A/N- So, I was reading over my reviews for my stories (which I often do), and one in particular really starting me thinking on a concept! What if Brittany got some of the Strawhats? :o What then? Well, this, my dear readers, answers that question. I hope you enjoy! I thoroughly enjoyed writing it! :P

If you haven't read Where You Belong, I recommend doing so, just so you understand the context of this scene. Just a note of warning, it is rated M for a reason, so reader discretion and all...

Onwards!

Brittany inhaled and exhaled at a steady pace, readjusting the large backpack on her shoulders as she placed one foot in front of the other. Her legs burned something fierce, but it just added to the through her staggered breaths, she climbed up the dirt path of the mountain, swinging around the switchback and heading up the opposite direction with the rocky path.

In a matter of minutes, she reached the top of the mountain and stopped to gaze across the view it afforded her. Over the valley was sprawled the massive city of Austin, and further in the distance she could see the edges of the closest neighboring city, if she squinted.

Since Texas didn't have very many forested areas of places to go for long-distance runs, Brittany had taken up hiking. The large mountain right beside her city was an excellent place to do so.

Huffing in and out, Brittany sat on a nearby rock and pulled her water bottle from her pack, squirting it into her open mouth greedily. Despite the overcast weather, the heat persisted. Not to mention, the air of Texas was a bit more humid than she would have thought, especially being so hot. She guessed being close to the Guild Coast made thing a little more humid. At least it wasn't Houston, where the mosquitos would eat her alive with all that humidity.

Deciding that her rest had been long enough, she stood and replaced her water bottle in her bag, trekking up the mountain towards the top again. Thankfully the small patches of trees that dotted the mountainside provided a bit of shade from the heat. Passing through one such area, she spotted a small stream trickling down the side of the mountain, zigzagging its way through the trees with a bubbling gurgle.

Feeling a vibration in her pocket, she pulled out her phone and say a text from her friend, Samantha.

When are you gonna be done so we can go shopping? I'm so bored just sitting at home.

Shaking her head with rolled eyes, Brittany typed out a quick response. Well, you decided not to come, so that's your problem! I'm almost to the top, so probably another few hours.

Putting it away, she turned another corner in the path and was heading up another set of switchbacks. The path was much steeper here than before, and Brittany had to use the surrounding trees to balance as she maneuvered around the rocks.

She'd climbed this mountain before, but never this particular path. Her normal hike was on the other side of the mountain, overlooking the completely opposite direction. She hadn't gotten around to trying this one yet, but she enjoyed it so far. The tougher-to-climb rocky areas gave her a great workout.

Another vibration in her pocket alerted her to a text, but Brittany waited until she had reached the top of the rockiest area before pulling out her phone.

Exercising sucks! I'd rather just watch netflix at home, thank you very much. Anyways, just call me when you're on your way back to town.

The black-haired woman released a chuckle, sighing at her friend's predictable response. Sam wasn't an outdoor person. No surprise there. The girl was paler than snow.

Yeah, sure thing! Came Brittany's typed response, pressing the send button before resuming her hike.

She noticed that this side of the mountain was much rockier and provided more shade than the other. Maybe it would be her new normal routine. Rounding a bend, she came to yet another switchback, and began to turn up it, but something on her left made her stop.

Further down the hill was the entrance to a large cave. Cocking her head, she paused. She'd always been an innate explorer. The unknown, abandoned buildings, hidden places…they'd all fascinated her immensely as a child. Remnants of that interest still stuck around, which was why Brittany turned towards it and hopped off the path to get closer.

Once outside of the entrance, she noticed there didn't appear to be anything special to it. It was just a small cave in the side of the mountain, she could even see the back from where she stood. The rocks were a sandy brown color, just as the rest of the ground around it.

Stepping just inside the entrance, she looked around and inspected the walls. No ancient drawings, animal markings, or anything even remotely cool that she could find. There was an old red-colored flashlight lying on the ground, and she picked it up out of sheer curiosity. Turning it this way and that, she tapped it a few times. It appeared to be pretty sturdy. She tried the light and was amazed to find that it turned on. With a shrug, she turned it off and stuffed it in her backpack. She'd been in need of one anyways.

Exiting the cave, she moved to go back towards the path, hopping over a rock and back onto the dirt. Her boots thumped against the ground with each step.

The switchbacks continued up the steep slope. The few mosquitos that did plague the mountain buzzed around her, and she had to swat them away. A few times she was certain they'd gotten in her mouth. Yuck.

Within minutes, she reached the top of the mountain, offering her an even better view than the one previously. She could see Austin in full, the less populated edges of the city close by to the opposing mountains. On the other sides, she could spot much smaller cities branching off further away. The highways connecting them all was packed with cars and trucks, driving along to wherever they were going.

Brittany dropped her backpack to the ground and stretched, feeling a hell of a burn in her calves and thighs. That long hike up had surely burned hundreds of calories. At least, she hoped. The other night, she'd bought a fancy party dress a size smaller, just to be motivated to exercise to fit into it.

Walking over to the edge of the mountain, Brittany sat with her legs dangling over the edge. The wind was much stronger up on the top, and it whipped her hair around her face. Irritatedly, she wrestled it into a loose ponytail on the back of her head, securing it with a hair tie.

For several minutes, she simply sat and looked out over the valley, thinking that for the hassle it took to get up there, the view was well worth it.

Something cold and wet dripped onto Brittany's cheek, and it startled her. Reaching up, she touched her face and felt a tiny drop of water. With growing unease in her stomach, Brittany looked to the sky above and saw that without her noticing, the clouds had darkened. What used to be a nice off white, was now a dark gray, and the small booms of thunder further away confirmed her fears.

"Well, shit." She muttered to herself, quickly getting up and grabbing her backpack. The weather report that morning had specifically stated it wouldn't rain, but lo and behold, the fat drops were now darkening the dirt around her feet with each faint tap as they hit the earth.

Shrugging the pack over her shoulders, she headed back towards the way she'd come, skirting down the switchbacks and hopping over rocks. The cold raindrops hit at her back, chilling her shoulders as the rain began to pick up. Just great. She'd be descending the mountain in the cold rain, and by the time she even got to her car, her outfit would be soaked. So much for going shopping now.

The drops turned into a steady drizzle, and Brittany huddled under the scant shelter of her backpack, trying to let it soak up as much of the rain as it could instead of her hair and clothes.

Turning around one particular bend in the path, she paused, remembering the small cave set further back from the mountain. Shrugging, since she honestly didn't want to run down through all the rain, the black-haired woman turned off the path and ran towards where she knew the cave to be.

As soon as she passed through the entrance, she dug through her pack and took out her flashlight, illuminating the cave once again. She turned to sit at the edge, just out of reach of the water, and sat to wait out the storm. Pulling out her phone, she called Sam's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sam. So guess what?"

"Uh, you're still on the mountain, aren't you? It's pouring over at my house right now. Are you caught in it too?"

Holding her phone between her ear and shoulder, Brittany tried squeezing the excess water from her hair. "Yeah, but luckily I found this cave to wait in until it passes. I'll probably be later than I thought to go shopping."

"Well, so much for that. I don't wanna go out if it might rain again. How does movies and snacks at my house sound?"

"Honestly, I would love to. I'll just come over as soon as it stops raining here. I'm gonna have to borrow a shirt though." Brittany admitted, picking at her top which stuck to her skin from the moisture. It would be uncomfortable to wear once back in town.

"No problem. Just call me when you're on your way."

"Ok. See ya soon."

With that, she ended the call, tucking her phone back into her pocket, before settling back to lean against the rocks. Closing her eyes and dropping her bag beside her, Brittany shifted until she was semi comfortable.

She wasn't sure how long she had dozed there, listening to the sound of the rain against the rock ceiling. It was calming, comforting, lulling…

"Ooooh! It's a person!" She heard behind her rather loudly, and with a loud gasp of surprise, Brittany tumbled forward out of pure shock, turning around as her butt hit the floor to see who had spoken.

In front of her stood three people who, for all intents and purposes, hadn't been there when she'd entered the cave. One of them had on a weird hat, and he had a scar under his eye. The man beside him, a blonde, was tall and wore a rather fancy pair of slacks, coupled with a purple dress shirt. Behind the both of them was a darker-skinned man, with an abnormally long nose and bushy black hair set under an equally strange hat of his own.

"Who…who…" Brittany struggled to get out, inching backwards away from these strange people.

"Eh?" The blonde man, who she now saw was smoking a cigarette, turned to look at her, and in an instant, his eyes turned to hearts. Clasping his hands in front of his face, he shouted out loudly. "Ooohhh! Pretty lady! Mellorine, mellorine~!" He cried, approaching rapidly and falling to one knee before her, placing a hand on his chest and his other extended towards her. "Never before have I seen such beauty before my eyes! You must be a Goddess of Pure Heaven!"

"Ah…" Feeling a burning blush on her cheeks from the blatant flirting from this strange man, Brittany pushed herself backwards out of his reach as much as she could, but the long-nosed man simply sighed deeply and stepped forward with a sympathetic look.

"Sorry about him, he just gets that way around women." He turned to the blonde and smacked him back to normal. "Don't scare her, we just met her! She isn't dangerous…or at least she doesn't look dangerous…" Immediately, he took on an expression of pure fear, and instantly hid behind the kneeling man. "Ah, what if she's actually an assassin sent to kill us!" He muttered to himself, perhaps thinking that he wasn't speaking aloud. "I knew getting that bounty wasn't a good thing, it was just…oi, oi! Luffy, what are you doing!"

With her attention solely on the cowering man, Brittany hadn't noticed the third man approach her, now leaning down to peer into her face. His expression was skeptical, as if measuring her worth through their gazes alone.

"Hmm…" He muttered, not offering any other means of conversation. But, before long, he closed his eyes and smiled broadly, finally straightening up and giving a hearty chuckle.

"I like you! Hey, wanna join my crew?"

"C-crew?" She asked timidly, unable to look away from the three strange men. The blonde was bickering quietly with the long-nosed man, something about pretty ladies and personal space, while the third one, who she assumed was named Luffy, simply waited for a response. "What…crew?"

"Come join us on an adventure!" He grinned, placing his hands on his hips. "That's Ussop, our sniper. This is Sanji, our cook. And I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the Captain, future King of the Pirates!"

Brittany's eyes widened, brain fixated on what he'd said.

"…future King of the Pirates!"

Pirates.

Just as suddenly as she'd become fearful with shock and surprise, the emotion was completely ripped away, and her eyes became half-lidded, a small frown marking her face. Standing up straight rapidly and brushing out her damp clothing, she looked behind them to see the back wall of the cave. Just as those few years ago, it was a swirling gray mass of thick mist.

Luffy cocked his head, a confused look at seeing the drastic change in expression.

"Nope." Came her simple and clipped response, reaching forward to spin Luffy by his shoulders and begin pushing him back towards the gray wall of mist. With each step she shook her head, her expression never wavering. "No. Uh uh. No way. Like hell I'd do that."

With a final push, she shoved the pirate back through the cave wall until he disappeared. He cried out in surprise, but the sound was cut off as soon as he passed through. Ussop and Sanji looked up at the sight of their Captain disappearing, suddenly filled with more seriousness.

"W-what did you do?" Ussop cried, holding his hands together in fear. She stepped towards him next, grabbing onto his shoulders and beginning to push him in the direction of the back wall. "Where's Luffy?"

"I've had enough of pirates in my lifetime, so no thank you. Please go home. I don't ever want to see you again, thank you very much." Came her monotone reply.

"Aah! I've suddenly got the I-Can't-Go-Through-There Disease!" He cried, trying in vain to escape her grip on his shoulders. She said nothing, consecutively shoving through the second pirate into the mist.

The blonde cook, Sanji was his name, was now the only one left, and he frowned in suspicion. "Oi, where does that lead?" He pointed a thumb at the mist. While he didn't take on a very threatening stance, he certainly didn't look as if he'd just go willingly as the other two had allowed. She crossed her arms, matching his serious tone.

"I've already met some of you people, and I don't ever want to again. That portal leads back to wherever the hell you came from, so please turn around and go back."

Sanji remained silent, as if searching her eyes for truth. Finally, he glanced behind him to inspect the wall. "Are my companions alright?"

Sighing heavily, Brittany uncrossed her arms and stepped forward, turning him to face the back wall. "Yes, yes, they're fine. Now go on. Shoo. Get out of here."

Cocking a brow, but nonetheless shooting her an appreciative smile, Sanji faced forward and stepped towards the portal. A thought struck her, and Brittany reached out a hand. "Wait!" Sanji paused, looking over his shoulder back at her. "If you ever meet a girl named Lexi, kind of short, brown hair, green eyes…tell her Brittany loves and misses her." She finished quietly.

Sanji smirked, but nodded silently, before facing forward and stepping through the portal without hesitation. That feeling of apprehension disappeared as soon as they stepped through, and Brittany was surprised to see that the edges of the gray mist began to shrink after a few minutes. They faded gradually towards the middle, becoming smaller and smaller until it vanished entirely, leaving the familiar rock wall that it had originally been.

There was also something else she noticed with a start. Turning to look back outside, the skies had cleared, the rain had stopped, and the sun was shining. Out of instinct more than anything, Brittany pulled out her phone and dialed Sam, silently bringing the device up to her ear as she stared out at the mountain side.

"Hey, did the rain stop? It's still a light storm over here." Sam said, obviously chewing something by the sound of her voice. Distracted, Brittany walked slowly out of the cave out into the sunlight. It hit her wet clothes and the heat already began to dry them.

"Yeah…I'm gonna head down the mountain now. Might be another half hour or so though."

"Great! Hey, uh…you alright? You sound a little different than before."

Brittany turned back to see the cave, wondering just where those pirates came from. What was their world like? Was Lexi doing ok? Man, she should have thought to ask more, perhaps how her old friend was doing and if she was just as happy as she'd been that night…

It had been a few years since that incident, but the nightmares sometimes still plagued her. Now, all out of the blue, more pirates showed up? Seeing them again, it just spelled trouble. Trouble the black-haired woman wanted no part of.

That's right. It was better if she just stayed where she belonged, and they returned to their own home.

"…Brittany?" Sam's voice pulled her from her thoughts. She shook her head to clear them.

"H-huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just…took a detour off the path. I'll be there soon."

And with that, she shouldered her back again and began down the trail once more, not once looking back at the cave she'd so mysteriously found. She smiled, somehow feeling rather happy for meeting them, whoever they were.

Perhaps she'd go back to hiking the other trail again instead of this one. Or, better yet, choose a different mountain entirely.

A/N- Well, that's it. XD Just a fun little one-shot! Let me know what you thought in a review and definitely give it a favorite if you enjoyed it that much!

See you in the next story!