So sorry! This just took way to long to hammer out I don't think there will be a gap this long ever again. Work and a lack of inspiration drove me to shelve this for a few weeks. But I'm back! With no further ado, here is the next chapter of Tales of the Possessed.


I crouched in a set of bushes set in the bottom of the lane, watching the minions beat each other senseless. Every few waves a minion came through riding a cannon. 'Are you going to get any last hits?' Darsaj asked in my head. 'If you don't farm, you will get behind in gold, which would make you a liability to your team.' I sighed. I'm waiting for my opponent to show themselves. Who did you say it was? 'Considering that both Amumu and Graves are on bottom lane right now, engaging your teammates Pantheon and Sona, the only other Champion on their team is Evelynn, the Widowmaker.' Well, where is she? She hasn't been in any of the lanes yet. 'Hmmm,' Darsaj's voice faded out for a moment. 'Well, she is an assassin, skilled in stealth. She might be anywhere.'

"So she could be staring at me right now," I said out loud. "Great. I would have to keep a constant state of even more heightened awareness while I'm... what did you call it? Farming?" I heard a sultry laugh to my right, and snapped myself into a ready stance, blades ready to attack the source. I saw nothing, but still kept myself at the ready. 'It might be time to go back to base and grab an Oracles' Elix- Watch out!' Darsaj's warning rang in my head just as I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a reddish-black spike that erupted from the ground. Had I stayed still, it would have skewered me. I swung my gaze around me, trying to pinpoint where my attacker was.

I heard another laugh to my left, and turned towards it. Just as I did, a hand shot out and wrapped itself around my throat from behind. I immediately tried to spin around and bring my blades to bear, but my opponent kept behind me. Suddenly, I felt a burning pain in my back and cried out. I looked down to see my opponent's other hand sticking out of my chest, a large purple blood covered object clenched in their claw-tipped fingers. As I stared, the object pumped once before it disappeared back into my chest, and was pulled out through my back. I slumped forward, blackness swimming across my vision.

I felt fingers wrap under my chin and lift my head up. I saw a face before me, and I fought to focus on it. I recognized the blue skinned woman I had seen through my Dark Vision my first day at the Institute. She smiled, revealing a row of sharp fangs, and leaned towards me. Before I realized what was happening, she had placed her lips over mine. The shock brought me back to the moment fully.

After a few moments, during which her tongue fought and conquered mine, she released me and pushed me onto my back, disappearing into the shadows. The last thing I heard was her voice echoing out of the shadows. "Pity. I like it when they scream."

"YOU HAVE BEEN SLAIN!" The Announcer boomed.

The world went gray, and I realized I was standing over my own body. Well, this is interesting, Vashirik remarked. I don't remember dying being like this. 'This is what it's like to die on the Fields of Justice,' Darsaj replied. 'It's only temporary. Be aware, however, that the longer the match goes on, the longer it takes for me to reconstitute you. So try not to die too much, please.' I don't think that's going to be a problem, I thought wryly. That was not a pleasant experience. 'I would imagine that it wouldn't be. Fortunately, you can peruse the shop while you wait to respawn.' How? I can't exactly see what I would be buying. Darsaj laughed. 'Like this.' A translucent window appeared in front of me, showing a list of categories and a few items associated with them. How am I seeing this? I asked Darsaj. 'A mix of magic and psionics. What you are seeing is an image pulled from my mind of the contents of the shop. I have memorized every item and recipe there is.' Impressive, Vashirik growled. 'Not at all,' Darsaj responded. 'Every Summoner trainee must learn and be able to recall the items their Champion might need in battle.'

I spent a few moments eying the categories. I already had a Doran's Blade and I didn't think another would help me much in the event of another sneak attack by the Widowmaker. You were saying I should buy something before that woman attacked me. What was it? 'An Oracle's Elixir. It allows you to see that which is invisible. Not only stealthy Champions, but wards and traps as well. Very valuable.' Do I have enough gold to purchase one? 'Yes. You can also buy a Giant's Belt for increased strength, making you harder to kill, or you could opt for a Hexdrinker, which would give you a bit of damage and make her abilities hit for a little less. Plus, it gives you a shield when you are wounded that can absorb some magic.' I thought for a moment. I think I'll go for the Hexdrinker. Attacking is my specialty, not really defense. 'Fair enough. The shopkeeper will have both items waiting for you when you spawn, which should be just about now.'

My perception blurred for a split second, and I was suddenly back on my teams Summoning Platform. The bizarre shopkeeper had two objects laid in front of him on the counter. One was a crystal flask containing a pink liquid, the other was a token with a picture of a what seemed to be the tip of a spear on it. I picked up both, pinning the token to my vest. A light red field burst outward as soon as I did, fading to nothing a few feet out. I looked at the flask of liquid with an eyebrow raised. I'm supposed to drink this?

Suddenly, a flash of light drew my gaze to my right. My breath caught as Sona appeared out of the light. Her strange instrument floated in front of her, and she plucked a few strings absentmindedly. Her light blue hair was floating about her head, the hair constrained in two pigtails, the ends of which were dyed gold. However, my gaze was drawn to the low-cut neckline of her dark blue dress. I quickly averted my eyes as she turned towards me, her bare feet floating a few inches off the ground. I caught an inquisitive tone in her music, and turned back to see her looking at me with her head cocked. I held up the Oracle's Elixir. "Do I just drink this?" I asked. She smiled and nodded. 'Her Summoner told me to tell you that it doesn't taste much like anything,' Darsaj told me. 'Kind of like water.' Why didn't she just tell me herself? It seems much easier. Darsaj chuckled softly in my head. 'She is mute, my friend. She can make no vocal sound. We can't really get much out of her through mental contact either, mostly images and sensations.' Oh, I thought, feeling rather bad at not catching on to that fact.

I uncorked the flask and poured the contents down my throat. Sona was right, it was pretty much tasteless. 'Sona also wants to tell you that your eyes are very beautiful.' I choked, almost spewing the Oracle's Elixir all over the Summoning Platform. I saw Sona giggling from the corner of my eye, even though no sound came out. I felt a blush spreading across my face, and hurried away, shooting a salute at Sona as I went back to my lane. She waved back and floated back to her own lane.

As soon as I caught sight of the constant minion battle, I noticed Evelynn standing in the middle of my minions, occasionally drawing her claws across the neck of a dying minion. They didn't seem to see her, even when there were none of her minions close by. I immediately ducked into a bush close by. She didn't seem to notice as I crept closer to her, until I was just out of blades reach. What is the best way to approach her? I asked Darsaj. I felt Vashirik stirring within me, and I mirrored his anticipation. 'She isn't very adept at drawn-out combat,' he responded. 'Catch her by surprise and she'll have to fight defensively.. Turn her advantage against her.' Drawn-out combat is the best, I said, my face splitting into a grin and my canines elongating. Ready, Vashirik? Darsaj? I am always ready for bloodshed, Vashirik responded. 'We got this,' Darsaj said confidently. I breathed slowly out of my nostrils, hands set on my katanas.

In a blur, I leapt out of the bush, katanas sweeping out at neck height, a battle cry ripping out of my throat. Suddenly, Evelynn was about ten feet beyond me, my blades slicing a hair she left behind in twain. What in the name of the Hells? 'Flash,' Darsaj told me. 'It's a spell we Summoners can use to assist our Champions in battle. It has a very long cooldown, so next chance you get she won't have it.' To the Hells with her getting away! Vashirik yelled. Vessel, take my power and obliterate her! I felt a surge of energy, and used it to leap towards Evelynn again, my blades coming back across in a double-thrust. Her eyes widened, and she tried to backpedal. The tips of my katanas caught her just under her breasts, piercing through her blue skin with almost no resistance. My body slammed into hers, my blades running her through all the way to the dipped-in hilts.

I lifted my eyes to look into hers. A light amount of blood was leaking from the corner of her mouth, which was spread in a smile. I raised an eyebrow. Evelynn laughed softly, blood in her lungs making the sound shaky. "You sure know how to handle a girl, don't you?" She forced out, answering my unspoken question. "I'll have to see just how well you can handle one outside of battle." With that, her head slumped forwards, and the Announcer called out the kill. 'Very nicely done,' Darsaj said. 'I wasn't anticipating your... passenger lending you his strength for that leap.' Passenger? Very politic of you, Summoner, Vashirik said, chuckling. Be quiet, Vashirik. 'Oh, it's fine,' Darsaj replied. 'Another thing we Summoners are taught is to always keep the peace, which entails being political when necessary.' I pulled my blades out of Evelynn, her body falling forward onto the ground. I gave it not a thought as I went back to pushing my lane.

The match went on much the same way for the next hour or so, with kills racking up on both teams. I got a few on Evelynn, she got a couple on me, but only when her teammates helped her. One time I actually killed both her and the man Graves for a Double Kill. His shotgun shells couldn't penetrate my skin when Vashirik took temporary control. Thankfully he was in a happy mood, which meant he gave me back my body when I asked for it.

Eventually my team was standing before our opponent's Nexus, just one turret and the three of them standing between us and victory. Pantheon, Sona, and I took a moment to plot out a plan of atack.

"I say we should just rush them and show them the meaning of war!" Pantheon stated, the Rakkorian Centurion covered in scratches with a red gleam in his eyes, the only thing visible beneath his helmet. His spear was planted in the ground next to him, and he adjusted his oversized shield.

Sona played a denying run on her etwahl. Then she played a trilling dirge, implying certain death if we went with that plan. Her music shifted to a sneaky scherzo, suggesting a sneak attack. I started nodding. "An ambush could work. It would have to be executed precisely though. If I read Amumu right, his Curse of the Sad Mummy could leave us defenseless to the other two. I think we need bait." I turned back to Sona, Pantheon also looked at her. Her shoulders slumped slightly, and an accepting note floated from her instrument. I walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She raised her head and looked up at me with wide eyes.

I smiled at her. "It's ok, me and Pantheon will be right here. Just make them chase you and we'll take care of the rest." I think I'm going to be sick, Vashirik shot from my mind. Be quiet and I'll let you finish off the Nexus. Deal? I only heard a grumble from Vashirik. I'll take that as a yes. I saw Sona smile, a light serenade sounding from her etwahl. She nodded and floated towards the enemy base. I turned to Pantheon. "I'm sure you have a better understanding of tactics, where should we set up?"

Pantheon scanned the surrounding environment for a moment. He pulled his spear from the ground and pointed to a twisted tree overlooking the only path through the area. "I shall position myself there. It is a good spot to drop on top of them from. I can kill Graves or Amumu quickly." He turned back to me. "The only problem would be Evelynn. I can't see her, you're the one with the Oracle's Elixir. I think it's best for you to find somewhere on the ground to take her out when you see her. Try there." He pointed with his spear at a small rock pile, just large enough to serve as cover. 'Seems like a sound strategy,' Darsaj remarked. 'Pantheon is at his best when fighting overwhelming odds, but he is not very adept at dealing with sneak attacks.' I nodded and started towards the outcropping. Pantheon walked under the branch he had pointed out. It was easily 70 feet above him, but he just gathered himself and leapt up to it easily. They sure do make great warriors on top of Mount Targon, I thought to myself as I witnessed his leap.

I got to the pile of rocks and slid behind it. I took a deep breath and held my katanas before me. Last fight. You guys ready? You know my answer, Vessel. Let us rip them open! 'If all goes to plan, I believe we could win this right now.' Alright, now just to wait for Sona. I hope she can get away from them if needed. 'Worry not,' Darsaj assured me. 'The Maven of the Strings is very hard to chase when she sets her mind to running, or in her case, floating.' I couldn't help but smile at his joke. 'Wait, here she comes. She has Amumu and Graves in tow. Evelynn shouldn't be far behind them.' I heard a quick string of notes down the path, and readied myself to pounce.

I caught sight of Sona's blue hair and tensed. She was bleeding from a wound in her shoulder, and there were numerous scratches along her arms and legs. Her dress was torn a little, and her etwahl was showing a few popped strings. As she passed by me, I saw the grizzled man Graves enter the canyon, trying to get a bead on her, as well as the little Yordle Amumu, who couldn't seem to stop crying. He was loosening one of the bandages on his arm and drew his arm back. As it shot forward, the bandage extended extremely far. It caught on to one of Sona's legs. Amumu yanked the bandage, stopping her in place and pulling himself towards her. I was about to leap out and sever the bandage, but a certain someone decided it was her time to shine.

Just as Amumu was about to reach Sona, she turned around and raised her hands over her etwahl. I saw a smile on her face as she ran her hands down the strings, unleashing a visible wave of sound before her. The wave rolled over Amumu and Graves, and I looked in shock as they stopped in place and started dancing. 'Get ready!' Darsaj yelled. As loud as the voice in my head was, the roar of Pantheon was even louder.

"FOR RAKKOR!" The cry was accompanied by the large warrior slamming to the ground before Graves. The force of the drop created a shockwave that flattened the sparse grass around the battlefield and created a crater around him. Not wasting a moment, Pantheon charged towards the shotgun-toting man and unleashed Hell upon him. I could barely see the strikes as he leveled his spear and thrust it forward countless times. Graves fell backwards, his body pierced in over 20 places, each one lethal on it's own. The kill was announced, but Pantheon did not stop moving. He spun in place and launched thru the air at Amumu, who was just starting to recover from the effects of Sona's Crescendo. He saw the form of Pantheon quickly approaching him and his eyes turned dark for a moment before bandages erupted from him in all directions. They wrapped around everything in range, trees, rocks, and my team mates. Pantheon crashed to the ground, and Sona struggled to free herself.

Suddenly, I saw the form of Evelynn closing in on the trapped Maven, her lips split in a sadistic grin. "Not this time, Widowmaker!" I yelled as I started charging towards her from my hiding place, blades at the ready. 'Ghosting you now!' Darsaj told me, as my body started feeling lighter and my strides carried me farther. Amumu started throwing a bandage at me, but I leapt over it, severing it as I flipped. The act seemed to hurt him slightly, but I didn't give it more thought as Evelynn was almost in range. A line of black spikes shot out from the ground before her, which I dodged to the left and kept my momentum going.

I felt Vashirik just beneath the surface of my skin, wanting desperately to take over and kill Evelynn. I kept him in check though by reminding him of the deal we had made. A creature of chaos he may be, but he still kept his word, and calmed down a little. I got in sword range of Evelynn and sent my blades in a dizzying pattern of strikes before me. Interestingly enough, she managed to avoid any lethal wounds, suffering only minor cuts. When my momentum played itself out, she started on the attack. Her claws whipped through the air at different angles, some actually managing to get through my defenses to draw long marks on my body.

Suddenly I heard a roar from Pantheon behind me. I glanced back to see him kick Amumu's perforated body into the crater he had made with his Grand Skyfall. Sona was playing a revitalizing tune on her etwahl, closing the few wounds she and Pantheon had received. I turned back to a clawed hand shooting for my face. I leaned backwards on instinct, not realizing I was about to fall into a pit of spikes that shot out of the ground behind me. Great. I'm going to be the one death on the team from a perfect ambush. Just my luck.

'I wouldn't say that,' Darsaj chuckled. It was then that I realized that the spikes were breaking as I hit them. I saw the purple shield of the Maw of Malmortious I had upgraded form my Hexdrinker fade away after breaking all of the spikes. I landed on my back with less force than I anticipated. I quickly kicked into a roll and started another attack routine on Evelynn. She couldn't block enough of them, and fell with curved cuts crisscrossing her throat in a neat X.

"BLUE TEAM HAS SCORED AN ACE!"

"Let's not waste any time!" I called to my teammates. Pantheon nodded and broke into a sprint towards the enemy base with Sona behind him, lending him a burst of speed every now and then. Shall we Vashirik? I did say you could raze their base. Yes. I need one last fight. Alright. I lend you my body. Just remember to not kill Sona or Pantheon. I felt my body start changing, my bones breaking and reforming. After the Change was complete, Vashirik charged into the enemy base, ready to lay waste to everything in sight. Pantheon and Sona were already there, preparing to destroy the last turret protecting the enemy's Nexus. "Scatter to the winds!" Vashirik yelled as he lifted into the air and arrowed towards the blue-white crystal, just as the last turret fell. He slammed into the Nexus, his katana shattering it into and uncountable number of pieces.

"BLUE TEAM IS VICTORIOUS!" The Announcer boomed. Vashirik gave me back control, and my body started reverting back to its normal state. After a few moments, I was left kneeling on the ground and expelled a large amount of purple fluid. I hate Change-Sickness. Sorry, Vessel, Vashirik said. It's a result of the sheer amount of energy required to reshape your body. I know. I just hate it. I heard a run of notes, the tone concerned.

I looked up to see Sona holding a hand down to me. Smiling weakly, I took it and stood up. "Thank you, Sona. You fought very well." She blushed slightly, and turned her face away from me, the only thing visible being the corner of her eye. "Is something wrong?" I asked. Suddenly Sona leaned forward and kissed my cheek, just as her Summoner teleported her from the battlefield. I sat there stunned for a moment before Darsaj sent a question across our link. It took me a moment to understand the question as whether I wanted him to take me away from the Twisted Treeline. I sent back an assent, and felt the now-familiar tug of the magic. This is going to suck, I thought as I prepared myself for the agony.

The field melted away, and I found myself back in the Summoning chamber. Surprise must have shown clear on my face, because Darsaj flashed me a triumphant grin. "I figured out the best way to go about summoning both of you. I just had to consider you two as a single entity instead of two separate ones."

I chuckled. "I could have told you that, my friend." I stretched upwards, popping my lower back. "I think I'm going to find my bed and become very good friends with it. If there's nothing else I need to do?" Darsaj smiled and shook his head. "Sleep well. And try not to get attacked this time." I smirked at him and left the Summoning chamber. I really wish I were normal sometimes. Vashirik snorted. Were you normal, you would most likely be dead. Actually, you would be dead. Humans don't really live that long. It was a rhetorical statement. I just want to get some sleep. I walked through the entrance hall to the Unaffiliated wing.

I reached my bedroom door without incident. As I was about to open the door and walk in, I noticed that Diana's door was opened slightly. Curious, I peeked inside...


Again, there shouldn't be such a long wait between chapters. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more :D