Assisting Nanashi, the Fiddler Koppen appears!

Ok, a few things I want to mention before I get crackin'…

Reiko means ghost child. I got it from the demented little kid from I also wanted a Flick Reaper in my fic, and since I wanted my character to be unique, I decided on Enn picking that class. It seems Enn has become a bit more knowledgeable over the years.

Nanashi, means "No Name". I chose it because I was being random. It has nothing to do with the character in any aspect, I just wanted to have a beast class cuz the guys are cute in a weird way and the girls are cute. Hehehe, also I decided to go for rarity again with a Macabre Dancer. Not many know what the class is, but if you know Yata from G.U. then you know a Macabre Dancer.

Also, yes, Haseo really is Sora from .Hack/Sign. Hard to believe, but it's true…his parents really did try and make him forget and all that. I just decided he'd be the one to cause Pluto's Kiss because he seemed very well-rounded in the aspects of The World, why not add a bit more? It was a 10 year old who caused it, but it hasn't been mentioned who.

I know, the chapter may not fit the previews, but I try and get close, my mind wanders…Ok…time to—Oh wait! The disclaimer!

Disclaimer: Due to being an American, I do not own the .Hack franchise in its entirety..I want .Hack Fragment..T.T…

I sighed, clearly mad. Whoever this, this…..Nanashi, thought she was, this definitely was not the way to make a first impression. She kept dragging me room through room, clearly lost. After she dragged me into yet another room that resulted in a fruitless endeavor, I sighed and stopped her.

"Have you ever heard of a Fairy's Orb? It shows the dungeon's map. Then, you can find the stairs if they have an arrow pointing to the staircase in red." I put my arms over my chest and did the emote/triumsmug. In the World, there are many emotions that your character can convey by a few flicks of the keyboard. Popular examples are:

/T.T (Cry)

/look (stare)

/look hard (stare hard)

/yes (nod)

/enthyes (nod enthusiastically)

/no (shake head)

/vigno (vigorously shake head "no")

/bye (wave goodbye, sometimes used as a greeting)

/duck (shrug)

I smirked, noticing Nanashi couldn't do an emote…wait, she couldn't do an emote? Even beginners know how to do an emote once they meet Canard or some other starter-helper group. I used the emote/look hard, and said "What level are you?" Nanashi at least knew /duck, because she then shrugged…and replied:

"Level 3..I've been playing for a day or so..What's it to you?" I sighed loudly through my FMD, "' She's only level 3? And, by the looks of it, she was about to get PK'ed, what have I gotten myself into?"' I was so into my own thoughts I didn't notice she walked up to a Chim-Chim and flicked it. She looked over to Reiko and said "What the hell's this?"

I walked up to her "You don't know what Chim-Chim's are? How did you get to level three?" she stared at me hard, and for some reason, she seemed to be able to pick up the emotes by watching me.

"I always stopped once there was a door. I went into the portal thing and it let me leave the place. Now tell me, what are these stupid little things?" she flicked the Chim-Chim again, and it circled around her, I heard a ka-ching, and she had 1 Chim-Chim. "Hey! What happened?! Where'd the freak go?!" she looked around, only to find more, and started kicking them "I bet I'll get a lot of experience beating up these wierdos!"

Words cannot express the look on my face when she said that. If she read the boards, or even got help on how to play, surely she'd find some sort of Chim-Chim related topic! I can't take any more of this.."Fairy's Orb!" I said, and the map appeared. I swiftly grabbed her hand and dragged her to the stairs, and then to the Beast Statue to get her treasure.

"Whipeee! I got it, I got it, I got it!" she was hopping up and down, then looked at me "Tell me how you did that!" …'Jeez, she is so pushy' I thought to myself.

"Ok, firstly. I used a Fairy's Orb. Like I said before, it shows the map of the area, the gray tube-looking thins on the map are where you can get Chim-Chims, and the chests are obviously treasure chests, and lastly, the blue circles are warps." Nanashi looked at me, completely focused on what I had to say. This girl gets weirder and weirder…

"You asked me before, and now I'll answer you. Chim-Chim's are those little guys you were beating up. They don't give you experience, they're sort of like a key to open those doors you can't get through yourself. Usually, it takes a multiplier of five, or five itself, Chim-Chims to open a door. You can get them by simply pressing X on your controller. Small, Blue, Chim-Chims amount to one point, but big yellow ones amount to ten points, and the King can give you quite a few, no exact number has been confirmed."

I looked over at her, hoping she'd get bored, but she was even more captivated in what I had to say. She raised her hand like I was her teacher and she was a student just sucking my lecture in.

"What's with your weapon? I haven't seen any like that!" she obviously didn't care about anything else on the map...well, it's pretty self-explanatory, really. I looked at her, a Macabre Dancer and a Flick Reaper… two very unique classes. Guess I'd have to tell her the whole class choice thing…

"Okay, I am a Flick Reaper, a rare class that uses scythes. They excel in speed and strength, but are lacking in defense, though you can make up for this later. Flick Reapers are designed for sweeping, meant to literally "flick" foes away before they can attack us. Though, those Lord Partizans you were facing earlier, and a Steam Gunner, could defeat me." She looked at me, seeming to get it…but then she raised her hand, just like a school-student yet again…

"Why'd you choose your class? Aren't there other classes?" I smiled. At least she knew that much, I sighed, opening up my previously written file on the classes and personality studies.

"When people chose a class, Nanashi, they sometimes chose a class that reflects their personality through the class' special ability. Like, a Flick Reaper sends enemies away before they can get to us. That means I'm generally unsociable and like to keep myself in a withdrawed environment. Your class, a Macabre Dancer, fights with a fluid dancing rhythm, and your class is even rarer than mine, that means you're quite an individual, with a multitude of personalities, just like the randomness of your dance techniques. Your weakness is the pure strength of other classes, if they get to you."

She seemed to be soaking it in…Well, she's quiet and seems in thought…

"Back in the original World, there were a few classes, not as many as we have now. But, one class stayed, the Twin Blade class. Though the blades may be longer, it is still the same class as before. Twin Blades are speed oriented and are able to deal quick, assassin like blows in rapid sucession. They have the most wide range of attack skills. Their main weakness is not against another class, but rather their small power. Though they can land a lot of blows, the power of the Twin Blades may not be enough to match with the other classes, so their rapid blows usually is equal to one hit from any other class. Twin Blades are usually a hero-like class, but have a pretty wide personality range."

She seemed to be soaking it in…and was that...typing, I heard from her character? She must be typing this down. I'll continue.

"Edge Punisher's are the class you want if you want to be the strongest out of all the classes early on in physical strength. They usually wield two-handed broadswords, and are based off a previous class in the old version of the world, a Heavy Blade. Some swords have mechanized secondary weapons, like Haseo, the Terror of Death's broadsword, which has a buzz saw like effect. Like the Twin Blade, their weakness is not exploitable by other classes, but rather their attack style…they are very slow. This class is usually used by people who need power to support their ideals in some aspect, like Sakaki of Moon Tree."

I smirked, I heard the typing increasing…

"Next, are Lord Partizans. They utilize pole-arm weapons, similar to a Long-Arm class in the previous version of the World. They fight like another original class, Heavy Axeman, and can deal the most immediate damage. Lord Partizans have a lot of monster oriented skills, like Armor-Piercing and Aerial Skills. They aren't wielded much, but when wielded their personality is in some own way, the type who sticks their noses in others business and are absolutely dedicated to their own cause."

I heard a beeping noise, which means I got mail….Oh, BlackenFaul mailed me about the board...nothing yet, but quite a few posts about Kite and his "becoming evil". Since nothing changed, I was going to continue…

"Next are Blade Brandiers. character class that uses a one-handed sword or a dagger to fight. They are swift, agile, accurate, and similar to a Blademaster in The World. They are the most well-rounded class, hard to find weaknesses in. Usually those who wield them are kind, and some-what self-righteous in their own aspect."

"Next are the Tribal Grapplers. A Character Class that utilizes their fists, claws, feet and various wrestling-type maneuvers to fight. It's similar to the Kickboxer class in a previous version of the world. They are easiest to achieve solo Rengeki Finish attacks with. Their most notable weakness is their weak defense, which is a big reason that this class is hardest to stay alive in alone. Usually, those who solve their problems directly choose this class, but they crumble easily, just like their defense."

"Next are Harvest Clerics. A Character Class that use staffs and specializes in defensive and healing magic instead of direct fighting. Similar to a Wavemaster in The World. This class focuses on support magic. Their weakness, like all magicians in RPG's, is their weak defense. Usually, those who support others greatly choose this class."

Next, are the Shadow Warlocks. Also similar to a Wavemaster, the Shadow Warlock is a Character Class in which the character uses offensive magic, powered by a large spellbook, instead of physical attacks to defeat the opponent. They are actually pretty well-rounded, just be sure not to have them on the front-line and they can basically win the battle for you. The personality varies, but a lot of Shadow Warlocks are very insightful and intelligent."

"Lastly, are the Steam Gunners, a pretty popular class. A Character Class that uses a rifle with a sword-like bayonet running the length of it. This class specializes in both long-range and close-quarter fighting. Due to this, it's hard to find weaknesses, the only weakness would be if they're cornered by much stronger foes. People who use this class are quick thinkers and are good at adapting, and sometimes moody."

I heard the typing stop and Nanashi looked up at me. She was done, and had got it all…she was a good notetaker, at least. We warped out of the dungeon, and she asked me "Are you a newbie helper?"

I stared at her, baffled. "Does anybody read the board anymore?! Ryo Sakuma himself, the novelist, wrote this, the caretaker of Tsukasa(An Shouji), wrote this! The man's probably in his sixties and he takes the time to do this and hardly anyone reads it!!!" She seemed a bit wierded out by me and replied "I didn't know there were boards…"

She ran off…crying? Oh great, she learned a new emote. I was about to go after her until I heard plucking of strings and looked over. An Adept Rogue, with a blade that had guitar strings on it, walked up to me. This man had a design similar to that of Balmung's in facial features, but looked the Pied Piper in costume design…

"It seems that today 'twas the day the damsel abandoned you. Tell me now, thy Asian ghost child, what do you plan to do?" Either this guy was roleplaying, or he was really from a Shakespeare…wait a minute...the Pied Piper wasn't done by Shakespeare!

I pointed at him and said "Quit roleplaying, it is weird. Also, where'd you get that weapon?...Argh, nevermind, I have to find Nanashi—" I couldn't finish because Nanashi walked right by me and warped to Lumina Cloth to watch…I shuddered "The Arena Battles…"

Koppen, as he was called, he told me it means hills in Old German, would like to be one of my friends. I added him, I didn't really care right now, because, he, Haseo, The Terror of Death, was walking to the Chaos Gate, headed for Lumina Cloth himself! Then, I heard girls swoon…

"Now, now, ladies, I've told you this ten times already…Health Drinks restore your hp.." and there he was, Miru from the old days...now he's a Steam Gunner. He had Black, shiny hair, cropped short, a blue shirt with a red vest over it, and black pants, with white lines going down the sides.

I smirked as his new group of ankle-biters were surrounding him. "Still having problems, eh, Miru?" the Steam Gunner sighed as the girls gushed and started saying "Miru-kuun" affectionately. "I told you before, I'm Kojiru Mitsuharu now...Where are you going, anyways?"

I smirked and said "Lumina Cloth...It's the match between Haseo and Endrance, deciding the Demon Palace champion. Want to come with me and Koppen here?" I acknowledged Koppen, who seemed to be flirting with the girls just by sitting still and fiddling with his sword/guitar. I guess there really are such things as stupid arm-candy..

We warped to Lumina Cloth and ran to the front row, sitting down where we could see a good amount of the action. Koppen stopped plucking his guitar and said "That Endrance is very feminine...It's weird what girls get attracted to" he said, motioning Kojiru's recent arm-candy now waving at Endrance, screaming his name.

I sat there, watching the battle ensue, but then...I heard Haseo shout a name that terrified my very soul….

"SKEEEITH!!!"

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Author's Notes:

Yes, short as usual.

Puppyguy13, thanks so much for telling me your character before I finished.

I was going to do it during Haseo's meeting of Endrance, but decided for the battle between Skeith and Macha, it leaves more of a cliffhanger.

I researched old fairy tales and looked at the Pied Piper. I had never one thing that I truly wanted to see: a guy using a sword with a musical instrument of some sort in it's construction.

I was looking up the Pied Piper, and Koppen came up, meaning "hill" in Old German. Yes, he's very tall, if I forgot to mention.

I decided on a guitar within a sword. I thought they suited each other: Quickdraw McGraw from old Hannah Barbera cartoons swinging his guitar like a sword, while samurais swung a sword. Combining the two, I got a guitar sword.

He was originally going to be a Piros-like character, but I didn't want to continue Piros' weirdness, so he's now the silent type, insightful, and very dedicated to his musical weapon.

In real life, Koppen is a German boy who plays the guitar only a daily basis for a gothic band called Faust. He started playing the first version of the world around .Hack/Mutation's time, and back then he was a Blademaster, usually plugging his guitar into his computer to play it at Dun Lorieag. He had a reputation and ended up being one of the few who didn't know anything of Kite.

Koppen's real name is Zelig, which means "Blessed one" a description of his musical talent.

I hope people continue to read and increase Koppen/Zelig's popularity!