By goodness gracious, Best Friends Whenever is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. It's a unique though quite volatile idea, but Disney's been pulling it off well. And, of course, this whole "future lab" plot has everyone pretty excited—including me. So of course I had to write an idea about it!

Let me make one thing clear: having seen the previews for the next episode, I know that the plot of my story will not match up with the canon. But for goodness' sake, this is fanficiton! I had the idea, I wrote it down, it might be different, but hey! I wanted to do it, so I will. Call it AU, AR, whatever you want, but I'm writing it regardless of what happens in the show.

I'd advise you not to judge this story too quickly. In case we haven't met yet, I'm daphrose, master of twists and turns and tricks you never saw coming. Don't assume anything about this story; I've got a lot up my sleeve for this one. The answer is not as obvious as you may think.

Also, real quick, this is not a romance story. If you wanted to stretch your imagination a bit, you could take a few actions as romantic, but not really. It's all friendship here. (I haven't decided on my BFW ships anyway.)

I listened to "Take It Away" by Ashes Remain while writing. Feel free to pull it up while reading. (Great song.)

Let's get on with it! Rated T for human experimentation, torture, blood, and all that fun stuff. This is your last chance to run. I don't own Best Friends Whenever. Enjoy!

* * * Chapter 1: A Time to Give Up * * *

The day would come eventually.

Even time travelers couldn't put it off forever. The present had a way of catching up, they realized, and it came much too quickly for them to jump away to a time when they felt safe and happy.

They knew all this, and yet the moment came upon them in such a rush they couldn't react properly.

The time came with bright lights and terrifying faces, kneeling over their beds and clapping hands over their mouths. Shelby locked eyes with her best friend, who was also being detained across the room. She screamed into the hand over her mouth, but it was no use. A dozen more hands clapped over her arms and legs until she couldn't move at all. One of the figures moved between her and Cyd, and Shelby only screamed louder.

A man walked up, one taller than the rest and dressed in a fancy suit. Shelby's eyes widened and she tried to squirm away, but to no avail.

"Shh," the man whispered, leaning over her. "Calm down, little girl."

Shelby glared at him, seeing it was the only thing she actually could do.

"G's got you now."

G? Shelby thought. G!

The man removed some kind of syringe from a briefcase and stuck it in Shelby's arm before she could react. She screamed louder than ever and thrashed around, desperately trying to find a way up so she could get to Cyd and get out of this time. The world around her grew fuzzy and she felt her eyelids get heavy. The people yelling above her seemed to get further and further away.

Before she slipped away, Shelby yelled her best friend's name one more time, even though she knew it wouldn't do anything. Surprisingly, she heard the shout echo through the room—she could only hope that it reached Cyd's ears. Not that it would do much good.

Shelby couldn't think of a single cheesy remark that would make this situation any better. With a shuddering breath, she gave up the rest of her strength and let everything go black.

Cyd woke up to a dozen beeping sounds and shouts not far above her head. She groaned and opened her eyes to see a bright light shining right in her face. She tried to move, but found that her arms were strapped to the table she lay on. She opened her mouth to scream, but someone clapped their hand on her face.

"She's awake!"

"Where's the anesthetic?"

"Keep her down!"

"Keep her calm!"

Cyd struggled against the restraints as people rushed around her. She tried to say something, but whoever held their hand over her mouth kept her from doing so. A devious thought popped into her mind.

"Ew!"

"What?"

"She licked my hand!"

"Who are you people?" Cyd shouted, seeing as how her mouth was now free. Lucky for her, the one with his hand over her mouth had been the only one without gloves. "What are you doing?"

The people shouted—Cyd could see their blue scrubs and surgical masks over their mouths—and scurried around her.

"Let me go!"

Another man walked closer. He looked fancier than anyone else in the room, and he wore no mask. "Shh," he said, looking directly into her eyes.

Cyd's head buzzed and she could hear the beeping around her get faster. She felt like screaming again, but for some reason, the man's gaze stopped her.

"Shh," he said again. "You're a strong girl, Cyd Ripley. Impressively so. The fight you put up has left my men quite impressed."

"I'd pound your brain out of your skull if you'd let me up!"

The man chuckled. "No, I'm afraid I can't take that chance."

"Coward!"

"Genius. I think you'll find there's a distinct difference." The man leaned even closer so his face was only inches away from hers. "You put up a strong front; I like that. But you're soft on the inside; delicate, one might say. You don't want anyone to know, but I do."

Cyd snarled, but she could feel the icy ball in her stomach grow larger than ever.

"You're afraid. So very afraid. You have every right to be. We take you away from your best friend and drag you to a dark, unfamiliar room with dark, unfamiliar faces. Why, the only thing we haven't taken from you is your family, but it seems as if you wouldn't care about them anyway."

"I . . . care." Her voice faltered.

"Of course you do. But you care about Shelby more."

"What have you done with her?" Cyd yelled and pulled at the wrist restraints. The strange people flocked to hold her arms down, and one pressed her shoulder back until she lay flat again.

"Same thing we're doing with you."

"If you hurt her—"

"Oh, we will. And there's not a thing you can do about it. James! Put her out again. You may get back to your work."

"Right away, sir."

"No, where are you going? Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? Please! Get back here! Or at least get me some pizza; I'm starving!"

The man chuckled as he walked away. "One thing you must understand and you must understand quickly, Cyd Ripley: here, you are regarded as an experiment, not a human being. Things like food, water, and sleep will be given to you sparingly. You will receive only enough to keep you alive. You will hang on by a thread, but only barely. James! I said put her out!"

"No, wait! Ow! Hey, stop that!"

Someone jammed something sharp into Cyd's arm. Immediately her whole wrist felt as if it was burning, and the white-hot sensation spread through her body. Cyd screamed in agony, feeling the sweet relief as she slipped into darkness.

"Cool place," Naldo said, looking down the white halls with fancy electronic doors every so often. "Why am I here again?"

"Because," the man walking just in front of him said, "we understand that you're a close friend of Shelby Marcus and Cyd Ripley."

"Sure I am. The three of us and Barry hang out a whole lot. Do you know them?"

"I met them recently. They seem like fascinating girls."

"Great. So . . . why are we talking about them?"

The man stopped, and so did the two other people holding Naldo's arms, thus causing him to stop as well. The man turned around, smiled—though Naldo would hardly describe it as a nice smile—and walked closer.

"Because you are going to tell me everything you know about them."

"Well." Naldo felt his knees go weak. He swallowed. "Well, they live together. Cyd's parents went to Peru for an archeological—"

"That's not what I meant." The man didn't say it in an angry voice; he didn't shout. He sounded merely displeased, as if a fly had landed on his nose. Maybe it was because his voice was so calm that Naldo decided it might be a good idea to shut up.

The two people holding Naldo's arms released their grips and stepped back. The man walked closer and Naldo leaned away from him.

"You're going to tell me everything you know about their time traveling ability."

Naldo felt his blood run cold. He flashed a faint smile and reached up under his hat to put something out and offer it to the man. "Pickle?"

Barry sat totally straight in the chair, hands on his knees and eyes on the floor. He sat like that, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach, the way his palms felt sweaty, and the fact that his pulse raced. Was this what people called nervousness? He didn't like it one bit.

"You've done a fantastic thing in the name of science today, Mr. Eisenberg," the man sitting across from him said. "So, I have to wonder why it is that you look so upset."

Barry raised his eyebrows slightly. I look upset? I don't even know what that looks like on other people. "Just a little anxious is all," he said aloud. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Barry looked up and set his jaw. "Yes . . . sorry, sir, it's just that . . . I don't do small talk."

The man smiled and shook his head. "Oh, this is far from small talk. Leave us." He waved at the guards by the door. They bowed and exited, leaving Barry and the man alone in the room. He stood up and began to pace.

After a pause: "You know, Mr. Eisenberg, you have turned out to be an extremely astounding young man. I think your talents could be put to good use here."

Barry felt a smile come on his face. "I would be honored, sir." Then he remembered the events of the day, and suddenly he regretted his excitement.

"Would you now? You know, Mr. Eisenberg, I know that you are not too good at reading people. Well, you may not be, but I am. And what I'm reading from you is a lot of hesitation. I cannot have you do anything here with that doubt holding you back. So it seems you need to make a choice. You can choose to follow a path of scientific achievement, or you can succumb to your emotions and let your feelings for your friends get in the way. Well, Mr. Eisenberg?"

The man leaned over Barry now, only a few inches away from his face. Barry swallowed and muttered the only thing he could think to say. "Shuds."

Three screams, one by one, echoed through the facility. Each was silenced milliseconds after they started, suppressed and cut off at their peak. However, though there were only three audible screams, four people constantly screamed in their minds—and they would be screaming for a long time after.

Well? How was it? Some parts I'm not proud of; others, I am. But of course, what matters most is what the readers think. So . . . what did you think? How'd I pull off the characters? They're all new to me, so I'm hoping I did okay with them. Let me know in reviews!

Was "the man" the same person for all four of them? Or was it four different men? What do you guys think? Will he/they be important? And what about Barry? What do you think he's going to choose? And why on earth does he have to choose anything in the first place?

Random Question of the Chapter: I've developed this headcanon that Barry is autistic. I mean, he seems to fit the bill pretty well. I think it would be so cool if he actually was. The only disability I can think of from a Disney show was Cece's dyslexia (Shake It Up!), so I think it would be really awesome of them if Barry had something like autism. So . . . thoughts?

This story will most likely only be about three or four chapters, and I plan to have it complete before Jump to the Future Lab on September 20th. (Hopefully.) So keep an eye out for updates! Reviews are welcome, as always, but not required. I'll see you all soon. Bye!