Okay now I feel majorly stupid.)"

*Yeah, I know Maddie's hair is brown and Jazz is a redhead, but just work with me here, m'kay?