Avalon's outfit:
Chapter Forty-One
â¡Memory Foundâ¡
"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 Avalon sighed softly, "Probably not." She said and Lydia shook her head. "Definitely not." She said.
"You guys aren't hoping I'm gonna be the optimist, are you?" Malia asked and Avalon chuckled and shook her head as she walked past her to the metal ice box. "So, how cold does this thing get?" Scott asked as he walked up to stand next to Avalon, "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 explained.
"So, what does freezing our asses off have to do with our memories?" Malia asked, looking at Lydia 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 Lydia 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 Avalon looked at the other side where a bunch of knobs and dials were. "...It's complicated." She said. "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.
â¡
Malia pressed the start button and it came to life. "Okay. It's doing something. Whose first?" Malia asked as she glanced at everyone, "I'll go." Avalon said as she took her sweater off and Malia raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?' She asked and she nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure." She said before smiling at her girlfriend and moving to go into the box. She looked at them through the small window and nodded making Scott lock it.
"Remember, this will get cold enough to kill you. You may be a Pyro Witch but you're not the same as a Hellhound. So, if something feels wrong, or, like it's not working..." Lydia trailed off and Avalon just nodded, "It's going to be work... Hopefully." She 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 Avalon chuckled, "I'm saying that because I think you can figure it out."
Scott sighed softly and nodded before turning all the dials making cold air blow into the box. Avalon sucked in a deep slightly before closing her eyes. "So, what are we supposed to do? Talk to her? Help her remember? Wait 'til she turns into a Chimera freezy-pop?" Malia asked looking over at Scott and Lydia.
"We need to guide her, keep her focused." Lydia said before looking over at Avalon, "Avalon, 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." She said and Avalon 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. Avalon hummed uncomfortably making Malia shake her head, "I'm getting her out of there." Malia said and went to grab one of the handles but Lydia grabbed her arm.
"Wait!" She said when she saw Avalom relaxing, "Avalon... Can you hear me?" She asked calmly and Avalon slowly looked up with her golden yelled/fiery reddish-orange eyes. She didn't say anything for a few seconds before her eyes started fluttering, "Avalom, don't fall asleep. You have to keep your eyes open." Lydia said.
"I know..." Avalon mumbled and Lydia 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 Avalon didn't say anything as her eyes kelt fluttering. "Avalon, stay awake! Avalon!" Malia yelled.
Avalon glanced around as she stood in the hallway of the highschool. "Hold on. You know about all of this?" She heard someone say making her turn around to see three people flickering in and out. A second later they stopped flickering and she saw herself, Scott and Stiles standing in the hallway.
**"Hold on. You know about all this?" Stiles asked and she looked at him like it was obvious.
"We live in Beacon Hills. I don't know how everyone doesnt know about the supernatural at this point." She said before looking at Scott with an annoyed look. "You do realize he's only fifteen right? And now he has to deal the dangerous world of supernatural." She said and Scott sighed, "He was about to fall off the roof and there was someone fighting me. I didn't have any other choice." He said and she raised her eyebrows.
"You're telling me you're an Alpha Werewolf and you can't take a second to knock someone out before pulling my little brother up?" She asked making Scott and Stiles glance at each other for a moment. "If my brother's life is ever on the line again for something supernatural... I'm not gonna kill you, but I will make your life hell." Avalon said before walking away.**
They watched worriedly as Avalon seemed to be in a trance. "Avalon, try to find him." Lydia said as Avalon's eyes glanced around the box as she kept seeing and hearing short flashes of moment with Stiles. "Try to find him in your memories." Lydia said calmly, "Find him in any memory! Good or bad!" She said and she frantically glanced around.
"What's happening to her?" Scott asked worriedly and Lydia shook her head, "I don't know." She said. "She doesn't look good. She looks...Lost." Malia said and Lydia nodded and sighed, "Because she is. I think it's too much information. Like she's getting buried under all the memories, being overloaded by them." She explained and they looked over at her.
"So what do we do to help her?"
"Avalon? Avalon, do you hear me? You have to try to focus!" Lydia 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?" Scott asked as Malia listened for a moment. "Maybe." She said and Lydia sighed, "This isn't working." She said looking back at Avalon.
"Then we have to figure something else out." Scott said as Malia walked back over, "I know. I know." Lydia said. "Is she gonna freeze to death in there?" Malia asked worriedly and Lydia sighed, "If her memories don't kill her 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 my 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 her out." Malia said and Lydia grabbed her arm, "Wait-" She said making them look at her. "I'm not the only one fumbling around in the dark." Lydia said and Scott 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." Lydia explained and Malia nodded along, getting what Lydia was meaning, "So, she needs to imagine something." She said.
"What do we tell her?" Scott asked and Lydia looked back at Avalon. "Avalon? Can you hear me?" She asked calmly. "Avalon, listen... Imagine this you're in art room at the high school. Just try to imagine sitting there in front of an easel with a pad of paper. That's where your memories are. They're all on different pages. They're drawn on every page. Every memory of Stiles is on a page. Avalon, you're there... in the art room... you're sitting there now." She said calmly.
Avalon glanced around as she sat on a stool in the art room in front of an easel. She took a deep breath to see a sketch of her, Scott, Stiles and Liam in the locker room showers..
** "I.E.D.? You're literally an I.E.D.? That's great. That's great. You gave powers to a walking time bomb!" Stiles said, giving Scott a thumbs up making Avalon look at him with a warning look. "Did they give you anything for it?" Scott asked as he crouched down, "Risperdal. It's an antipsychotic." Liam said and Stiles chuckled.
"Oh, this just gets better..." Stiles muttered. "But I don't take it-" Liam said, "Obviously!" Stiles interjected making Avalon fully turn to face him. "I'm gonna give you two options. You can shut your mouth or you can keep talking and I'll punch your teeth in. Liam's not the only Dunbar with anger issues, he just has worse." She said making Stiles purse his lips awkwardly. **
Avalon quickly covered the paper and glanced around slightly. "Hey, Lydia... I need your help. I don't think I can do this. I can't figure it out." She called out. "Keep looking." She heard Lydia said and Azalea furrowed her brows. "There are memories, but I don't know which one's the right one. What am I supposed to do?" Avalon asked, "Find another memory. Just find another memory."
Azalea sighed softly before flipping to another page.
"It's getting too cold. She's getting too cold for her fire to really help her." 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 she's supposed to make because of a memory?" She asked.
"Like an emotional connection?" Scott asked and Malia nodded, "That could be why it worked for Stilinski, right?" She asked and Lydia nodded slightly. "He wasn't just remembering someone. He was remembering his son." She said and Malia turned to Avalon.
"Hey, Avalon? I think I remember something. At the start of the year, you Stiles and I were hanging out. You were sketching and Stiles asked if you should make a sketch of everyone together so we can print it and everyone can have a copy. You had said that you hate drawing people but Stiles wouldn't stop begging until you agreed." Malia said.
Avalon stared at the paper for a moment before taking a deep breath and flipping to another page.
** "Okay, I get it. It's fine. You know what? I'll figure it out myself. Right? I don't need you, or you, or you. I don't need anyone." He said dramatically before grabbing Avalon's bag. "Except for Avalon. You're coming with me." He said making her furrow her brows, "I didnt consent to this." She mumbled as she got up...
"Because you trust everyone!" Stiles yelled before punching the jeep in frustration. "Woah!" Avalon said, slightly pulling him away from the jeep, "Are you okay?" Scott asked and Stiles nodded. "I'm fine." He said and Avalon gave him a look, "You could've broken it-"
"It's not broken." He said, cutting her off making her sigh, "Let me see it." Scott said and he shook his head. "I'm fine." He said making Avalon give him a look. "Stiles." She said in a warning tone and he sighed before holding his hand out. Scott gently grabbed it before black veins trailed from his hand to his.
When Scott pulled away Stiles looked down at his hand, moving it around not feeling any pain. "You're a fucking psychopath." Avalon muttered making him shoot her a look. **
Lydia watched for a minute going to unlock everything, "What are you doing?" Scott asked and Lydia glanced at him. "We have to get her out, she's dying." She said before opening the door. Avalon fell out making Malia instantly catch her.
"Why'd you bring me out?" Avalon asked as she glanced at all of them, "Your heart rate dropped- you were gonna die." Lydia said and Malia nodded. "We had to." She said making Avalon look at her before looking back at the box with furrowed brows.
"Nothing happened, did it? I dont think my connection to Stiles is strong enough." She said before Malia helped her stand up and Scott handed Malia and blanket and she instantly wrapped it around Avalon's shoulder. "Someone else has to go in." Avalon said and Lydia went to protest but Avalon spoke up again, "Nothing might have happened out here but something happened to me. I remember him now, maybe I just don't have a strong enough connection to him to bring him back. We were friends but we weren't that close." Avalon said and Scott nodded slightly.
"I'll go." He said and Lydia sighed, "It's dangerous." She said and he shook his head. "It's worth a shot." He said before taking his shirt off and setting it on the table before walking into the box and Malia shut the door.
"Scott? Can you hear me?" Lydia asked calmly. "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.
After a little while the girls all stood, watching Scott. "It's getting too cold. He's getting too cold." Avalon before looking at Lydia and Malia. "Should we try to give him an example like he did to me?" Avalon asked and Malia nodded slightly, "I think I have an idea." She said before looking at Scott.
"Scott? Scott, can you hear me? 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-Â you guys were more like brothers."
They waiting for a couple minutes before Avalon sighed and shook her head, "We have to get him out." She said before unlocking the door. Scott fell out the ice box and Avalon caught him as he took a deep breath. "What? What's wrong? Why did you pull me out?" He asked and Lydia sighed, "Your heart rate was going to drop any second." She said.
"But, then... But then nothing happened. It didn't work." He said and Avalon shook her head as she helped him stand up. "I'm going back in." He said making Avalon 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. All we saw was you freezing to death." She said and he tried to move past her but Avalon gently pushed 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 and hanging it to Avalon making them look 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 Lydia making her sigh, "Okay, I think I have an idea. But Malia, if your heart rate goes down like Avalon's and Scott's, or if we think you're going to freeze to death-" Lydia said and Malia cut her off. "Then get me the hell out of there." She said before kissing Avalon quickly then walking into the ice box.
Avalom shut it and locked it while Lydia 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?" She asked, "I'm here. I'm in the library." Malia said.
"Can you see the books?"
"I see them." Malia said and Lydia glanced at Scott and Avalon 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 Avalon furrow her brows for a moment before remembering when Malia told her about how she had punched him the second she saw him at Eichen. "Stiles, where are you going?" Malia whispered making them glance at each other.
"Malia?" Avalon asked when she noticed Malia had closed her eyes, "Malia, open your eyes." Avalon said. "Malia, can you hear us?" Lydia asked but Malia didnt make a move or sound. "Malia, you have to open your eyes." Avalon said and then all of the sudden Malia's eyes shot open and her hand pressed on the window.
Avalon instantly went to get the door open but Lydia tapped her 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.
Avalon looked back at the box when she heard Malia gasp. "She's freezing to death. We need to get her out." Azalea said before quickly unlocking it and opening the door.
Lydia started to turned the box off as Avalom wrapped her blanket around Malia, "What are you doing?" Scott asked when he looked over at Lydia. "It's too dangerous. We're not going to save anyone by freezing you guys to death." Lydia said as she turned to them.
"But it was working, wasn't it?" Malia asked and Lydia 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." She said and Avalon nodded in agreement.
"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 both Avalon and Malia nodded in agreement.
"I saw it, too. You gotta try, Lydia." Avalon said and Lydia sighed softly, "Then we have to do it the old-fashioned way. We're going to have to actually hypnotize me. "
A few minutes later Avalon, Scott and Malia were looking around for a candle and lighter to use to hypnotize Lydia while she 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 Malia turned around, holding up a torch and turning it on. "Too much?" She asked making Lydia's eyes widen slightly as Avalon held up a white candle, "I got one." She said. Malia grabbed it and set it on the table before lighting it as Lydia and Scott walked over.
"What's that?" Scott asked looking at the note pad, "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 Avalon. She glanced at Scott and Malia before shrugging slightly before reading
"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." Avalon said as they watched Lydia's hand look like she was actually holding a remote. "That's when it happened." Lydia whispered making Avalon raise her eyebrows, "When what happened?" She asked but Lydia didn't answer right away.
"Lydia, what do you mean? When what happened?" Avalon 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.
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?"