The Journal
by Oracleholly
Title: The Journal
Author: Oracleholly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A journal has been discovered shedding light on an unusual relationship.
Disclaimer: What's mine is mine; what's Joss' is his.
A/N: Thank you Slinkypsychokit!!!
Chapter One :: First Entry
August 10, 2158
HW Brooke Hudson
c/o Watcher's Council
Cromwell Road
London SW7 5BD, UK.
Dear Madam:
Pursuant to our discussions regarding the current situation stirring in Oregon, I found the journal that you had requested be found. You should find the tome in the box with this letter. May your read be a pleasant one and may you find the answers you seek.
Very truly yours,
Preston Rhodes
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April 2, 2009 :: First Entry
How should I begin this? Dear Diary? No. To Whom It May Concern? No, that’s too formal, and so not like me. If anyone who happened to really know me stumbled upon this journal they would never believe that I had actually written this entry or anything afterwards for that matter. I guess I will also go ahead and have Margot, my secretary, get her cousin to place an anti-forgery ward on this book and possibly add an anti-destruction spell on it as well. Matter settled. So, I’ll just begin.
My real name, if spoken in my native tongue, is Melchizedek. That’s the closest approximation of its translation into English. Now, before anyone who is reading this leaps to the idea that I’m the same entity as the “Melchizedek” described in the Dead Sea Scrolls, stop right there. I’m not. Not by a long shot. It’s purely a coincidence that my translated name mirrors that of the so-called Watcher of the Sons of Light in that ancient tale. Of course, rumors of that demon/angel’s actual existence has been bandied about for centuries. For all I know, he did or does exist and actually came from another dimension and went back home. Who knows for sure? However, I must confess the thought of any similarities to that purported Watcher and myself…well, given who I am and hopefully what I, in my new position, can accomplish…it does give me hope.
If anyone actually heard my actual name pronounced they would probably think it sounded like a series of grunts, clicks, and a moan. I’ve been told it’s quite sexy to hear, but the source of that compliment was known to frequently, shall I say, make herself ‘available’ to various men. She had quite the reputation; I was sorry to hear of her demise.
I have noticed that some human females and, on the odd occasion, a few human males experience…orgasmic-like sensations upon hearing my kind speak to each other. My aunt and uncle, who once lived near where the concert called Woodstock took place, love to tell the kiddies about the human mating dance of 1969. However, both of them have been know to spin quite a few yarns in their time, so that source is also dubious at best.
Instead of using my real name on a daily basis, I usually go by the name of Bob. Why Bob, you may be asking yourself? It’s so simple and boring, you might state. That’s precisely the reason. It’s simplicity. Given everything else in my life, I choose the name Bob for its ease. The far less complicated I can make my life - especially in light of recent developments - the better.
So, I am Bob, a Lister demon, and the newly elected – and, let’s not forget first – head of DOPCOE, Demons of Peaceful Co-Existence. The current Head of the Watcher’s Council and current ‘lead’ Slayer have asked that I begin my own journal for their records as well as DOPCOE’s own.
What is DOPCOE? We are an organization of different peaceful demon tribes and species that have banned together, sort of like the human United Nations, in the hopes of establishing conditions in which respect, tolerance, understanding, and trust between those of demonic origin and human-kind.
In light of events in the years following the fall of Sunnydale, several harmless demon species were almost hunted into extinction by the overwhelming new Slayer army. Species that had never before experienced problems when one Slayer was the norm now faced the dilemma of too-many uneducated, young slayers targeted for ‘training’ exercises. Unfortunately, and too late for some, it was discovered that the eye of the Council had been focused on them by the workings of known dangerous demons. The New Council became even more feared than the Nazi Regime of the 1930s-1940s and the United States Initiative of the late 1990s-2008. Peaceful tribes everywhere felt that the times called for action.
Since the old Watcher’s Council had been destroyed and the New Council seemed inexperienced, representatives of a few peaceful tribes met in secret committee in a location that I will not reveal – as it is still used for meetings requiring secrecy and safety. One representative present at the meeting had personally known The Slayer – the one that is still seen by the entire demon world as the true Slayer – in Sunnydale volunteered to act as a liaison to the New Watcher’s Council. After a series of tense diplomatic meetings between a small contingent led by this brave demon and agents of the Council, an accord was achieved.
The representatives of the tribes then decided that a more permanent union should be established and DOPCOE was born.
A few demon tribes had pushed for the name Demons of Peaceful Existences, but then those tribes had never really interacted with humankind unless they absolutely had to. To save from future embarrassments, I led a contingent of demons to spread the reason why that would be a horrible name. Could any human organization - especially the Watcher’s Council - ever take our needs and demands seriously if our name was DOPE? I ask you. No, no one could. I know that you are probably snickering at the name too.
So, I was elected its first President and have the headache task of dealing with the Head Watcher of the Council on a daily basis. I’ve heard from reliable sources that this Head is far more reasonable and open to our kind than the last one of the old Council – Quentin Travers. The threat of Travers is still used in some communities as a tale to spook children into behaving. Travers brings more fear than the threat of a slayer. The current Head is also known to have learned a great deal from the first Head Watcher Rupert Giles.
I have found Nathan Reynolds, the current Head Watcher to be quite pleasant for a human. At our first meeting he properly introduced himself in the tradition of my clan by clucking his tongue three times and slapping his forearms together. I honored his move to respect my traditions by accepting his greeting and then offering my hand as human tradition calls for most of the time. I was impressed he didn’t hesitate in taking my hand. Most humans do.
At that meeting, I expressed DOPCOE’s concerns that the Slayers were out of control and attacking harmless demons without cause. I informed Reynolds that all demons were aware of the previous Council’s blanket policy – that a good demon is a dead demon, and that our hope with the destruction of the old regime would have been a stop to that insane propaganda. I pointed to the true Slayer’s history of working with demons or ex-demons during her reign as the Slayer and began listing the numerous species that would not even think of harming a human unless they had been threatened or assaulted first.
I must have rambled on and on – a habit I’m working very hard to break – for six to ten minutes before Reynolds ever said a word. Even after I had chewed him out over his Slayers' near-complete extermination of the completely harmless Ethros demon, he just sat there. Well, I say ‘chewed him out’ but I don’t mean I literally did that. ‘Cause for one that would be disgusting and two I don’t eat red meat. I mean I yelled. Just using a human phrase.
Reynolds sat through my rant very calmly and then offered me some spinach dipped in a red-raspberry and honey dressing. Let me tell you, it was like manna from heaven – if you believe in the existence of the Christian God and all that. Not that I’ve ever had manna, but again I’m using a human phrase. I guess all those lessons paid off.
He then apologized for the past misunderstandings, asked what they could do to help the Ethros, gave me a hot towel to clean my face, gave me this journal, asked that I write in it, and then said, “Would the demons you represent be opposed in helping train and re-educate our slayers and Watchers? Perhaps even helping restore our catalogs and pointing out the errors in them?”
I detected no deceit in his tone or in his body language – one of the things that I’ve taught myself over the years. For a human, I found Reynolds refreshing.
I guess that’s where I'll end this entry.
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