"The tunnel gate's locked. Everything is locked." Lydia says to the group as they regroup at the center of the tunnels. Their attempts had been futile up to this point but now that Noah had remembered Stiles they couldn't give up now. "Think it'll hold them off?" Malia asks the group. "Probably not."
"Definitely not."
"You guys aren't hoping I'm gonna be the optimist, are you?" Malia asks them as the group goes to a room with a machine that was able to freeze them.
"So, how cold does this thing get?" Worry was laced in Jules' voice making Scott hold her hand. "Cold enough for a Hellhound. It's not the same thing as the ice bath you gave Isaac, but it can lower your core temperature past anything a human can survive." Lydia informs them as they continue to examine it.
"So, what does freezing our asses off have to do with our memories?" Malia says with skepticism in her voice. "It'll slow your heart rate and put you in a trance-like state."
"Like hypnosis."
Scott caught in to Lydia's explanation as Jules gulps and rubs her hands on her jeans as they were beginning to sweat. "Hypnotic regression. If we can figure out how to work it." Lydia says tilting her heads. Malia then sees two buttons, one green and one red. "This says "start." So, maybe it's not that complicated." Malia says until Scott sees more buttons in the machine making him raise his eyes brows. "It's complicated."
"So, optimistically, how much time do you think we need to do this?" Malia asks them. "As much time as Liam and Stilinski can buy us." Jules tells her as she runs her free hand on the machine.
Malia pulls one of the levers in the machine while Scott removes his shirt. It emits a noise making chills run down Jules' spine. "Okay. It's doing something. You ready?" Malia says turning to Scott who only nods as he gets into the machine. Lydia purses her lips as Malia closes the door."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."
"I hope you're not saying that because you think I know what I'm doing." Lydia tells him. "I'm saying that because I know you can figure it out." Scott says trying to reassure her. Jules looks at him for approval as she places her hand on another lever. He nods his head at her as she pulls it making Scott gasp. "Oh, okay. All right. Yeah, that's cold. Really cold."
"So, what are we supposed to do? Talk to him? Help him remember? Wait 'til he turns into a Werewolf freezy-pop?" Malia says making Jules punch her lightly in the shoulder. "We need to guide him, keep him focused. 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's said." Lydia says as Scott body begins to shake due to the freezing temperature.
"I don't like this. Something's wrong." Jules says as he nails dig into her palms. "Wait. Give it a few more seconds." Lydia puts her hand in front of Jules just as Scott eyes turn red and he places his hand in the glass that allows him to look out of the machine. "I'm getting him out of there." Jules says pushing Lydia's hand out of the way. "Wait! Scott... Can you hear me? Scott, don't fall asleep. You have to keep your eyes open." Lydia says loudly as Scott falls in and out of consciousness.
"I'm trying." He mumbled quietly. "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!" Lydia says banging on the door to keep him awake.
Unbeknownst to all the girls he was seeing all his memories hitting him at once. He was seeing the time Stiles has changed him up because Scott kissed Lydia. The time Scott thought he attacked a bus driver came up as well—Stiles comparing them to Batman and Robin being a prominent conversation in the memory.
"Scott...try to find him." Lydia says which sounds like an echo to Scott as more memories pile up on him. "Try to find him in your memories. Find him in any memory! Good or bad!" Lydia yells as Scott head begins to shake—the memories becoming to much for him to handle.
"What's happening to him?" Jules asks with worry in her voice. "I don't know." Lydia tells her. "He doesn't look good. He looks...lost." Jules feels her heart rate speed up as Lydia continues to think about what to do. "I think he is. I think maybe it's too much information. Like he's getting buried under all the memories, being overloaded by them."
"So what do we do to help him?"
"Scott? Scott, do you hear me? You have to try to focus!" Jules says banging on the door as the three girls all hear a noise. "You hear that?" Malia ask them. "Thunder?" Lydia asks her. "Maybe." Malia says causing Lydia to sigh. "This isn't working." Jules tells her as Scott becomes colder. "Then we have to figure something else out." Malia says loudly directing her voice to Lydia. "I know. I know."
"Is he gonna freeze to death in there?" Malia asks her. "If his memories don't kill him." Lydia says making Jules open her mouth agape. "There has to be another way to do this...isn't there?" Malia asks her making Lydia become anxious. "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 around in the dark, okay?" Lydia says fumbling her hands around as she does so.
"I'm getting him out." Malia states only to be stopped by Lydia. "What? I'm not the only one fumbling around in the dark. I think we have to treat this more like actual hypnosis. 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." She explains to them.
"I get it. So, he needs to imagine something. What do we tell him?" Malia asks her as Lydia comes up with an ideas. "Scott? Can you hear me? Scott, listen... Imagine this...imagine you're in the high school, in the corridor where all the lockers are. Just try to imagine standing there. That's where your memories are. They're all in 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." Lydia tells him as his body begins to freeze. "It's getting too cold. He's getting too cold." Jules says as Scott shakes his head at the memories in his head. "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?" Malia suggests. "He wasn't just remembering someone. He was remembering his son. Scott? Scott, can you hear me? Listen, I remember something. At the start of the year, Stiles was trying to find a place for you guys to live after graduation. He said you were getting an apartment together. And I remember saying something to Stiles, something like "it's not always a good idea to live with your friends, even your best friend. But Stiles said it wouldn't matter, because you weren't just friends-- you guys were more like brothers." Malia tells him—not realizing that she had triggered one of Scott's most important memories.
As he looked into one of the lockers, Scott saw the memory that changed the way he would see Stiles for the rest of his life. Scott had been at such a low point, he thought milking himself was the only option. But Stiles wasn't going to let that happen, he walked towards Scott. "Scott, just listen to me okay, okay? You're not no one. Okay? You're someone. You're... Scott, you're my best friend, okay? And I need you. Scott, you're my brother. All right? So, if we're gonna do this, then...I think you're just gonna have to take me with you."
As he saw the memory, he didn't realize his body was freezing on the outside. The three girls immediately turned off the machine—taking Scott out in the process. "What? What's wrong? Why'd you bring me out?" Scott says as he wraps his arms around himself to keep him warm. "Your heart rate dropped—you were gonna die." Lydia tells him with worry in his voice. "We had to Scott." Jules says as she wraps him in a hug. "But, then...but then nothing happened, did it? It didn't work. I'm going back in." He says as he tries to place himself into the machine again only to be like back by Jules and Malia.
"No, you're not!"
"It was working. Something was happening, I could feel it." Scott says with determination in his voice. "But nothing was happening out here. Nothing, Scott. All we saw was you freezing to death." Lydia explains to him with slight sadness in her voice.
"You're still too cold." Malia tells him to make him change his mind. "We can't give up now." Scott tells them.
"We're not. It's my turn." Malia then proceeds to take off her shirt and giving it to Jules for her to hold. "I have plenty of memories of Stiles, too. Besides I can probably handle the cold better then Scott." Lydia purses her lips at his and Scott turns his head to look at her. "She'll need a visual." He tells her.
"Okay, I think I have an idea. But Malia, if your heart rate goes down like Scott's, or if we think you're going to freeze to death—"
"—Then get me the hell out of there." Malia interjects as she places herself into the machine. "Can you see yourself there? Are you in the library now?" Lydia asks her as Malia nods her head. "I'm here. I'm in the library." Malia tells them. "Can you see the books?" Malias eyes squint slightly. "I see them."
"Concentrate on them. The books on the shelves are your memories—everything that's ever happened to you. Find the shelf that has all your memories of Stiles. Try to find a memory where you made some kind of connection with him." Lydia tells her as Malia—in her head— finds herself in the school library looking through the books on the shelves. She finds one only to see herself at Eichen House where she had punched Stiles which causes her to immediately close the book.
"Did you find something?"
"I definitely connected." Malia tells her. She opens more books to see the time where Stiles helped her with the shift. She also sees the time in Eichen where she told Stiles she wanted to be changed back so she wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Find something else." Lydia tells her as Malia continues to dig through memories. She stumbles a good one in the Hale vault when they had been poisoned. She remembers the feeling of vulnerability and she hated it. "Malia... I gotta leave for a few, okay?" Stiles says to her as he wraps his jacket around her to keep her warm. "Where are you going?" She asks him with a weak voice. "Whatever's happening, it's worse for you guys." Stiles tells her—his voice echoing in Malias head as the three observe her from the outside.
"Stiles, where are you going?" Malia says in a whisper making the three look at each other as Malia begins to close her eyes. "Malia? Malia, open your eyes. Malia, can you hear us?" Jules says loudly as Malia rapidly opens her eyes and places it on the door as she begins to freeze. Lydia immediately pulls Jules aside and opens the door to let Malia out. Scott immediately places a sweater on her to warm her up.
"Guys I don't think this is going to work. It's too dangerous." Lydia tells them. "No we have to keep trying." Jules immediately takes her sweater off and places herself inside—grabbing the door and closing it in the process. Scott immediately tried pulling her out only for Jules to places her hand on the glass. "We have to try." Scott places his hand on the other side of hers and she smiles slightly at him. "Okay I want you to close your eyes Jules. Imagine you're in your room. Walk to you picture board. Each picture will represent a memory. Each time you pick one up you'll see one." Lydia tells her as Jules closes her eyes and imagines she's in her room.
When she opens her eyes she finds herself in her room but the aura is different. It's darker then usual and when she turns to the right she sees her picture board. But it's piled with pictures, each hung up with a thumb tack. She walks towards it, running her hands through each picture as she smiles slightly. When she tries grabbing a picture they all fall to the floor making her wince as a bunch of memories are sprung at her. The night she had gone along with Scott and Stiles to find a dead body. Her talk with him as they went to save Scott and Malia from Beserkers. The time Stiles thought he had his mother's same disease.
It made her gasp and Scott immediately began to worry as he saw her eyebrows scrunch. "Jules, Jules I don't know what you're seeing but I need you to calm down." He says loudly as Jules slows her breathing. She looks back up at the noises to see a picture of Beacon Hills Hospital. She removes the thumbtack and grabs the picture.
Jules couldn't move her body, but she knew she was awake. She could feel someone hold her hand as the machine next to her beeped. Stiles had stayed with her while Scott talked to his Mom. She had just been bit and had been brought back to her room for surgery. "C'mon Jules. You need to wake up. Not just for Scott or Melissa. You gotta wake up for me. I know you're probably really angry at Scott for not telling you what really happened that night. I know you're probably mad at me too. But I swear we thought we were protecting you, and I don't feel like apologizing to your unconscious body so please...wake up."
"wake up..."
"wake up..."
"wake up..."
"Wake Up..." Jules said aloud as the group stared at her from outside. Suddenly Jules was pulled away from that memory only to see another picture in the center of her board. Again she took the thumbtack off and grabbed the picture. This time she was in studying with Stiles in the library. It has been quiet for the most part but the tapping of his pencil made Jules look up at him annoyed. "What's wrong with you." She asks him making him lift his eyebrows. "What? nothing, nothings wrong with me." He says with another pencil in his mouth.
"You keep tapping your pencil and it's getting annoying so what's up?" Stiles sighs at how observant she was and takes the pencil out of his mouth. "Look I know I'm not Scott, I'm not your brother. But I just wanted to know if everything was alright with you and Brett." Jules immediately scrunches her eyebrows at this and tilts her head. "Everything's fine...why do you ask?"
He stays quiet for a bit leaving Jules to think. She smiles a bit when she realizes where this was going. "Aw, you care about me." Jules says smiling sheepishly as she gets up from her chair to hug him as he rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah sue me for wanting to make sure Brett is treating you right."
"Well I can assure you he is treating me very well." She says as Stiles hugs her back. "Good, cause of not I'll beat him with my bat." Jules immediately laughs at this. "You do realize he's a werewolf right?" She asks him as he grabs his chest dramatically. "I think you underestimate the power of the bat. Besides if the bat doesn't work then I can just get Scott to hurt him. I don't want you getting hurt, we may not be related by blood but you're like my little sister and that's never gonna change."
On the outside Jules was freezing. The lever had gotten stuck and Scott had ended up breaking it as Malia pulled in the door to pull her out. She gasps as Scott wraps his arms around her and she takes deep breathes. "Did it work? Did anything happen?" She asks them only for them to nod "no" with disappointment.
"There was a light and a strange noise. No Stiles." Lydia tells her. "But I remember him now. I can see him in my head." Jules tells her with desperation.
"So can we." Malia adds. "He's more real now than he's ever been. If we can bring Stiles back, we can bring everyone back!" Scott says loudly. "There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being." Lydia tries to argue.
"I know. Which is why I think it should be you." Scott tells her making Lydia scoff. "I won't last two minutes in there." Lydia rebuttals. "Then think of something else. Malia's right. It's all about the connection. When I was remembering him, I was also remembering the two of you together. I don't think anyone had a connection like you guys." Scott explains to her.
"I saw it, too. You have to try, Lydia." Malia tells her making her purse her lips. "Then we have to do it the old-fashioned way." She says making the group scrunch their eyebrows.
"We're going to have to actually hypnotize me."