Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon and Angel the series.

Chapter Six

The confusion was obvious, but Marcus wasn't one to look out of control if he could help it. With a raise of his chin he adjusted his suit jacket and waved to the others. A united front, Robertson even moved near so the four of them were flanking each other. Facing, whatever it was they were about to face.

"Pardon me?"

Angel and Spike were testing the length of the invisible wall and Faith came over to see if it worked on her as well. It did and now they were all very confused.

"What happened to Wesley and Cordelia!"

She yelled out at the voice. She didn't need to. Wesley and Cordelia walked between the two groups. Something was wrong with the way they were moving. Both were stiffer, moving oddly like children watching animals at the zoo. They tilted their heads this way and that as they looked over the Council members, backs to the three trapped behind them. They moved in synch, as if they had been doing this for years. Angel noticed the looks on the men's faces. Even as they tried to hide it, there was fear, and confusion. There was a hum of energy around them that pricked at his skin. He glanced to Spike who was also frowning.

"You have come to pass judgment, have you not?"

"All that are to be judged are here."

Robertson swallowed and attempted a smile.

"And where exactly is here? If you don't mind me asking, Miss Chase?"

Heads tilted again, in unison.

"Do you really believe you are dealing with the seer, lesser being?"

"These vessels are just that. A way for us to continue the trial you have begun."

Faith's face dropped, she looked from Angel to Spike.

"What the hell is going on? What happened to them?"

Wesley and Cordelia turned to the other three. Eyes glowing white they stared at the three with unseeing eyes.

"It has come to our attention that these humans that have doubted our decisions."

"That there is a need to test our champion."

"These two have volunteered to be our vessels for the test."

"We can not manifest in your world and you can not come to ours."

Marcus stepped forward and Robertson shook his head.

"If you wish to test your champion that is your business but we are here to test a slayer and that has always been Council business!"

Faith's face softened and she wondered why she couldn't see any of Wesley in front of her anymore. Before she could ask the two walked away, to the side they turned to face both groups.

"The slayer, is no longer your business."

"The Council has a slayer."

"This one has chosen another path."

"The path of a champion."

"That makes her ours."

"You doubt our decisions."

"So you have been allowed to participate in the test."

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest.

"And what exactly will this test be then?"

They looked at each other as if the others were already dismissed.

"The tester should be one of the light."

"One that has not traversed the darkness."

"But who's aware of it."

"Who's life has been touched by it."

"One who is knowledgeable of slayers, vampires, and demons."

"One who is aware what is at stake."

They looked back at Marcus.

"Do you agree, lesser being?"

He let his brow furrow, and went over what they had said again in his head.

"Someone on the side of light but has not been evil, knows of us and our world? Very well, we also require it to be someone with the ability to see the consequences of the final decision. We aren't speaking of just one vampire or one slayer but possibly destroying the balance of the world! We could possibly be handing the slayer line and the world over to evil!"

Their reply was instant and eerily spoken at the same time.

"Agreed."

Wesley raised an arm and Cordelia put her hand on it, stepping with him to a set of seats, thrones really, that no one had noticed before. They too were white and Wesley sat but Cordelia remained standing. Marcus sneered.

"Well then, once you find such a person, let us know."

"We are ready."

He opened his mouth to say something when the light went out of Cordelia's eyes and her body slumped forward a bit. She caught herself and Wesley, did not move. More proof that it was no longer him. She shook her head then smiled at everyone.

"All right then, I guess we're ready for the Q&A portion of the night!"

"The seer! That is not what we agreed to!"

Wesley looked at him, arms on the throne and still sitting stiffly upright.

"She meets all of the qualifications. She will be granted a vision of each outcome to better make the decision. Continue."

His head moved back to look at her and Cordelia almost stuck her tongue out at them but instead she clapped her hands and rubbed them together.

"Right, so, shall we begin?"

Robertson smiled and shook his head.

"I do believe, Miss Chase, you have been playing us."

She shrugged and walked over to the four of them.

"Seems to me you guys were the ones coming up with all the rules and keeping them to yourselves. See, I get why you're here. I do. I mean, it's not like I was all gung ho about Faith hanging out with us. In case you missed it in your records, she has a knack for trying to kill me and my friends. Not to mention the idea of a vampire with a soul is just a bit, huh? But I get it. The problem is, you guys are control freaks."

"Excuse me?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Please, like I wasn't around when you guys pulled crap in Sunnydale? Trust me, you don't learn to give up a little of that control, you are going to lose it all."

She had no idea of what had happened in Sunnydale since she left, it wasn't like anyone kept in touch with her. So the exchanged looks were lost on her. Robertson nodded.

"Very well, so what are these questions for the champion?"

She smiled slowly.

"Actually the questions are for you. The Powers already know everything they need to. This is all for you guys."

He hid his surprise and nodded for her to begin.

"Right, so, exactly what do you guys want from Faith?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you are here to judge her right? See if she needs more training or whatever. Let's be honest, you are here to see if you can get her under 'control' right?"

Marcus huffed and Robertson saw right away where this was going. He smiled and slid his hands into his pockets.

"Yes, well, it seems we should rethink that. Very well, what we are looking for is a slayer who is out nightly slaying. After all that is what they are called to do."

"Hmm, anything else?"

Robertson looked at the others and Marcus walked up to Cordelia, looking to intimidate her. Spike stiffened, but they still couldn't get to them. Faith was almost vibrating with worry.

"A slayer does not murder innocent people, so she has already failed!"

Cordelia was not one to be intimidated and poked him in the chest as she spoke, pushing him back to his friends.

"Well you put three innocent people into a pit to be absorbed to death by some big demon! So doesn't look like you guys are batting a thousand either!"

She waved a hand and turned away from them.

"Besides, she's not a slayer anymore so it doesn't matter."

Marcus blustered and Robertson reached for his arm.

"And why is that?"

"The Powers said you already have a slayer, and you're only supposed to have one. Besides, she's doing the whole redemption thing that makes her a champion. Not your territory anymore."

"So you believe we shouldn't even be here?"

She sighed.

"No I don't, but that's not the deal. Okay so here's the deal, Angel is a champion. You don't get a say in that, you don't get to judge that. Only he does."

"And the Powers?"

Robertson looked at her then passed her to Wesley.

"We do not choose our champions, we simply find them and send them the visions needed for them to continue. That was his test."

Cordelia smiled and then looked at Angel. Angel blinked. He shook his head.

"I don't understand."

Everyone was confused, and Cordelia moved to stand in front of Angel, even if they couldn't actually touch.

"That was your test. You got your soul and you had a hard time, but then when you were shown that there was something to fight for, a reason to try, you did. You did that, on your own. I know you think you did it for Buffy, but you didn't. She might have shown you what you could do, could be, but you did the rest on your own. Even when, when you gave that up, and came to L.A., you kept fighting. The only test, was when you were given the visions."

His face softened and he saw the grief in her eyes. Then he understood and nodded.

"Doyle. I didn't have to listen to him. I could have pushed him away."

She smiled.

"Well, you could have tried, Doyle is, was, "

"Persistent?"

"That's a nice way of putting it."

"Thank you."

She shrugged and then looked back at the Council again.

"You think that she's a slayer, that she has no choice because she was born to it, called to it. You forget that we all have a choice. You all pushed and pushed and you just pushed her away. She was at the end, you lost her, hell the world would have lost her. But Angel stepped in. You should really thank him, because all he did was show her she had a choice. Then she chose it. She chooses to fight, and she chooses to be a slayer, but not just a slayer. She's going to be a champion. She doesn't just follow Angel when he gets his visions. She's right there waiting for them, working for them."

Marcus was frowning.

"A slayer being trained by a vampire!"

"No, a champion."

Robertson understood that they had lost this one, but that if they were careful, they didn't have to be thrown completely out. Cordelia nodded.

"Exactly. Angel got his choice from Doyle, and Faith got hers from Angel."

Marcus glared.

"And what about the vampire? You work with a vampire! You can not say he has a soul!"

"No he doesn't, but what does that mean? You have souls and you were willing to kill to prove that you should have control."

Robertson shook his head but Marcus kept going, sure he could win one point. He smiled and looked at Spike.

"You keep telling us that they are champions because they passed the test, they took a chance someone gave them. What was his chance? The Powers didn't send anyone to him did they?"

Spike's eyes had been lowered, he knew he was the weak link. He wasn't carrying a soul like Angel, he wasn't a slayer. He was there because Cordelia. . .

His head came up and he looked over at Angel. Angel narrowed his eyes then looked over at Marcus.

"Yes he did."

Marcus blinked and looked at Angel.

"What?"

"The Powers sent Cordelia."

Cordelia blinked and looked back at them. So far even as she discussed the visions she didn't count herself as part of things. She was just the messenger. They weren't her visions. They were Angel's, and now Faith's. She just happened to get the headaches. Angel looked at her as he continued.

"None of us thought Spike was really going to help, not for what we thought were the right reasons. Just like you didn't trust Faith would. But he does. She gave him the choice, to act like a man."

"A man is not a champion."

Spike snorted and crossed his arms as he smirked at Marcus.

"Not all o' us are, you sure as 'ell aren't mate."

Cordelia gave Angel a weak smile then turned back to face Marcus.

"You're right, not all men or women are champions. Faith and Spike aren't. Not yet. But they will be. So, now for the fun part. The visions. You ready?"

They all looked a little worried. Angel and Spike reached for the wall again.

"Cor, get them to let us go first. If you are going to have a vision we need to get free."

Marcus snorted.

"Why? Can you change it?"

"No you ponce! They 'urt her!"

Robertson frowned and looked at Cordelia.

"Will the visions change the Powers decision?"

"No, but you said something about seeing how things turned out either way."

"I believe I can speak for the Council when I say we will abide by the Powers decision."

He looked at the others and they nodded. All except Marcus.

"Not only do I not agree, how do we know she won't lie about the visions?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes and held her hand out to shake.

"What?"

Marcus just stared at her hand.

"There will only be the truth from the visions, shake on it?"

He looked reluctant but then took her hand, the moment he did they both jerked, heads snapping back and she screamed, he growled and their hands tightened on each other's as they began to fall. Angel and Spike started banging on the invisible barrier. Faith stared at Wes and yelled at him to do something. Robertson reached for Cordelia but let Marcus fall back. They continued flailing and he tried to stop her from hurting her head. It went on forever. Literally for three full minutes before they went still and breathing hard. Marcus whipped his hand away from hers and groaned. Robertson looked at him.

"Well, Marcus?"

Marcus reached for his pocket square and wiped at his face.

"Fine, we leave them alone!"

No one asked exactly what they saw. Cordelia pushed to stand up and ran a hand over her face.

"Well that was fun. So we done here?"

Robertson stood up and stepped back.

"I do believe that's up to the Powers."

Cordelia looked at Wesley. He raised a hand and she jerked, shoulders back, head up and her eyes went white. He stood and came down to her, offering his arm again.

"We are not judging our champion."

"He has chosen his own path and he will have our protection for as long as he continues."

"The vampire and slayer have also chosen."

"The Council has no place here."

"The watcher has chosen to assist them on this path."

"The seer is theirs until the visions pass to another."

"This is their path."

"They must not be deterred."

"Or the fate of the world is in peril."

"They are destined to do much."

"Now leave us, lesser beings."

They each held up a hand and again there was a bright flash of light.

AA

Lorne had been worried about them. He'd sent them into the lion's den and hadn't heard back. So he headed to the Hyperion in hopes they were safely back. Unfortunately, he found it empty. He checked the office, upstairs and was on his way back to the lobby when there was the light. He gave a small shriek and tossed up his arms. It was a quick flash and when he peeked between his arms he saw three people standing in the middle of the lobby blinking. With a grin he rushed over.

"Well there you are Angelcakes! Aren't you three a sight for sore eyes!"

Angel was looking around confused, as were Faith and Spike. Spike finally just sat down on the couch. He was exhausted and still injured. Angel frowned at Lorne.

"Lorne? What are you doing here?"

"Me? Oh well, Cordelia and Wesley asked for help in getting in touch with the powers. I hadn't heard back so came to check on them. Where are the troublesome twosome?"

"They, aren't here. Where did they go?"

Faith was starting to panic and Angel grabbed her arm.

"Lorne, the Powers were using them as vessels. What happens to the vessels after the Powers are through with them?"

Lorne's face dropped and he backed up a step as if afraid of sharing the wrath.

"Lorne!"

He sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry champ. I haven't actually seen it happen but, from what I've heard, they don't exactly survive it. That's a lot of power to shove into a little old human form."

Faith almost fell to her knees then and Angel held onto her. Spike closed his eyes and slumped back into the couch. Angel shook his head.

"No. They wouldn't. They can't just, be gone."

Lorne looked apologetic and opened his mouth to say something but then another flash of light. He didn't flinch this time but did take a step back to behind Angel. All eyes went to the sound of a groan and watched as Wesley and Cordelia standing as they last saw them, her arm on his, appeared. They both blinked very confused then began a slow slide to the floor. Spike was trying to get up but Faith and Angel got there first.

Before the two of them hit their knees Faith had pulled Wesley's arm around her shoulder and headed to the couch. Angel had Cordelia around the waist and led her to the other couch to sit across from Spike and Wes. Wesley blinked at Faith and then looked around.

"Good god, it worked."

Angel sat down next to Cordelia then looked over at him.

"That was your brilliant plan? Let the Powers take over?"

Wesley looked confused and as if words were filtering in slowly.

"What? Oh, well, actually it was Cordelia's plan."

Cordelia looked woozy, both she and Wes were swaying in their seats. She raised a hand.

"Yes! My idea!"

She turned too quickly to look at Angel and almost fell into his lap.

"What was the plan?"

Angel sighed and grabbed her shoulders to sit her up again.

"I think the plan is for you and Wesley to take a nap. Actually that would be a good idea for everyone."

Wesley made a 'pffft' kind of noise and went to stand up, waving off any help. Spike just smirked watching them as Faith tried to stop Wes from falling over as he swayed again.

"I fell perfectly fine! The Council arrives tomorrow and I have work to do!"

Cordelia nodded.

"Work work work."

Wesley headed towards the office and Faith grabbed his arm to swing him towards the stairs.

"I shall get my journal. Journal. Heh, that is a funny word isn't it? Jooooournal."

Cordelia shot up then quickly back down again.

"Don't touch my files!"

Faith shook her head.

"Are they drunk?"

Lorne shrugged.

"Looks like they're coming off the high of power. Like I said, it's a lot to shove into human bodies, even for a short period of time. Sleeping it off is probably the best bet. And what about you muffin-cake? You look like hell!"

Spike waved him off.

"Nothin' a bit o' blood won' cure."

Cordelia grinned at him then and leaned forward, hands out towards him.

"Awww, isn't he just adorable? Smiling through all those boo boos! Oh!"

She stood up and headed off towards the kitchen.

"I'll make you a blood sundae! With peanuts!"

Spike went to get up with a groan but Angel got to her first. Carefully directing her after Wesley up the stairs.

"I'll get him his blood. You need to head to bed."

Cordelia leaned back into him and sighed.

"Awww, it's okay, I think you're cute too you know."

She smiled up at him and raised a hand to muss up his hair. He frowned and muttered something before disappearing into a room.

Lorne sighed and clapped his hands. He looked at Spike and grinned.

"Well all's well that ends well I always say. While I'm here I think I'll get a cocktail."

"Make it two, there green jeans."

Lorne smiled and the two looked up as they heard something crash and oddly a giggle from Wesley.

"Right, sounds like you have quite a tale to tell, and I'm all for a happy ending."

He turned to get the drinks and spike glanced up with a sigh.

"Me too, mate. Let's hope some o' us actually get one."