There are two important things in this fic that you should know, so READ THIS:
Okay, number 1, the usual, CCS does not belong to me.
And number 2, the money symbols in this fic don't show up as they were supposed to...but I can assure you, they were really funky looking!
Vash: *coughs and pulls pipe away from his mouth* I think Clay the Elder gave me pot. I brought some essense smell thing and it's making me high, so that must be pot too. Now I'm sure I'm on Mary Jane.
Yuki: *blink* Vash, you're sure that you and everyone else is on crack, so just quit it for once and read this fic and review.
Kelli: Besides, it's very healthy for you. That's how Clay the Elder lived until he was a hundred.
Vash: *?* By smoking Nymph Grass?
Kelli: *nods* Yup
Yuki: I like the pipes and the smell and the smoke that pour out of it.
Vash: *wipes some white, clay stuff off of his shoes* It's leaving traces on my shoe...

Preparations
There was a dim light peeking in the curtains when I woke. Kero was snoring loudly, and drifting in the air. I caught him and put him back on the bed, and then walked over the window. I half expected to see the sun. Instead, I saw green grasses, flowers, smooth lawns, and sighed.
What a beautiful place.
Away from the noisy life of the city, the mayor sure had a nice house. I looked at my watch. We had slept two Earth seconds. I shrugged. Earth seemed so far away at the moment I almost didn't are about the time. Looking at my watch was just a habit.
Cherry stirred and I looked around. Kanari was sitting on her bed, rubbing her eyes. Snowy and Liz were already gone. Kelli was just walking out the door. I signaled to Kanari and we followed.
"I'm so tired." I said.
"Yeah, this adjustment thing sure is rough." Kanari said, yawning and trying to straighten her clothes. "Imagine sleeping in these."
"At least we didn't have to wear Rene's costumes this time." I said. Kanari nodded as we followed Kelli down a flight of stairs.
"Yes, and thank goodness." She said. "Imagine sleeping in that. Oh, I just hate sleeping in something I wore that day."
"I hope we don't stink." I said. Kelli giggled slightly.
"You guys worry too much!" She said, covering her mouth. "I mean, come on! How often do we get to do this anyways?"
"What, climb through sewers and systems?" Kanari asked. "I think I've had enough, thank you."
"I personally don't think the sewers are bad." I said. "It's just the not changing or washing part I don't like." Kanari and I exchanged glances.
"Oh, c'mon, quit whining!" Kelli said. "Clay the Elder is taking us to town to buy all the stuff we need to prepare for our ambush."
"All right, really?" Vash asked, hopping down the stairs. He slid down the banister and stopped in front of Kelli. "Do you think he'll buy me a sword?"
"Probably not." Kelli said, giggling. "You'll probably get one of Mr. Clay's, but really, nothing's as good as the Lovely Violet and Blue Mist."
"I can't believe my sword's named the Blue Mist." Vash said, walking down to the Dining Room for "Breakfast", since it was morning, and they had just gotten up. The three girls giggled.
"Well, I think I'm getting in the spirit now." I said. Kanari laughed.
"We slept for three hours." Vash said, pulling out his watch, which now said eleven thirty.
"Wow, I rally feel refreshed." Kanari said, stretching. "Let's go." We entered the Dining Room.
Liz and Snowy were at one end of the table, having a low frequency conversation and trying to remain decent. It must have been hard, looking at the other side of the table.
Clay the Elder was sitting with his chin in his hands, his eyes glowing has he watched Doughboy stuff the fortieth pancake in his mouth. Doughboy's whole face was smeared with bits of pancake and syrup.
"Err." Vash and the rest of us sweatdrop.
"Oh, hello there!" Clay the Elder said, waving a hand. "Your friend here sure has a great appetite! He came down here an hour ago and hasn't stopped eating yet!"
"Tell me about it." I said. The four of us didn't budge.
"He's had around sixty." Clay the Elder said. "Never in my days have I seen anyone eat that many pancakes. Must be a record! Someone fetch me the Book of Records in the library." Liz got up, glad to go. "It's in the place where you came in yesterday, dear!"
"But that was also today." Kanari protested. "It's still the same morning."
"I call it another day after a nap!" Clay the Elder said. He laughed. Doughboy sputtered and swallowed the last of his pile of pancakes.
"Actually." Doughboy said, and then drank the whole cup of juice (Doughboy has a problem with digesting milk, I figured that out phoning him once). "That was my eighty-third pancake." Vash, Kelli, Kanari and I all took a face fault. Snowy stared.
"You aren't serious, are you?" She asked. Doughboy nodded.
"Well I best ashamed of me self." Clay the Elder said, laughing and stroking his long beard. He got to his feet and found a pipe. "Vash, do you want one?"
Vash blinked. Never in his life had he been offered a pipe before, though he had seen Clay the Elder smoke it before.
"Don't!" Kanari and I hissed. "It's bad for your lungs."
"Sure." Vash said, walking forward (edging away from the table to avoid a mess where Doughboy had sneezed up some of the twelve pancakes that had been in his mouth at the time) and getting his pipe.
Clay the Elder opened a can on the nearby shelf and pulled out what seemed to be blue colored grass. He stuffed some in Vash's pipe and in his own and lit two matches. He handed one to Vash and popped one in his pipe.
"Light it when you're ready." He told Vash. Then, as if changing his mind, he handed Vash the whole package of matches. "On the other hand, eat first."
The four kids sat down (incredibly far away from Doughboy, right beside Snowy, since you had no idea how big the table was (actually, it was a long table that could sit around twenty to thirty people)) and started to eat, very fast, since they wanted to lose no time. A maid came in and cleared Doughboy's mess ("Aww, poor maid, I'm going to help her later." Kelli said. "Are you crazy?" Vash asked. "Pick up after Doughboy? We have a job to do!" "Yeah, but the poor maid, and she has to do so much." Kelli trailed off. Vash scowled. "I see your point." Kelli said. "Oh, all right.")
Liz came back with the book, a huge book, and Clay the Elder, with his pipe smoking, flipped through the book. The problem was, Clay the Elder was cradling the book in his lap, and the pipe, well, let me describe the pipe first, then you'll understand better.
It was one odd pipe. Looking exactly like one of our pipes, it also resembled a ladle more than a pipe. The blue grass and fire created some sort of a white smoke that smelled incredibly good, but, unfortunately, was filling the whole room. And as where smoke generally went up, this one came out of the scoop like an overflowing, bubbling soup in a cauldron and spilled over, going down to the floor. So soon we couldn't see our feet at all, since the "smoke" covered the floor. The thing was, even though Kanari and I had been complaining about regular smoking a few days ago, this was a very pleasant experience for everybody. It smelt very good, and Clay the Elder was very content with his pipe.
"It must be very heavy." I reasoned. Kanari nodded and sighed.
"Gives you a very peaceful setting and mind." She said. We watched the smoke in the pipe spill over. The whole problem in reading the book was this: the smoke kept spilling on the book, and even though it slid right off and left no marks, more kept replacing it and Clay the Elder couldn't read. Thus he had to put his pipe down to look up the record. Doughboy was sitting at the end of the table, clutching his stomach. When he put it down, the smoke stopped and the smell hung in the air only a little while longer. The smoke at our feet thinned out a little too. Only the ladle of the pipe remained white. Looking at Vash's pipe, it did the same thing.
"Wow." Snowy said, amazed. "These pipes are very interesting. I'd like one to scent my house instead of buying all that perfume and stuff."
"Someone would think your house was on fire because of the smoke." I said.
"And besides." Kelli added. "Pipes are not a ritual for girls." She glanced at Vash, who had finished eating and was eyeing the pipe. "Are you going to try it, Vash?"
"I don't know." Vash said, picking the pipe up. "It's warm. Must be nice on a cold day." Doughboy sniffed.
("Must be jealous Clay the Elder didn't offer him one." Snowy said, smiling. Kanari and I giggled.
"Must be." Kanari said. "Vash is Clay the Elder's pet.")
"Well." Clay the Elder said. "The record in the whole Five Dimensions is two hundred and twelve pancakes in forty five hours." Clay the Elder sighed. "And I was so hopeful. Well, you can't beat the nymphs." He meant about the smoke pipe, because it had gone back to his mouth, and he was talking about the taste (if you haven't noticed, you suck and you puff at the pipe and blow some more), but Doughboy thought he meant the pancakes and sniffed.
The rest of the guests in the room giggled, all having read books about nymphs, though everyone thought they were imaginary.
"Do you know what they're called, Vash?" Clay the Elder asked as Vash put his pipe to his mouth.
"What?" Vash asked.
"Depends what you put in it." Clay the Elder said. "We are smoking Nymph Pipes at the moment. Though I wish they wouldn't call them pipes."
"Yeah." Kelli agreed. "What a lacking word." Clay the Elder smiled. Vash put the pipe in his mouth and sucked. He immediately took the pipe out and started coughing.
"Vash, you suck for the taste, unlike smoking." Clay the Elder said. "It's very nitrous and goes right to your stomach. Try again." Vash reluctantly put the Nymph Pipe back to his mouth. Doughboy giggled. Vash did better the second time, and when he blew out, a cloud of white flew at the girls.
"It smells good." Kanari said. We giggled as Vash blew out circles.
"Tricks are also possible." Clay the Elder said with a smile. "Now, we must get on with the show." Vash's smile left his face briefly. He was just having fun. Clay the Elder noticed the change immediately. "No one said you couldn't smoke the Nymph Pipe in town." Clay the Elder said. "Come on Vash, and let's all get changed into some grand mayor's clothes. Vash, keep that pipe in your mouth. Yes, it's going to be in there for a while. You won't get thirsty or anything. I'll give you this (Clay the Elder pointed at the can of blue grass) when we come back, so you can smoke it. It'll keep you in shape and when things get tough, from smoking. Remember Vash, ladies first, so no taking the food when the ladies need it (giggles from the girls). I'd wish you had more guys, so I'd have more pipes, but oh well." Clay the Elder got up. "Follow me." Vash followed. Doughboy sighed and slammed his head on the table.
"He seems to have forgotten I'm a guy also!" Doughboy complained.
We gathered in front of the library after changing. Rene and the others (Kero included) had had their breakfast already and had joined us in the changing process.
"What are these?" Snowy wanted to know, patting down her skirt.
"The Dwarf Humans Regular." Kelli said.
"What in the world?" Liz asked.
"They're what dwarfs think humans wear, so that's what they supply in stores." Kelli said, trying to pat down her dress.
"We look like we are the ladies of the American Revolution when we wear these." I complained.
"At least they don't have cages." Kelli said.
"How in the world do they stay up?" Rene asked. "I think mine's pretty."
"They are pretty." I said. "I don't know, starch?"
"They might be pretty." Kanari said. "But they're so old."
"This is what they wear in Gone With the Wind." I said, giggling. Rene giggled too, and Snowy and Liz sighed.
Clay the Elder and Vash both had on vests, only Clay the Elder's was red and Vash's was green.
"Our clothes are in the wash." Vash said. "That's what Clay told me. We are supposed to shop and then wash, and then, after we sleep, the ambush begins."
"New prospect on life:" Kero said, adjusting the bow Rene had put in him. "Sleep." We all giggled, and Cherry (with a matching pink bow to Kero's around her neck as well) squealed.
Doughboy came grumbling in the room, wearing nearly the same thing as Vash and Clay the Elder. Snowy rubbed her head.
"Somehow, he doesn't look too intelligent." Snowy said. It was true. While Clay the Elder was a little short, jolly and a little plump man, with his outfit, black cane, black pants and shiny polished shoes, no one seemed to notice or think he was out of style. Vash was dressed trimly and he stood tall, but Doughboy, who was just as tall, was too [---] as Snowy pointed out with her hands.
It was true; the sides of the shirt just seemed to bulge out in the middle.
We girls giggled again.
Vash and Clay the Elder were still smoking the Nymph Pipes as they walked out of the room and onto the porch. Clay the Elder grabbed his sleek, black hat at the last second as they darted out and put it primly on his head.
"I would never go anywhere without it." He said.
We walked out the door and the first place we stopped was the herb shop. An old lady dwarf was there, selling her precious herbs. Clay the Elder brought a lot of herbs ("We're going to make poison for the guards") and the dwarf at the counter gave him some grassy thing, which he poured some onto his hand.
"Clay, I hear that these kids are going to be up against Jewel and her clan." The dwarf said. Vash and Kelli shifted uneasily at the word clan.
"Too true." Clay the Elder nodded. He walked over to Vash and poured some of the stuff in Vash's pipe. "Hold your pipe Vash. It's always good manners to hold it with one hand." Vash held his pipe. "And you aren't part of that clan anymore, so live with it."
"Live with the haunting memory." Kelli said, disappointed as Clay the Elder sprinkled the rest of the stuff in his own pipe.
"Well, well." The dwarf lady smiled. "My two sons and four son-in laws, plus my twelve grandsons are going to be in that courageous battle. But, good luck to our true heroes." All of us blushed. The lady dwarf laughed and pulled out a bag of candy. Throwing it at us (she didn't have very good aim. It got stuck right on Vash's Nymph Pipe, covering his blowhole, causing the smoke to have nowhere to go and circles back. Vash, who luckily had listened to Clay the Elder about manners, or else he would have coughed out his pipe and it would have been lying on the ground, took the pipe out and coughed twice. Then, removing the candy pack and handing it to Rene, who was on his right, he stuck the pipe back into his mouth.
"Whew." He said. Rene opened the bag and started passing the candy around. Soon, everyone had a piece.
"Here, Vash." Rene said, sticking the rest of it in his pockets. "You can have the rest." Vash nodded.
"All right." Vash took the bags off of the counter for Clay the Elder and Kelli held the door opened for the rest of us. "Where to now?"
"Okay, so that takes care of all the herbs, which means we have all the needs for potion." Clay the Elder smiled, then frowned, deep in thought. "What else DO we need?" He suddenly lit up. "Food." He started walking to the groceries.
"It's a nice thing that lady dwarf and her family are doing for us." I said. Vash nodded.
"Yeah, but not only for us. Remember, we're doing this for a number of people, including the dwarfs. We represent them." He coughed again. "Clay, what did she put in here?"
"I'm not sure." Clay said. "It must be extra strong stuff." He plucked Vash's pipe out of Vash's mouth. "See, you must hold it stronger. Anyone can steal it." Walking over to a nearby bin, he emptied it and brought it back to Vash. "It's too strong for little kids. Yes Vash, I know you're not little no longer, but I've been smoking that for years, every time I come."
"So that was it." Vash said, smiling. "I see."
They entered the grocery store. Clay brought a bunch of fruits and then (Doughboy rushed forward to carry this, trying to prove he was a gentleman, before Vash could) walked to the Bakery across the street.
"And what would the ladies like?" Clay the Elder asked, winking at Vash.
"Wow." I said. Rene, Liz, Snowy, Kanari, and I were looking in on the glass. The owner of the bakery, a jolly short man, laughed.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"They're beautiful!" I said.
"You haven't tasted them yet." He said.
"Whoa." Rene said, pointing to a nearby cake. "Look at that." We girls (all except Kelli, who had probably seem these a hundred times already) spent more time gloating over the cakes. Kero bounced up and down on my shoulder. Anora stretched and extended her claws. Cherry squeaked at the sight of the cinnamon buns (or what looked it).
"Come here." Vash said. We walked over. Pulling out a purple drawstring bag, he handed us each a golden coin.
"Cool, what is this?" Snowy asked.
"It looks like money." I said. "Thank you Vash."
"Is it money?" Kanari asked.
"Who cares?" I said. "It's as pretty as money."
"Yes, it is." Vash said. "You're all welcome and you can get all you want."
"Whoa." Rene said again. She bent down and peered at the tiny price labels. "But I can't understand these signs." She looked at the sign that said 20-.
"One {, which is the golden coin I gave you, is equal to five Silver Missles (z), which is egal to twenty-five ten pences (o), and also equal to four brailes (-), which is equal to forty five pences (