Malia brushed by Levi and Lydia, pressing her face almost against the glass as she yelled to try to get Scott's attention.
"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." Malia told the story, but it was Levi who knew exactly the word they needed to say to get through to Scott.
"You guys were more like brothers." Levi yelled, watching as Scott groaned at a memory coming on.
//.//
"What, what's wrong? Why'd you bring me out?" Scott gasped as he felt Levi's arms wrap around him as he tumbled out of the machine and onto the concrete floor. She brushed as his hair, moving it from his eyes as she searched his face to make sure he was okay.
"Your heart rate dropped. You were gonna die!" Lydia exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief at her friend being okay even if it meant that their plan was failing.
"We had to," Malia softly agreed, knowing that Scott was devastated that it hadn't worked.
"But then, but then nothing happened, did it? It didn't work."
Levi rubbed his back as they all sat in silence as they thought about how they might never get to see Stiles again since their only plan had crumbled apart in only ten minutes. She sneezed, releasing Scott but also causing him to jump up blindly.
"I'm going back in!" He argued, moving towards the machine as the three girls also clambered to their feet to stop him from doing such a thing.
"No, you're not!" Lydia yelled, grabbing on to the alpha and pulling him away from the freezing machine.
"It was working. Something was happening. I could feel it." Scott insisted, but Malia wasn't having any of it.
"But nothing was happening out here. Nothing, Scott. All we saw was you freezing to death." She argued back, looking to Levi for support. If there was anyone the alpha would listen to the most out of the three members of the pack, it was probably her.
"You're still too cold," Levi murmured, running her hand along his chest to comfort the heaving teenager. He frantically ran his hands through his hair as he flicked his gaze between the three of them.
"We can't give up now," Scott argued, but Malia had already thought of an alternative idea to the plan.
"We're not. It's my turn. I have plenty of memories of Stiles, too!" She explained, and Scott and Levi shared thoughtful glances while Lydia hastily shot the idea down.
"It's too dangerous," the banshee argued, but the alphas of the pack weren't too sure about that.
"Not as dangerous as doing nothing," Levi noted, causing Malia to nod frantically and point at the girl in confirmation. Lydia sighed, but she knew that she was going to be outnumbered on this.
"She'll probably handle the cold better than me," Scott continued the joint thought process and Lydia found herself thinking more about how she could do that a second time around.
"If it's all about connection, then Stiles was the first person I connected with in a long time," Malia noted. This was something that none of them could deny.
"She'll need a visual." Levi finally stated, sensing that Lydia was willing to go ahead with the dangerous plan of freezing Malia.
"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."
______
Levi paced the floor as she watched Malia fall into the same trance like state that Scott had previously been in. The male alpha tried to ignore the nerves radiating off her, but it was hard due to the small space there were in.
Scott turned around, latching on to her hand and pulling her into his side. Levi sighed as she buried her face into his shirt as they waited on Lydia giving Malia the visual to guide her through her memories of Stiles.
"Can you see yourself there? Are you in the library now?" Lydia asked the girl, noting the fog that was appearing on the glass from how warm her breath was compared to the cold temperature that was invading the cubicle.
"I'm here. I'm in the library." Malia monotony said to them, her eyes glazed over like Scott's had been when he was in the trance state.
"Can you see the books?" Levi asked, only to close her mouth once she received a glare from Lydia about speaking up. It was only suitable for one person to ask the questions incase Malia got confused and fell out of the trance.
"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 of your memories of Stiles. Try to find a memory where you made some kind of connection with him." Lydia informed her, holding on to Levi's hand as she prayed that this would work. Levi squeezed her hand three times, trying to tell her that everything was going to be okay.
"Did you find something?" Lydia asked as Malia let out a gasp from her memories.
"I definitely connected."
"Find something else. Malia?" Lydia asked, watching as the breathing of the werecoyote started to become more frantic and rushed. Her palm shot out, her eyes opening as she slammed her hand against the glass.
Scott jumped into action, trying to undo the lock while the werecoyote's eyes shone blue as she connected with Levi. The girl moved to Scott's side, helping him to pry the lock open.
"Scott, Levi, look! Something's happening,"Lydia said to the two as green light started to flow in through the small slits of the bunker that passed for windows. Levi and Scott paused for a second while they started at the light before breaking the seal and catching Malia as she tumbled out of the machine the way Scott had.
Levi and Scott proceeded to grab any material they could find to drape over the girl to bring her back to a normal temperature. She was still shivering as Levi hugged her tightly while Scott turned to look at Lydia meddling with the settings on the machine.
"What are you doing?" Scott asked, worried that she was stopping their only chance of getting their friend back.
"It's too dangerous. We're not going to save anyone by freezing you guys to death." Lydia noted, and Levi found herself agreeing with the strawberry blonde.
"She's right guys," the alpha spoke softly as she continued to hold on to a shivering Malia. "We can't get Stiles back if you're dead."
"But it was working, wasn't it?" Malia tried to argue but Lydia wasn't having any of it. She loved whoever this Stiles person was, but she didn't want her friends to die for him.
"There was a light and a strange noise." Lydia argued, not sure they were really understanding the point she was trying to convey.
"No Stiles." Levi muttered.
"But I remember him now. I can see him in my head." Malia argued.
"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 explained, knowing that this might be the key to saving all of Beacon Hills.
"There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being!" Lydia tried to explain to the two supernaturals.
"I know. Which is why I think it should be you," Scott said, and Lydia scoffed thinking about her trying to last in the machine they had both just been in.
"I won't last two minutes in there," she said, confused as to why they would even suggest that.
"Then think of something else!" Levi suddenly but in, changing sides in the argument. Her memories of Lydia and Stiles had came back to her and she knew if any of them had the best connection - it was her.
"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 argued with the girl, knowing that if this was the last chance they must do it.
"I can remember it Lydia, believe me, there was no-one with a connection like yours," Levi agreed, knowing that Lydia was the best and last chance they had at getting Stiles brought back to their dimension.
"I saw it, too. You have to try, Lydia."
"Then we have to do it the old-fashioned way. We're going to have to actually hypnotize me. My mother had a hypnotist who helped her quit smoking. She had me see the same one when I was 10." Lydia explained, writing down on a pad of paper as Levi held a lighter and a candle in her hands. The banshee motioned for her to place them down on the table so she did, watching as Lydia continued to write.
"You smoked when you were 10?" Levi laughed, not being able to imagine a young Lydia even thinking of doing such a thing.
"No. I bit my fingernails," she rolled her eyes at Levi before passing the notepad across the table to Scott as she sat down on the seat at the table.
"What's that?" Malia asked as she peered over Levi and Scott's shoulders to get a read of the words she had scribbled down for Scott to read.
"An induction script. One of you is going to talk me through this," she explained, closing her eyes for a second as she settled down.
"So I just read?" Scott said, his eyes skimming the notes.
"Well, you have to soften your voice. Keep it relaxed but not monotone. Go for clarity, not volume. Try it," Lydia ordered, watching Levi nod to her reassuringly.
"Take a deep breath and look at the candle. Take a deep breath and look at the candle. Feel the muscles in your body begin to relax. Your 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." Scott gently said, all three of them watching as Lydia focused on the candle and suddenly drifted into a trance like state.
"Honey, there's a Stiles here to see you."
"I was just making sure you were okay."
"What the hell is a Stiles?"
Levi smiled as Lydia muttered to herself, she had been told about Stiles' and Lydia's interaction when Lydia had first seen Peter transformed and was high on pain meds. It was something that she had thought was cute.
"You wanna dance?"
"Pass."
"You know what? Let me try that again. Lydia, get off your cute little ass and dance with me now."
"Interesting tactic. I'm gonna stick with "no.""
"Try to find a memory of Stiles. A memory where you felt a connection with him." Levi read, knowing that a change in voice probably wasn't helpful but Lydia seemed more relaxed when she spoke - and Malia and Scott would both agree later that Levi had a much more soothing voice than them.
"I'm the only one who knows how smart you really are."
"Fields Medal..."
"What?"
"Nobel doesn't have a prize for mathem... Nobel doesn't have a prize for mathematics. Fields Medal."
"Find another memory. Keep looking for Stiles." Scott said as they listened to her talk about the Fields Medal. None of them really knew what she was talking about.
"Find another memory." Levi murmured again, watching as Lydia's face screwed up as she thought of something else.
"Is anyone gonna get me a coat?"
__
"Turning out to be like a perfect combination."
__
"I'm not a psychic."
"You're something!"
__
"Okay, well, maybe we could just... We could go over there and... What?"
"It's from Isaac."
"What is it now?"
"She took him. She's got all three now."
"There's still time. We still have time, right? Stiles? You okay? What is it? What's wrong? Stiles. Stiles. Stiles!"
"I think I'm having a panic attack."
"Okay. Come on. Come on. Just try and think about something else. Anything else."
"Like what?"
"Happy things. Good things. Uh, friends, family... Uh, I mean, not family. Oh, God. Okay. Uh, just... Try and slow your breathing."
"I can't... I can't."
"Shh. Shh. Stiles, look at me. Shh. Look at me. Shh. Stiles."
"How'd you do that?"
"I, uh... I read once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So when I kissed you, um, you held your breath."
"I did?"
"Yeah, you did."
__
"That's when it happened," Lydia suddenly told them, her eyes now open as she thought about her most vivid memory of the boy. How she had pressed her lips to his to stop him from having the panic attack. How that had altered her path.
"When what happened? Lydia, what do you mean? When what happened?" Levi, Scott and Malia all echoed as they looked at the strawberry blonde in front of them. None of them had any idea what she was talking about.
"When I kissed him. That's when it all changed." There was a moment of silence as it took them a second to process what she had said. They hadn't even realised the two of them had ever kissed, let alone this changing anything between them.
"Lydia, look at me."
"I saw him. I was there. I was the last person to see him." She breathed, the memories all flooding back to her now.
"Where? When did you see him?" Scott begged her, desperately hoping this would fill the void enough for Stiles to be brought back to them.
"The Ghost Riders, they... When they took him."
"Look at me. Look at me. You're gonna forget me."
"I won't. No, I won't, I won't."
"Lydia, you will. Just remember, remember I love you."
"I never said it back. I never said it back." She muttered, looking up at the three of them now. She had never told Stiles she loved him too. Levi felt the tears pool in her eyes as she shared the look with her best friend, completely understanding the pain she was feeling.
The moment was cut short, but a faint rattling sound as the green light around them started to get brighter as it shone through the cracks of the walls. They all stood up, Lydia taking the lead as the walked towards the door of the bunker.
She opened the hatch, moving forward and into the tunnel. At the bottom was a white light, and in the faintest of glows, Levi could make out the figure of a person.
"Stiles?" Lydia breathed.