A/N: As you might notice, there's something a little different about this part, compared to everything else you've seen from me in this series. It's a little short, but I wanted this scene to stand on its own. I hope you like it!
Origin of the Lies - Part 7
I woke in my lab, standing. "That's odd," I said out loud, looking down to realize I was dressed in clothes I wouldn't normally wear. They were all tight and stretchy and almost inappropriate. "Illyria," I complained as I threw a lab coat over the outfit to regain at least some of my modesty.
"I learned many things while you were unconscious," she said, using my own mouth to talk to me. Grr. I hated having her in there, spying on me, thinking thoughts that weren't mine. But she just wouldn't go.
"What did you learn, Illyria?"
"The light-colored half-breed…"
"Spike," I reminded her. She doesn't bother remembering names of 'lesser beings' if she doesn't have to.
"He is most amusing to hit."
I laughed, imagining her beating up on Spike. But then I realized that Spike likes to fight back, and I sobered. "You could have gotten us killed, fighting with Spike!"
"He could not hit us. His combat style is quite predictable."
"Really?" I asked sarcastically. Hell, I couldn't tell the difference between predictable and unpredictable fightin' styles.
Illyria nodded my head. "It was quite easy to avoid being hit. I have also learned how to use your muscles more efficiently, making us stronger.
"Oh, dear." I inspected one of my arms, making sure it was just the same size as when I'd last seen it.
"Then I observed a lovers' quarrel between Angel and the other half-breed."
"A what? No, you've got to be mistaken, Illyria."
"If you say so." Wondering why the demon in my brain never used human gestures like the shrug, I almost missed it when she started to retreat back into the depths of my brain, probably to get some rest.
"Wait," I said, calling her back. "Did you learn anything about Cyrus Vale?"
"The green one wanted my help searching the records. I told him paperwork was for lesser beings."
"Of course you did." I shook my head and went to go find Lorne, who was pouring over a pile of papers in the conference room next to Angel's office.
"Hey," I said, waving as I joined him.
"Ah, Freddlekins! So glad to have you back, cookie."
"Yeah. Illyria told me you wanted some help going through these records."
He laughed, a little nervously. "You bet." He pushed a stack of papers across the table at me. "These are accounts payable from the last year. We're looking for the last job Cyrus Vale was paid for."
"Alrighty," I said, flipping over the first folder, labeled 'March'. "I'm sorry about Illyria," I said, apologizing about whatever she had said to him earlier.
"Thanks." He smiled up at me. "You know, just between you and me, pumpkin? That demon in your head really freaks me out."
"At least you don't have to share a brain with it."
He chuckled and we both turned back to our piles of paper. After a few minutes, he spoke up again. "Hey!" he said excitedly. "I think I've found it. This says Cyrus Vale did a huge job for the company the same day we took over."
"Does it say what he did?"
"No, but I found another record that says he's really big into memory modification."
"Memory modification? Whose memory? Do you think we could have been changed?" I felt so violated. "Is that why we agreed to work here?"
"Something was changed, anyways."
"There should be a record of it, right? I mean, this place is OCD when it comes to recording everything. Everything has a paper trail."
"You'd know better than I would, sweetcakes."
"Wanna come with me down to the records room?"
"As fun as that sounds, I'm gonna have to pass." He shook down his jacket sleeve so he could see his watch. "Good lord! I've got a meeting in five minutes with a very unhappy diva."
"Okay. Thanks, Lorne. I'll see what I can find out from here on."
"Sure thing, Fred!" Lorne called as he sashayed away.
I set aside the file Lorne had found and straightened out the rest of them, putting them in order so Harmony wouldn't have to try to do it. Then, I took the file that mentioned Cyrus Vale down to the records room. This creepy, almost robotic attendant down there showed me to the correct aisle.
"What are you hoping to find?" asked Illyria as we walked down the aisle, searching for the correct drawer.
"If we're going to help this kid, Connor, it would be useful to know what Cyrus Vale changed."
"You ought to ask what Angel would want changed."
"Illyria! Why would you say something like that? It's not very nice."
"I am not nice. I say this because the change occurred on the same day Angel became king of this place."
I came to the correct drawer and opened it, paging back through the folders. "I can't think of anything Angel would want to change so much that Wolfram and Hart would pay this magician six figures to get it done."
"Perhaps it is because your memories have been altered."
I gasped, "They have?"
"In places."
"Oh, lord! Can you see what was there before?"
Illyria paused and I waited with baited breath. "No," she concluded. "The memories are gone."
"Then how can you tell they've been changed?"
"There is a mystical scarring. I am not surprised you never noticed it. Your species is barely above the common house fly when it comes to harnessing the power of magics."
"Gee, thanks for the complement, Illyria."
"You are welcome."
I scoffed in response and continued to page through the folders, finally coming to the one I'd been looking for. As I read, my stomach grew heavier and heavier with anxious denial. "No. It can't be."
Illyria had to have the last word, "But it is."
