Nefarious ➛ Theo Raeken [2]

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"If we can bring Stiles back, we can bring everyone back." Clarissa Bane leaned her head back against the metal behind her at those words, her body deflating at the thought of bringing back someone who seemed to be stuck. They had been trying to get Stiles back for weeks now, but the prospect of losing her entire family to the Wild Hunt was daunting to her.

"There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being." Lydia Martin declared firmly and Clarissa found herself smiling at one of her oldest friends. There was a stark difference in the Lydia Martin who pretended to be ignorant compared to the one who now openly flaunted her knowledge to the world.

"I know." Scott glanced at Clarissa who was sitting on the floor, before turning to look at Lydia again in caution. The two girls in front of him were a lot more connected to Stiles than he had initially believed, especially after being inside of the machine and witnessing the past. "Which is why I think it should be you."

"I won't last two minutes in there." Lydia spoke firmly, pointing at the machine that was still sparking behind the oldest Bane sibling. "Besides, Clary fried the machine and it would take too long to fix. We're on a time crunch here."

"Then think of something else. Malia's right. It's all about the connection." Scott declared firmly, something that peaked Clarissa's interest. She must have been zoned out when Malia had initially spoken, the bitter chill that reminded her so much of her death still seeped into her skin and brought pack painful memories. "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."

"If I haven't given up on the idea that Lydia will finally see what is right in front of her after all these years, you aren't going to give up on the idea of bringing Theo back."

There was a tickle in the back of her brain as those words filtered in her mind. They had been spoken early in the morning after tossing and turning, each of them with bleary eyes and wary frowns. Stiles had been the one to comfort her after Theo had been taken. Stiles had been the one to stitch every broken edge of her back together when she barely wanted to live. Stiles had looked her in the eyes with so much unapologetic love while talking about Lydia Martin. If anyone could bring back Stiles Stilinski, it was going to be the girl that had consumed his entire heart.

"I saw it too." Malia, for all of her insensitivity in the world, seemed cautious as she spoke to Lydia. It was as if she was approaching a wild animal, something that was ironic considering that's how most of them spoke to her half of the time after she had first transformed back into a human being. "You have to try, Lydia."

Clarissa felt a stab of pity for the girl wrapped up in the blanket with heartbreak in her eyes. She could remember that Stiles and Malia had dated, had even loved one another, but nothing she did could compare to her strawberry blonde haired friend. Malia had loved Stiles too, but that seemed to have slightly faded especially when she looked at Scott McCall. Clarissa gave it a year before the two were officially together, only because the Hale stubbornness Malia possessed.

"Clary could try again." Lydia's voice was hesitant, almost cautious and bordering on the edge of denial as she spoke. She knew that she loved Stiles Stilinski, but admitting it to them all again made the loss seem more real. "It was working when she was in the machine, before it fried itself to death."

"It's like Deaton said, it's someone to hold you under and someone to bring you back. That connection is the most important thing and it's deeper than any connection I have with him." Clarissa spoke up finally, her thoughts turning towards her family. She could boost the signal, lighting a beacon to shine their way home, but Lydia had to be the catalyst. She was the banshee, the one that was connected to death and was a beacon herself, but she was scared. She couldn't get in the machine, but Lydia's mother had been hypnotized before, and she could survive that. "I love my family and I love Stiles, but there's a difference. Stiles Stilinski has been in love with you for as long as I can remember in my jumbled memories and you love him too. You loved Jackson, but Stiles has always seen who you are underneath all your lip gloss and pretend idiocy."