A/N Even though Phoebe died, she's still a pretty important character so far.

I really hope this chapter makes sense to readers.

Chapter 8

Paige and I were all set for the funeral. I was kind of nervous, I've faced death so many times but I haven't been to many funerals. The last one I attended was a while ago. It didn't help that these people were technically strangers. I didn't want to stand out, so I followed Paige's example and wore a simple black skirt and shirt.

The drive to the funeral was in silence. The funeral was going to be held outside on a cliff by the beach. Paige told me Phoebe wanted to be cremated. Then she wanted half her ashes to be thrown into the ocean, and half kept with her family.

Paige and I arrived a little early. I found a seat in the back while Paige went to comport Phoebe's sisters. I didn't actually see Phoebe's sisters until the service started. They were definitely the women I had dreamed about.

A man, I guess he was a minister, read a few lines from the Bible and talked about life and death. The part that moved me the most was "In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our sister, Phoebe; and we commit her body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May the Lord bless her and keep her, the Lord make His face to shine upon her and be gracious unto her and give her peace. Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return. Amen."

After that, Phoebe's friends went up and talked about Phoebe. From what I heard, she truly sounded like a wonderful person. At last Piper and Prue went up. I felt so sorry for them. I knew what it was like to lose a loved one. It feels like life can't possible go on, but yet the world keeps spinning and all we can do is move on.

After everyone finished what they had to say, Phoebe's ashes were poured into tiny silver cups. Everyone was handed a cup and we all threw the ashes into the ocean. Phoebe had returned to the earth from whence she came. The day was beautiful; it seemed to be mocking us. There should be a rule or something that says it can't be sunny during funerals. I guess that wouldn't make sense since funerals were being held everyday. I never knew Phoebe, yet I was sad she's gone. I was saddened even more by the fact that I never have the chance to get to know her.

After watching the ashes until they disappeared, we all headed to the Halliwell manor. I gave me condolences to Piper and Paige. After a couple of hours, everyone started leaving. Paige had offered to stay, but I think the sisters needed some time alone. Dealing with company isn't the best thing after losing a loved one.

That night I slept pretty well. I had some dreams of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe, but these were good dreams. I saw flashes of them growing up and first discovering their powers. All in all I had a good night's sleep.

The next day, Paige had to go to work. I kind of just hang out at her apartment. I called my friends. Apparently they found a bunch of potentials in Russia, so they had their hands full. I guess they can't really visit now. It was good to talk to my friends, but the entire day was pretty depressing.

Later that night, I was feeling restless. Paige was taking Phoebe's death pretty hard so I didn't want to bother her. I decided to go on patrol, just for old time's sake. I needed something to do. Unfortunately, I didn't see a single vampire. I started thinking. We were all made from dust, and someday we will all be dust again. We fear becoming dying, yet it's inevitable. Each and every person will someday die. Sadly I knew that everyone who died didn't go to Heaven. Some went to Hell, some become vampires, and some are brought back. We loathe death for ourselves, but even more for others. The bitter part of me says people are selfish and want their friends and family to stay with them on Earth. They don't want the people they love most to go to a better place. The only problem was people didn't always go to a better place

After a while, thinking about life and death for a while, I started to get a headache. I had died twice and death still scared me shitless.

I walked to an empty park and sat down on one of the benches. Suddenly out of nowhere, I saw this flash and there was this blue demon standing in front of me. Then I saw a swirl of bright lights, which turned out to be Prue, Piper, and Leo. Prue and Piper chanted something, the demon screamed, and disappeared.

It was pretty awkward at that point. What was I supposed to say to the family of a dead friend of a friend? We kind of just stared at each other for a while. Leo snapped of it first and suggested we go back to the manor. Prue and Piper didn't really seem keen on the idea, but agreed. Leo gathered all of us in his arms and told me I might feel strange. I orbed for the first time that night.

A/N

Sorry if anything doesn't make sense, I didn't get a chance to proofread it.

The sermon the preacher gave comes from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer, and it is based on Genesis 3:19.

I'm thinking of making Buffy's father a really powerful demon of some kind. Then we could have the classic good vs. evil, light vs. dark thing.

I want Buffy to have a similar relationship to Phoebe and Cole's. I'm not going to pair her with Cole. I think Cole will pretty much be out of this story. Buffy has a thing for evil guys and then turning them good.

HAPPY early EASTER

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