Having a nap, no matter how short, while the pack was fighting for survival was madness to Ember.

But still, her system assistant would not bulge. Without her magic, she was a dead weight, and she needed a quarter of rest to recover her cantrips. It would have been one hour per spell if she had some—or eight hours of uninterrupted sleep to recover them all. Ember could only feel dread at the mere idea of being on the bench for eight hours. In comparison, fifteen minutes did not feel so bad.

And so she got a good shut-eye, with the promise the system would wake her up as soon as possible.

She dreamed of playing Frisbee with her late owner. The living puppet couldn't. And her police partners did not have one. And so she missed that particular game the most. She liked the quick thinking, perfect timing, and exploding speed it required. Playing ball, in comparison, felt a bit dumb. It was satisfying nonetheless. But she understood now that she was indeed more brain than brawn type. But more importantly, she now understood that she liked games where it was possible to lose.

Rise and Shine! Hurry up! We need you.

If it weren't for our bond, I would be dead a hundred times over already! I can't take it anymore! (Crying) Come and save me!!!

'What's the situation?' She raised up and rushed back into the fight as fast as she could.

Three men down. We might still be able to save them.

You can finish the creature in one combo. Just go for it and end this fight!

'Okay! Hold on!' She confirmed, activating Balanced Mind to burn through her magic, pushing herself just over the edge, just a tiny bit faster than she ever was at any point in her life.

'I'm coming for you, freaking monster!' She growled mid-jump before snapping at the ethereal creature before landing, and then, she ran and kept snapping, once every two seconds on average, reapplying Nerve Snap every time she felt the Air Elemental was getting its bearing and fought off the effect.

That's when the previously silent magical creature started screaming. It was probably a last-defense mechanism to make the offender reconsider attacking. And the intimidation might have worked if Ember did not have an innate talent nullifying the effect.

She just went through with her attack — the last one.

She still had three to go, but it proved unnecessary as the Air Elemental started shrinking rapidly and dissolving into the air, as the very magic that kept it together just became unsustainable. Though it did not disappear entirely, leaving behind a small sphere of solid air. Ember had to finish it off, crushing it in one hit.

Ember shook her head. She could not figure it out, but it tasted like the smell of a storm, if that could even make sense.

And then, the humans started screaming behind her.

We did it!

'What are they doing?' Ember asked, tilting her head.

They celebrate. It's not every day non-magic-users make it alive against an apprentice-tier one.

I'm glad we made it, too, by the way.

Ember missed most of the fight, so she felt a bit underwhelmed. But things had gone way better than they had planned, so it was a good thing in her book. Yet, sober, she was also the first to rush to the victims of the Air Elemental and give them a good sniff.

'One dead, two alive!' She howled.

Oh shit! You're right!

"First aid guy! Now is the time to do your job!" She shouted, but no one responded, so she asked, "Where is he?"

'Right here!' Ember responded, nudging one of the two unconscious men.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, covering her stitched mouth in horror as the realization hit her. "Anyone else who knows CPR?"

"We all do." The major said. "Okay, everyone, teams of two, and take turns. We are the only thing keeping them alive out the helicopter arrives."

And so the soldiers did, trained like a metronome for over another quarter before the helicopter arrived with a bang, making so much noise that Ember had no choice but to fall to the ground, trying to cover her ears. Then, as fast as they came, they were gone after retrieving the two soldiers at death doors.

"Nice work, Everyone," the second in command said. "Now, it's time to give yourself a tap on the back and get the hell out of here."

And so they did.

★☆★

"Not you. The governor wants to talk to you." The second said before they finally split off, giving them directions to another military officer waiting for them.

Ember didn't like to part ways with people, especially after fighting together. But humans were crazy like that and split off their pack so many times she had lost count already.

'Do you think we will ever get to see those guys again?' Ember asked.

If you want to... maybe?

It would just be a matter of tracking them and asking them if they want to work with us. How hard could it be?

'You sound a bit sarcastic,' Ember noticed.

You think? How could you tell ~~~

Those men went through hell with us. Half of them almost choke to death at some point. And they would probably get nightmares of this very fight for years to come. Trust me, the only thing they want right now is to forget about it.

'Yet that governor wants to meet us again' She pointed out the obvious, a bit bothered at the upcoming meeting where she would be ignored the entire time.

"This way," the officer said, opening the passenger door of a non-police car for them.

Ember also noted that they did not try to put her in a cage this time and appreciated the gesture.

The governor has not experienced magic for himself already. It's terrifying for people to have to face magic when they have none.

They are going to go absolutely bonkers in a few days with the upcoming update.

'You kept mentioning those and teasing things but never explained what the fuck is going on,' Ember complained, as she did every time her assistant was doing that.

I can tell you this one is going to be the last one in a long while. So you won't hear me rant about those anymore.

'So far, each time there had been an update, you told me there were more new users. What about those?' She asked, that memory suddenly popping at the top of her head.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

You won. I never thought you would remember that.

This is the final wave. 42% of all living beings are going to get magic this time. And a bit more than that are going be left behind, permanently. The recent update put human governments on their knees. This one is the last nail in the coffin.

That's why I asked for alternative payment, by the way...

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, Ember contemplating what she was just told until she asked:

'What do you think the governor wants this time?'

He is probably trying to find a way out of our deal.

Actually, I bet he would try to make us eat shit while pretending he is upholding his part of the deal.

'If we don't get the house AND the food, I'm going to feed on his corpse,' Ember growled warningly.

That's the spirit. However, it would be best if you kept that mighty growl for the negotiation table.

Ember nodded to the screen and decided to take yet another nap. She was still not used to the cars. But the backseat was comfy, and demanded she gave it a try. So she happily gave in.

★☆★

Actually, what the governor wanted was to offer them a job. And he was apparently determined to hold off their payment until they said yes. It turned out the governor was really aware of the situation, as communication with the White House had become more and more distant over the last few months.

He even admitted that at this point, Montana was an independent state in all but name as they could only count on whatever military personnel they had one hand to keep enforcing the law despite the current 14% of the population who had turned into superhumans practically overnight over those last few months.

And humans being humans, they couldn't help but abuse their newfound power until one of their neighbors ended up with a bullet in their head, as it happened to that summoner. Fortunately, people tended to reconsider and use their heads once people were dying left and right because they didn't think things through.

So the current situation was explosive, and the governor was in dire need of help.

Little did he know that it was only getting worse.

Even if the man was obviously preparing for that, even his wildest estimation fell short of what Ember now knew was coming.

They were not prepared. No one was.

And for once, Ember wholeheartedly agreed with her system's plan and waited for the storm to pass.

And so the doll was heavily negotiating so they would get paid right now, as promised, and would get the hell out of here before things turned really sour. But that stubborn governor would not have any of it and didn't budge.

So Ember decided it was time to get her show on and drive her point home.

Before the man realized what hit him, Ember had him pinned down under her weight, and she growled centimeters from his throat.

The man relieved himself, but it was Ember's turn to take none of it.

"Okay. Okay. I will pay. I will pay." The man squeaked in between cries. "Please get that rabid animal off of me."

That was more like it. Ember licked her teeth and yawned before giving the man some space.

"See?" The doll said with a smirk. "That wasn't so difficult. Next time you deal with Outsiders, don't forget to uphold your part of your deal BEFORE asking for more. That makes you unreliable, and no one wants to risk their skins for bad customers after all."

"Feeling tough, huh?' The governor said, spitting while getting up. "See how you fare once everything falls apart!"

"We will see about this, indeed." The living puppet said calmly, looking down at the man.

"This is not the end! You will regret this!" The governor threatened again, though he kept glancing for Ember's reaction instead of the doll.

"We helped you remove a serial killer and a major threat to this country." The doll said, unimpressed, "Bloodline owners and their spirit allies tend to overthrow the local authority wherever they rise to power. So be thankful you won't be waking up tomorrow in the KINGDOM of Montana. Good luck going forward. You are going to need it."

And then, they turned around, ignoring the man as he kept screaming.

★☆★

When they finally got back to Great Falls with their reward, they did not expect the welcoming committee to wait for them.

People brandish things menacingly and shout unintelligible things as the police escort them back.

'Why are they doing this? Shouldn't they be grateful we got revenge for their kids?' Amber asked, puzzled.

They are grateful. They are welcoming us back. Humans are just not making a fuss the way dogs do.

'Why would they think I would like being shouted at and threatened like this?'

A different point of view. For example, humans don't like when you jump at them and try to lick their faces off. And I kind of remember telling you so before? That's just THEIR thing; how annoying it might be.

Then they got out of the car, and all hell broke loose as the police could not contain the crowd anymore.

It was threatening. Ember almost got walked over several times before she got to the safety of the police station.

'That was scary.' She said, breathing heavily.

But no system assistant replied this time.

'System??? What's going on?" Ember freaked out, ready to come to the doll rescued.

It's okay. I got ambushed by a victim's parents. They mean no harm. And it's personal. I will keep you updated later.

And then, the doll shut her off for the first time in... how long had it been exactly?

She was terrible at keeping tabs with the passing of time. But it was weeks, for sure.

So she patiently waited for the doll to come in, feeling like she did when she once was waiting for her owner every day.

That was one thing she was not any bit nostalgic about. And yet, she fell into a recollection of those times. How sad her owner had been and how hard Ember tried to cheer her up. At least now, her owner could rest in peace, wherever that was.

Then, the living puppet finally made him. The doll looked grim and disheartened. And Ember immediately felt the urge to remedy that.

'System? You don't look fine. What did they tell you? Should I go and talk some sense into them?' She asked, genuinely concerned about her partner's feelings.

"It's Merida, actually." The doll corrected her "The doll's name, that's it." She added before pausing again, still processing, "It used to belong to a sweet little girl, insanely obsessed with bears called Sophia." She chuckled. "I just realized this is her soul inhabiting this body, my body, as I talked to her parents."

Silence fell between them as Ember gave her partner the time she needed to get it out of her system.

"You know, that's funny. Cause that officer kept pestering me about what I thought might happen when this doll fulfilled her purpose. And I thought I didn't care 'cause that wasn't the real me, you know?"

She started blabbering, and Ember suddenly had a hard time following her point.

"But when I met those parents, and they told me about their daughter. It was like a missing piece finally got in place. A memory that wasn't there before just popped out of nowhere... and I just realized how wrong I had been."

She paused again, catching a breath Ember knew she did not need. The doll never needed to eat, breathe or sleep. But as bland as life seemed to be, so far, she seemed to have been okay with it. But it look like it wasn't the case anymore.

"This body was wished alive, born from the dying wish of that little girl, begging for help. That doll had already failed its mission the moment we encountered it. It went mad 'cause she failed to save the little girl, the other half of her soul."

What Ember could possibly say? Oops? What was the point her partner was trying to make if the doll had already been a dead doll walking the moment they met it?

"I'm not just a piece of your mind anymore. Or the missing piece of a girl's soul seeking revenge." The doll declared. "I don't know what to make of it, but suddenly, just like this, I'm just...me."

That was... Good to know? Ember guessed, not sure if she was supposed to congratulate the doll or anything, but the doll broke the silence once again before she could make up her mind:

"Is that always so awful?"

'What?' Ember reacted, feeling incredulous.

"Feeling directionless like that... is it always THAT bad?" The doll asked again frantically.

She didn't know how to answer that. So she responded with a question instead:

'So you are Merida, now?'

"Yep. The parents called me that. Telling me why their daughter chooses that name. It kind of triggered the whole thing."

'So the girl called you that because...?' Ember tried to keep 'Merida' talking to distract her from how she felt.

It had a nice ring to it, but it would take some getting used to.

"I told you. Sophia was utterly obsessed with bears. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Brother Bear. Whatever-nonsense-you-can-thing-of-bears. Merida is supposedly some redhead Scottish princess in some animated movies with bears in it. So when Sophia started drawing and talking about something that wasn't a bear, her grandmother decided to take the matter into her own hands and make the girl's dream a reality." She concluded while pointing at herself with her two thumps, flashing her a fake smile.

And so Ember could not help but laugh.

"What is it?" The doll asked as Ember showed no sign of stopping.

It took a lot of self-control for Ember to stop laughing long enough for her to explain her sudden hilarity:

'So that's why you have bear ears!' Ember exclaimed before she burst out laughing once again, getting Merida self-conscious of the two small but noticeable rounded brown soft pieces of fabric that pointed out of red wooly hair.

"You got it all wrong!" The doll argued, hiding the two pieces under wool threats. "See? It's not a feature. It's just a sewing mistake, I tell you."

'Whatever you say, girl. Whatever you say,' Ember replied with a big doggy grin.