Aurora's outfit:
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Chapter Seventy-seven
⚡Memory Found⚡
"The tunnel gate's locked. Everything is locked." Lydia said as she ran into the bunker and Scott closed and locked the door behind him. "Think it'll hold them off?" Malia asked and Scott sighed softly, "Probably not." He said and Aurora shook her head. "Definitely not." She said.
"You guys aren't hoping I'm gonna be the optimist, are you?" Malia asked and Aurora shook her head as she walked past her, "Hales are never optimistic." Aurora said as she walked up to the metal ice box.
"So, how cold does this thing get?" Scott asked as he walked up to stand next to Aurora, "Cold enough for a Hellhound. It's not the same thing as the ice bath we gave my brother, but it can lower your core temperature past anything a human can survive." She explained.
"So, what does freezing our asses off have to do with our memories?" Malia asked, looking at Aurora crazy, "It'll slow your heart rate and put you in a trance-like state." Lydia said and Scott raised his eyebrows. "Like hypnosis." He said and Aurora nodded, "Hypnotic regression. If we can figure out how to work it." She said and Malia glanced around.
"This says 'start'. So, maybe it's not that complicated." Malia said, pointing at a button on the side while Scott looked at the other side where a bunch of knobs and dials where. "...It's complicated."
"So, optimistically, how much time do you think we need to do this?" Malia asked and Scott looked over at her, "As much time as Liam and Stilinski can buy us." He said.
⚡
Malia pressed the start button and it came to life. "Okay. It's doing something. You ready?" Malia asked, looking at Scott who was now shirtless. Scott looked at them before slowly walking into the box and closing the door. He looked at them through the small window and nodded making Aurora lock it.
"Remember, this will get cold enough to kill you. So, if something feels wrong, or, like it's not working..." Aurora trailed off and Scott just nodded, "It's going to work." He said and Lydia raised her eyebrows. "I hope you're not saying that because you think we know what we're doing." Lydia said and Aurora nodded in agreement, "I'm saying that because I know you can figure it out."
Aurora sighed softly and nodded before turning all the dials making cold air blow into the box. "Oh, okay. All right. Yeah, that's cold. Really cold." Scott said and he hugged his arms close. "So, what are we supposed to do? Talk to him? Help him remember? Wait 'til he turns into a Werewolf freezy-pop?" Malia asked looking over and Aurora and Lydia.
"We need to guide him, keep him focused." Aurora said before looking over at Scott, "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." Aurora said and Scott nodded. All of the sudden the machine made a noise and started beeping making them look around alarmed.
"I don't like this. Something's wrong." Malia asked and Lydia shook her head slightly, "Wait. Give it a few more seconds." She said. Scott groans before slamming his hand down on the window, "I'm getting him out of there." Malia said and went to grab one of the handles but Aurora grabbed her arm.
"Wait." She said when she saw Scott relaxing, "Scott... Can you hear me?" Aurora asked calmly and Scott slightly looked up with red eyes. He didn't say anything for a few seconds before his eyes started fluttering, "Scott, don't fall asleep. You have to keep your eyes open." She said.
"I'm trying..." He mumbled and she sigh softly, "It's not sleep. I think you're losing consciousness... And, if you do that, I think we're gonna lose you." Lydia said and Scott didn't say anything as his eyes kept fluttering. "Scott, stay awake! Scott!" Malia yelled.
They watched worriedly as Scott seemed to be in a trance. "Scott, try to find him." Aurora said as Scott glanced around the box but it was obvious he was seeing something else, "Try to find him in your memories." She said calmly. "Find him in any memory! Good or bad!" She said and he frantically glanced around.
"What's happening to him?" Malia asked worriedly and Lydia shook her head, "I don't know." She said. "He doesn't look good. He looks...Lost." Malia said and Aurora nodded and sighed, "Because he is. I think it's too much information. Like he's getting buried under all the memories, being overloaded by them." She explained and Malia looked over at her.
"So what do we do to help him?"
"Scott? Scott, do you hear me? You have to try to focus!" Aurora yelled as she lightly tapped on the window. "You hear that?" Malia asked after a few minutes as she walked over to the door, "Thunder?" Lydia asked as Malia listened for a moment. "Maybe." She said and Lydia sighed, "This isn't working." She said looking back at Scott.
"Then we have to figure something else out." Malia said as she walked back over, "I know. I know." Lydia said. "Is he gonna freeze to death in there?" Malia asked and Aurora sighed, "If his memories don't kill him first." She said.
"There has to be another way to do this... isn't there?" Malia asked and Lydia shrugged anxiously, "I don't know! This is our first attempt at trying to open a dimensional rift in space-time, so we're kind of fumbling around in the dark, okay?" She said.
"I'm getting him out." Malia said and Aurora grabbed her arm, "Wait-" She said making them look at her. "What?" Lydia asked, "We're not the only one fumbling around in the dark." Aurora said and Malia just looked at her confused. "What does that mean?"
"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." Aurora explained and Lydia nodded along, getting what Aurora was meaning, "So, he needs to imagine something." She said.
"What do we tell him?" Malia asked and Aurora looked back at Scott. "Scott? Can you hear me?" She asked calmly. "Scott, listen... Imagine this 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." She said calmly.
Scott's eyes shot open as his body calmed. "Aurora, I need your help. I don't think I can do this. I can't figure it out." Scott said after a couple minutes, "Keep looking." Aurora said. "There are memories, but I don't know which one's the right one. What am I supposed to do?" He asked, "Find another memory. Just find another memory."
"It's getting too cold. He's getting too cold." Lydia said as the window started to frost over making Malia turn to them. "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?" She asked.
"Like an emotional connection?" Lydia asked and Malia nodded, "That could be why it worked Stilinski, right?" She asked and Aurora nodded slightly. "Stilinski wasn't just remembering someone. He was remembering his son." She said and Malia walked over to them.
"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."
Aurora watched for a minute going to unlock everything, "What are you doing?" Malia asked and Aurora glanced at her. "We have to get him out, he's dying." She said before opening the door. Scott fell out making them instantly catch him
"What? What's wrong? Why'd you bring me out?" He asked, "Your heart rate dropped- you were gonna die." Aurora said and Malia nodded. "We had to." She said making Scott look at her before looking back at the box with furrowed brows.
"But, then... But then nothing happened, did it? It didn't work." He said before standing up, "I'm going back in." He said making Aurora quickly stand in front of him. "No, you're not!" She said, "It was working. Something was happening, I could feel it." He said and she just shook her head. "But nothing was happening out here. Nothing, Scott. All we saw was you freezing to death." She said and he tried to move past her but Malia pulled him back.
"You're still too cold." She said and he sighed, "We can't give up now." He said and Malia shook her head. "We're not. It's my turn." Malia said before taking off her shirt making them looked at each other warily,
"I have plenty of memories of Stiles, too."
"It's too dangerous." Lydia said and Scott slightly shook his head, "Not as dangerous as doing nothing. She'll probably handle the cold better than me." Scott said and Malia nodded. "If it's all about connection, then Stiles was the first person I connected with in a long time."
"She'll need a visual." Scott said, looking over at Aurora making her sigh, "Okay, 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-" Aurora said and Malia cut her off. "Then get me the hell out of there." She said before walking into the ice box.
Lydia shut it and locked it while Aurora stood in front of the window. "Imagine you're in the library. There's book all around the place " She said calmly and waited a moment. "Can you see yourself there? Are you in the library now?" Aurora asked, "I'm here. I'm in the library."
"Can you see the books?"
"I see them." Malia said and Aurora glanced at Scott and Lydia for a second before looking back at Malia. "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." She said calmly.
"Did you find something?" Lydia asked, "I definitely connected." She said making Aurora furrow her brows for a moment before remembering when Stiles told her about how Malia had punched him the second she saw him at Eichen. "Stiles, where are you going?" Malia whispered making them glance at each other.
"Malia?" Aurora asked when she noticed Malia had closed her eyes, "Malia, open your eyes." Scott said. "Malia, can you hear us?" Lydia asked but Malia didnt make a move or sound. "Malia, you have to open your eyes." Aurora said and then all of the sudden Malia's eyes shot open and her hand pressed on the window.
Scott and Aurora instantly went to get the door open but Lydia tapped their arms. "Guys, look! Something's happening." She said making them follow her line of sight to see a bright green light shine through the greats as the room shook slightly.
Aurora looked back at the box when she heard Malia gasp. "She's freezing to death. We need to get her out. Now." Aurora said before quickly unlocking it and opening the door.
Lydia started to turned the box off as Scott wrapped a blanket around Malia, "What are you doing?" He asked when he looked over at Aurora and Lydia. "It's too dangerous. We're not going to save anyone by freezing you guys to death." Lydia said as they turned to them.
"But it was working, wasn't it?" Malia asked and Aurora sighed, "There was a light and a strange noise. No Stiles." She said with a slight shrug. "But I remember him now. I can see him in my head." Scott said and Malia nodded in agreement, "So can I."
"He's more real now than he's ever been. If we can bring Stiles back, we can bring everyone back!" Scott said and Lydia sighed, "There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being." She said and Scott nodded. "I know. Which is why I think it should be you." He said making Lydia scoff.
"I won't last two minutes in there." She said and Scott shrugged slightly, "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." He said and Malia nodded in agreement.
"I saw it, too. You have to try, Lydia." Malia said and Lydia looked at Aurora who nodded, "It's worth a shot but we have to do it the old-fashioned way. We're going to have to actually hypnotize you." Aurora
A few minutes later Aurora was digging around her bag for a candle while Lydia wrote something down. "My mother had a hypnotist who helped her quit smoking. She had me see the same one when I was ten." She said making Scott look at her incredulously, "You smoked when you were ten?" He asked making her sigh and roll her eyes.
"No! I bit my fingernails. Just find a lighter or a candle, please." She said and Aurora pulled a candle out, setting it down in front of Lydia before having her her hand over it making it light. "What's that?" Scott asked looking at the note pad Lydia had, "An induction script. One of you guys is going to have to talk me through this." She head before holding it out and Malia grabbed it.
"So I just read?" She asked and Lydia shrugged slightly, "Well, you have to soften your voice. Keep it relaxed, but not monotone. Go for clarity, not volume. Try it." She said before taking a deep breath while Malia's eyes widened slightly.
"Take... a... deep... breath... and... look... at... the... candle-" Malia read painfully slowly before Lydia grabbed the notepad before handing it to Aurora.
"Take a deep breath and look at the candle. Feel the muscles in your body begin to relax. You hands relaxing. Your eyelids relaxing. As you relax, imagine you're sitting in front of a TV... When you turn the TV on, it's going to play memories from your life... The remote gives you total control. You can play any memory you want... All you have to do is hit the button."
"Try to find a memory of Stiles. A memory where you felt a connection with him." Aurora said as they watched Lydia's hand look like she was actually holding a remote. "That's when it happened." Lydia whispered making Aurora raise her eyebrows, "When what happened?" She asked but Lydia didn't answer right away.
"Lydia, what do you mean? When what happened?" Aurora asked as a tear ran down Lydia's face, "When I kissed him. That's when it all changed. I never said it back. I never said it back." Lydia said as she looked at them with teary eyes while Scott's eyes widened.
All of the sudden a bright green light shined into the room through the grates and everyone around them started to shake. Lydia looked at the door before getting up and slowly walking over to it. She pulled the handle up and push the door open to see a bright white light down the tunnel.
She stepped out, everyone following as she started into the light. And that's when she noticed a figure coming through the light making her eyes widen.
"Stiles?"