Eliana's POV:
The entrances to the Argent bunker were sealed and Lydia said, "The tunnel gate's locked. Everything's locked."
"Think it'll hold them off?" Malia wondered.
"Probably not," Scott said.
I shook my head. "Not at all."
Malia looked to us in panic. "You guys aren't hoping I'm gonna be the optimist, are you?"
I looked at Malia. "Well, someone has to be."
Scott nodded and walked towards the human-sized machine in the room. "So, how cold does this thing get?"
"Cold enough for a Hellhound," Lydia replied. "It's not the ice bath you gave Isaac, but it can lower your core temperature past anything a human can survive."
Malia frowned. "So what does freezing our asses off have to do with our memories?"
"It'll slow your heart rate, and put you in a trance-like state."
"Like hypnosis," Scott realized.
"Hypnotic regression," Lydia corrected. "If we can figure out how to work it."
Malia reached her hand forward and brushed a hand down the machine, stopping below a bright green button. "This says "start", so, maybe it's not that complicated."
Scott noticed the other knobs. "It's complicated."
Malia sighed. "So, optimistically, how much time do you think we need to do this?"
Scott shrugged. "As much time as Liam and Stilinski can buy us." He opened the machine."
Malia pressed the green start button and the machine made a whirring noise. "Okay, it's doing something." She turned to Scott. "You ready?"
Scott pulled off his shirt and nodded. He stepped into the machine and softly closed the door behind him. Lydia looked at him. "Remember, this will get cold enough to kill you. So if something feels wrong or like, it's not working..."
"It's going to work," Scott said, cutting her off.
Lydia frowned. "I hope you're saying that because you think I know what I'm doing."
"I'm saying that because I know you can figure it out."
Lydia began twisting and turning dials and levers. Scott wrapped his arms around himself. "Oh, okay, alright, yeah, that's cold. Really cold."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Malia asked. "Talk to him? Help him remember? Wait til he turns into a werewolf freezy pop?"
Lydia offered her a reassuring look. "We need to guide him. Keep him focused." She turned her attention back to the werewolf. "Scott. You have to think about him. Concentrate on Stiles. Try to picture him in your head. Think about what he looks like, things he said."
Scott started groaning and winced. His eyes closed and he lifted his head towards the ceiling. Malia frowned. "I don't like this. Something's wrong."
"Wait. Give it a few more seconds," Lydia said.
He let out a grunt of pain and pressed his hand against the door. Malia reached for the lever. "I'm getting him out of there."
Lydia grabbed her wrist. "Wait!"
Scott looked at them, revealing his werewolf eyes. He relaxed and closed his eyes again. "Scott... Can you hear me?" Lydia asked as Scott's eyes opened and closed repeatedly, drifting off. "Scott, don't fall asleep. You have to keep your eyes open."
"Trying..." Scott mumbled.
"It's not sleep. I think you're losing consciousness. And if you do that, I think we're gonna lose you. Scott, stay awake."
"Scott! Stay awake," I ordered.
Scott nodded and his eyelids continued drooping. "Scott! Stay awake! Scott!" Malia yelled.
His eyes shot open and I noticed a faraway look in his eyes. Lydia gave him directions. "Scott, try to find him. Find him in any memory. Good or bad."
Scott looked around frantically and his breath quickened. "What's happening to him?" Malia asked.
Lydia shook her head. "I don't know."
Malia moved closer to the machine and looked at Scott. "He doesn't look good. He looks... lost."
I studied my friend's face. "I think he is. His mind is being flooded with memories, like they're burying him alive."
"So what do we do to help him?"
Lydia focused back on the werewolf. "Scott? Scott, do you hear me? You have to try to focus!"
"You hear that?" Malia questioned, walking to the door.
"Thunder?" Lydia and I wondered.
Scott continued zoning and I sighed. "Lydia, this isn't working."
Malia paced the floor. "Then we have to figure something else out."
"I know," Lydia snapped. "I, I know."
"Is he gonna freeze to death?"
"If his memories don't kill him."
"There has to be another way to do this. Isn't there?"
"I don't know. This is my first attempt at trying to open a dimensional rift in space-time. So I'm kind of fumbling in the dark, okay?"
Malia nodded. "I'm getting him out." She made a move towards Scott and I grabbed her arm.
I glanced at her. "Lydia, you're not the only one."
"What?"
Lydia's eyes widened as I continued. "You're not the only one fumbling in the dark."
"What does that mean?" Malia wondered.
"I think we have to treat this more like actual hypnosis," Lydia said. "They use images to guide you through memories. Like, a stairwell. The steps take you down through one year of your life to the next. That's how they regress you back."
Malia took a moment to think. "I get it. So he needs to imagine something. What do we tell him?"
An idea came to my mind. "School lockers."
Lydia nodded and walked up to the freezing werewolf. "Scott? Can you hear me? Scott, listen. Imagine this. Imagine you're in the high school. Visualize yourself in the high school in the corridor where all the lockers are. That's where your memories are. They're in all the lockers. They're locked away behind each one. Every memory of Stiles is in a separate locker. Scott, you're there, in the high school. You're standing there now."
His eyes opened and he was more relaxed. "Lydia, I need your help. I don't think I can do this. I can't figure it out."
Lydia's brow furrowed. "Keep looking."
"There are memories, but I don't know which one's the right one. What am I supposed to do?"
"Find another memory. Just find another memory." Her gaze turned to the thermostat. "It's getting too cold. He's getting too cold."
Malia looked at Scott. "What if it's not enough to remember him? What if it's some kind of a connection he's supposed to make because of a memory?"
"Like an emotional connection?"
"That could be why it worked for Stilinski, right?"
I shook my head. "No, that's different. Sheriff wasn't simply remembering someone. He was remembering his son." I walked towards the machine. "Scott? Scott, can you hear me? I just remembered something. At the beginning of senior year, Stiles was trying to find a place for the three of us to live after graduation. He said we'd be getting an apartment together. Malia and I both told Stiles it wasn't a good idea to live with your friends. Even if they're your best friend. Stiles always argued with us, saying it wouldn't matter because you two weren't just friends. You're more like brothers."
The distant look returned to Scott's eyes and his heart rate began dropping.
My eyes flicked to Lydia, who pulled a few levers. I opened the door, pulled Scott out, and steadied him.
Scott look between the three of us. "What, what's wrong? Why'd you bring me out?"
"Your heart rate dropped," Lydia replied. "You were gonna die. We had to."
Scott frowned. "But then, nothing happened, did it? It didn't work."
I shook my head as Scott turned back to the machine. "I'm going back in."
Lydia stepped in front of the machine. "No you're not!"
Scott met my eyes. "It was working. Something was happening. I could feel it."
Lydia shook her head. "But nothing was happening out here. Nothing, Scott. All we saw was you freezing to death."
Malia took his hand. "You're still too cold."
"We can't give up now," Scott said.
"We're not." Malia pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. "It's my turn. I have plenty of memories of Stiles, too."
Lydia frowned. "It's too dangerous."
"Not as dangerous as doing nothing."
Scott gave Malia a soft smile. "She'll probably handle the cold better than me."
Malia nodded. "If it's all about connection, then Stiles was one of the first people I connected with. You all were. I can do this."
"She'll need a visual."
Lydia sighed. "Okay, I think I have an idea. But Malia, if your heart rate goes down or if we think you're going to freeze to death..."
Malia cut her off. "Then get me the hell out of there."
Malia entered the machine and Lydia powered it up, causing a light gray fog to appear.
"Can you see yourself in there?" Lydia asked. "Are you in the library?"
Malia's voice sounded surprised. "I'm here. I'm in the library."
"Can you see the books?"
"I see them."
Lydia smiled. "Concentrate on them. The books on the shelves are your memories. Everything that's ever happened to you. Try to find a memory where you made some kind of connection with him." She paused and noticed Malia's expression. "Did you find something?"
"I definitely connected," Malia answered, squeezing her eyes tightly.
"Malia, you need to open your eyes," I instructed.
"Malia, can you hear us?" Lydia asked.
Scott's voice sounded forced. "Open your eyes, Malia."
Her hand pressed against the door window and the machine started rumbling. I noticed that the ceiling was shaking.
"Guys, look," Lydia said, making us look at the bright light. "Something's happening."
Malia lunged forward, still pressing a hand to the window.
Once again, I opened the door and Malia fell into Scott's arms. He embraced her tightly.
Scott wrapped a blanket around Malia and Lydia powered down the machine.
"What are you doing?" Malia asked.
"But it was working, wasn't it?"
I let out a sigh. "Malia, the machine was shaking. We got worried."
"But I remember him now, Lydia," Scott said. "I can see him in my head."
Malia nodded. "So can I."
Scott's eyes flicked between us. "He's more real now than he's ever been. If we can bring Stiles back, we can bring everyone back."
Lydia frowned. "There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being."
Scott nodded. "I know."
I turned to Lydia. "Which is why I think it should be you."
Scott glanced at me, then back to Lydia. "Ella's right. It's all about the connection. When I was remembering him, I was remembering the two of you together. I don't think anyone had a connection like you guys."
Malia glanced at me. "I saw it too. Ella?"
I nodded. "Though I'm not going in, they're right. You and Stiles have this insane connection."
Lydia looked between us. "Then we're gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way. We're going to hypnotize me."
She instructed us how to do so and we sat impatiently as we waited for her to come out of her hypnosis.
After what seemed liked forever Lydia finally said, "That's when it happened."
"When what happened?" Scott and I asked.
Lydia's eyes shot open. "That's when it all changed."
We looked at her, confused. "When what changed?"
"When I realized kissed him. That's when it all changed."
Lydia gasped softly and said, "Oh my God. I was there. I was the last person to see him."
"Where? When did you see him?" Scott asked.
Lydia's eyes widened. "I never said it back."
She suddenly ran towards a door. Sh pulled the bolts and threw them behind her, opening the door.
Lydia shielded her eyes from the bright light illuminating the tunnel and the wind blew, making her hair cover her eyes. She brushed her hair away and saw a familiar figure.
After a moment, Lydia whispered, "Stiles?"