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

Synopsis: This is the third story in the Soul series I am working on. In order the stories are The Price of a Soul, The Judging of a Soul, and now The Weight of a Soul. The Council is having it's own inner-struggles but have been forced to stop their pursuit of Faith. Just as they are breathing a sigh of relief, once member of Council is killed and sends a package to the team that has caught them all by surprise.

Chapter Three

By the time Lorne showed up Faith was pouting on the couch and Wesley was pouting that she made it even that far.

"Really Faith, Cordelia said you should be immobile for awhile. You were injured less than twelve hours ago!"

"Seriously, did I look like I needed help getting down here?"

"Yes, yes you did!"

Faith glared at him.

"No, no I didn't. You just wouldn't leave me alone!"

Cordelia giggled and the two both turned on her. Spike sidled up to her and glared back at the two. Not that Cordelia noticed, she just shrugged.

"What? You two are only arguing because you care so much and it's cute. Whether you like it or not."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Pffft, I am not cute."

Wesley crossed his arms.

"Well not when you are being so stubborn, certainly."

The arguing was most likely going to just start up again if it weren't for Lorne arriving with a grin and, of course, a song.

"Good afternoon, kiddies! So where's the champ?"

Spike moved to grab the drink they had ready for him.

"Said t' start wit'out 'im. Followin' a lead."

Lorne nodded a thanks and took the drink, sitting down next to Faith and giving her knee a pat. He took a sip and crossed his legs smiling back up at Cordelia.

"All right Princess, let's have it."

Cordelia closed her eyes and sighed.

"Are you sure? I mean, you've heard me sing, it's, well, let's just say I won't be doing broadway."

Lorne did his own wince, that was putting it lightly. He leaned over his leg, elbow on his knee and drink dangling from his hand.

"Look, sugar, I understand the stage fright, but, maybe if you try not singing?"

"Come again?"

"Well, it's more about feeling than technique. Well for you anyway, some people have technique that just blows you away! There's this one demon. . . "

"Lorne!"

"Oh sorry, got carried away. Anyhow, try and pick a song that means something, close your eyes, and feel it. The singing will take care of itself. Go ahead."

Cordelia wasn't so sure but she'd give it a shot. She nodded and closed her eyes. That helped, she could still feel them all staring at her, but at least she couldn't see it. A song that meant something, well there was one she had been listening to more than others lately. She opened her mouth and sang, softly and while it might not have been good, it wasn't the screeching painful sound they were all used to.

"They say you never see it coming
All the tiny little breaks
But somewhere out beyond all reason
You keep on giving what it takes

I never thought of running
I was busy carrying the load
Had the strength enough to take it
But not enough to let it go
It's a long time coming down a broken road

And finally I can feel without fearing
Cry without the pain
Stand up and love me
Without any shame
It might have been a rough way to learn it
And a hard place to land
But the one thing I'm sure of now
Is I know who I am

Now if somebody would have told me
There was a better place to be
In my quiet desperation
It was too hard to believe

I guess you gotta go the distance
To know just when enough's, enough
Won't let nobody take it from me
Cause I know what I'm made of

And there's nothing I can't rise above"

It was way too quiet when she finished so she winced and then opened her eyes. Everyone was just staring at her. Her face fell and she looked at them then at Lorne.

"That bad?"

Wesley gave a weak smile.

"It was, lovely."

Cordelia sighed.

"That's code isn't it?"

Lorne finished his drink then stood up and came over to give her a hug.

"It was miles above anything you've ever given me before Princess. How about that. Now, for the rest of it, how about, some privacy?"

She relaxed, glad that at least she wasn't having people run for the hills. She licked her lips and looked at Wes and Faith, then over to Spike who had his eyes on the floor. She shook her head.

"It's okay, I'm probably just going to tell them all after anyway."

"You sure?"

"We can give you some priv'cy, pet."

Cordelia reached for Spike's hand.

"No, let's just get it over with."

AA

"What do you want, lesser being?"

Angel ground his teeth and looked around, they hadn't shown themselves yet.

"I want you to stop killing Cordelia."

Finally they walked into view, staring at him in what appeared to be a childlike confusion.

"The seer?"

"We kill no one. We are separate."

"The visions, they are killing her."

"But we are not the visions."

"We did not give the visions to her."

"No, but you can take them away."

They walked around him, his shoulders twitched as their gaze traveled over him. They made a double circuit each going in another direction, before meeting in front of him again.

"We can."

"But we will not."

"Why not? If they kill her you'll just have to find another seer anyway!"

"It is not your choice."

"It is hers."

"The visions were meant to fall to her."

"She has earned them."

"Earned them? You mean earned death! She does not deserve to die."

"You keep speaking of death."

"We have no control over death."

Angel tried not to growl, he knew from past experience and insistent warnings that if he lost his temper they would simply evict him from their presence. He couldn't afford that right now.

"No, but you do have control over the visions, right?"

They looked to each other.

"We can not take the visions."

"We can, prevent them."

That seemed like more than an acceptable answer to Angel.

"You can stop her from having them? Ever?"

They nodded.

"There is a cost."

"It will stop her from following her own path."

"The visions are part of her destiny."

"You will be asking us to block her path."

"So that you can continue yours without her."

Angel frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what they meant, but it sounded like, she wouldn't be around anymore.

"Wait, she won't, be there? Won't remember me?"

"She will be unaffected as far as memory goes."

"But she will no longer be your seer."

He nodded.

"That's fine."

They walked right up to him then. Voices got very low.

"Be sure about this."

"You are affecting your own destiny."

"But more importantly, you are denying her, hers."

"Is the cost of her true purpose worth it?"

He didn't think. He didn't think he needed to.

"Do it."

AA

Lorne had moved to the other sofa and sat down with Cordelia. Wesley sat with Faith and Spike tried not to pace as he stood to the side.

"Okay, we already know about the whole, well, dying thing. But, I mean, anything else you can tell me?"

Lorne almost laughed, instead he smiled and sat back.

"Oh I saw plenty. Most importantly, I saw that these are your visions. I know you doubt that, but trust me, they were meant for you."

"But, Doyle -"

"He did his part, but your life was following a very specific path there, sugarcake, and this is it."

Cordelia frowned and looked down at her hands.

"Lorne, believe me, there was no plan in my life before I came here."

He reached over and covered her hands with his own.

"Do you really think that?"

"Oh I was, so shallow. I mean, the most important thing in my life was getting the most expensive and one of a kind clothes as possible. Looking perfect and making sure everyone knew it."

"You were shallow, but didn't you find out about, well, all of this, while you still had the money?"

He gestured around them and she frowned. Wesley nodded.

"You did. Back in Sunnydale, you were still very much, er, Queen Cordelia. Yet, you helped Buffy and the others. You didn't need to, no one would have thought any less of you than they already did if you simply walked away. Especially since the truth is. . ."

She sighed.

"The truth is we were never friends. Or accepted. Buffy and the others, they kind of just put up with the both of us, but they never really needed or wanted us around."

Lorne chucked under her chin.

"You see, that my dear, was your first test."

"Test?"

"Sure, you think the PTB are going to give these visions to just anyone? No siree! There's a few tests and you passed them all. The first was helping while you were still able to disappear into the normal world. You could have turned your back on all of this and just been, well, "

"A spoiled brat?"

He shrugged to show he didn't mean it as an insult but Cordelia understood. She took a breath.

"Okay so I'm supposed to have the visions. Anything else?"

"Well, then there were a few more times you could have given them up, even if you didn't know it."

Spike growled then.

"Lindsey."

Lorne looked up at him and nodded.

"You didn't think that was a test for just you did you, peaches?"

Spike blinked then looked at Cordelia and lowered his head, shoving hands in his pockets again. Lorne gave Cordelia a smile.

"Anyway, all I can really say is this is your destiny sweetcheeks. You'll have to follow it through. Stay strong, and I know you'll make it. It's not many humans that do, but you've made it farther than any I've ever seen."

Faith sat up a bit and winced, she smacked Wesley's hand away.

"So wait, it's kind of like being a slayer then? She's, just destined, stuck? But she's lived longer than any others so it's okay?"

Lorne held up a finger.

"You're only partly right there, cupcake. She's destined, and she's lived longer, done more as well, but she has plenty more to do. If you all have a little, excuse the pun, but faith in her, things will work out."

Wesley removed his glasses.

"I take it what you are trying to say, without of course giving it all away, is that this may not be the death sentence the medical records would have us believe?"

"Bingo! Now, I can't say what twists and turns are in store before you can all breathe that sigh of relief, but I can say that if anyone can get through them, it's our Princess."

Cordelia's chest lifted and she smiled. Feeling a bit of relief for the first time since she got the letter. She gave Lorne a big hug.

"Thank you."

He softened and patted her back before whispering to her.

"As for your personal destiny, you're going to have to tell him, we both know he's not going to make the first move. Even though he feels the same way."

She blinked and pulled back.

"Um, I'm just going to grab a drink, then I'll be back and we can figure out how we tell Angel."

"Poof's not gonna be 'appy. Doesn' like the not knowin'."

"Indeed."

Spike and Lorne were somber again as they started thinking on how to do this. Cordelia got up and Lorne and Faith both yelled out orders.

"A refill, sweet stuff?"

"Can I please have a soda?"

Cordy laughed, she knew that Wes had been limiting her and so nodded and headed to the kitchen. Spike walked over to sit by Lorne and leaned forward to talk to Wesley.

"Don' think 'e's gonna go for this. Gonna want answers, yeah?"

"True, but it's still much better news than anticipated."

"Hey."

Spike and Wes glanced up and went to reply then stopped. Spike was up immediately, on the defensive in front of the large hulking demon. For his part, the demon put hands up defensively.

"What, watch the welcome wagon there. The Powers sent me."

Spike was in game face and growled. Lorne stood up.

"No, it's all right Peaches. He's telling the truth."

Wesley stood up slowly and held a hand behind him to keep Faith down.

"Very well, then what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, the champion, your boss? He had a little talk with the powers and they came to a sort of agreement I guess. All I know is it's going to be me that gets stuck with the paperwork."

Wesley knew better than to think this was automatically good news. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer.

"What, sort of agreement?"

"Sorry guys. Just here to do my job."

Cordelia walked back in with the drinks and stopped wide eyed.

"Okay are we not attacking this one then?"

"He was sent by the Powers, pumpkin. We're trying to figure out for what."

Skip turned and tried for a smile, difficult as most of him seemed to be made of rock or metal.

"Hey, I'm Skip."

Cordelia nodded.

"Right, hello Skip. I'm Cordelia and this is. . . "

"Sorry about this."

Skip reached out and grabbed her forehead, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she dropped the drinks falling over unconscious. Spike jumped for him but Skip just backhanded him aside.

"Hey, just doing my job here guys. The champion doesn't want her as his seer anymore. She's got things she has to do so she'll just, sleep. Sort of. Until a new champion is ready for a seer. This one is working alone I guess. So uh, it was nice to meet you all."

He gave a small wave and disappeared. As soon as he was gone Wesley went over to Cordelia and checked her over.

"She's breathing."

Lorne frowned.

"If the Powers sent him, it wasn't to kill her. But, "

"But wha'? Someone best be explainin' yeah?"

Spike groaned and got up from where he'd been tossed. Rubbing at the back of his head he looked at Cordelia then to Lorne. Lorne frowned and got up from the couch.

"Well, you know that story about Sleeping Beauty?"

Wesley's eyes went wide.

"Oh good lord, she'll be like this for a hundred years?"

"Maybe? It all kind of depends."

"On what?"

"Well, on Angel. If he decided he didn't want her as his seer, then she can't continue on her path until someone does want her."

Spike went to pick her up. He adjusted her in his arms and glared at Lorne.

"She is wanted!"

Lorne sat down and rubbed at his forehead with a groan.

"This totally takes everything off track."

Wes frowned, but then looked at Faith. They couldn't just wait. They didn't have to. The doors opened and Angel came in. He stopped as all eyes went to him.

"What happened?"

"You tell us you poof! Powers sent some demon at 'er! Knocked 'er out cold like some damn fairy tale!"

Angel shook his head.

"No, I went to see the Powers, but she's supposed to be safe. They said they were going to prevent the visions."

Wesley was capable of remaining calm above all things. At least he looked like it. Faith winced as he spoke because she knew better. That very cold, very controlled voice was dangerous.

"If you had bothered to wait for the reading, you would have learned that Cordelia is meant to be a seer. She passed several tests in her own life to get here."

"To get here and die Wesley!"

"Well, not, necessarily, Angel cakes."

Angel finally looked at Lorne.

"What?"

"I, can't really give away the ending and all of that but, she was following her own path. She's stronger than you think and well, I didn't see death."

Angel's face fell. He closed his eyes as he muttered.

"Affecting my destiny and denying her, hers."

Wesley put his glasses back on.

"Come again?"

Angel opened his eyes slowly.

"I just, wanted to make sure she didn't die. That she wasn't in pain any more. Not for me. Not for my redemption. The Powers warned me, they said I'd be changing my destiny and denying her, hers."

Wesley just nodded, but Spike glared.

"An' that wasn' a hint?"

Faith stood up and shook her head at Wesley before he could say anything.

"So what do we do now? Can Angel just tell them he changed his mind?"

Lorne stood up quickly and waved his hands nervously.

"Oh no, that is not what you want to be doing. No offense but, now, we're stuck with figuring out how to fix this ourselves."

Wesley glanced to Spike.

"Right, Spike, take her to her room for now. I'm going to call Giles, he has, a bit more experience with these kinds of things. Any information you may have on this demon Skip and on Cordelia's condition would be appreciated, Lorne."

Faith went to follow Spike.

"I'll take first shift with Cordelia."

"Right, an' I'll hit th' underground for information."

Angel glanced around.

"What do I do? What do you need Wes?"

Wesley stopped at the door of the office and looked at him.

"I believe you've done enough. As for what we need, what we all need, but most especially Cordelia, is for you to trust us, and work with us."

He turned and headed into the office. Angel looked to Lorne who came over to clap him on the back.

"Sorry there champ. He's right. You need to give them all more credit."

"I was trying to save her."

"At any cost."

"Yes!"

"Would she ask you to?"

Angel opened his mouth to answer then stopped. He hung his head and Lorne gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's never too late, champ."

He glanced upstairs and then followed Wesley into the office. Angel looked after him, then headed upstairs.

AA

A/N: The song Cordelia sings is I Know Who I Am by Leona Lewis.