Summer yawned as she blinked sleepily at the fire.  She would have to see if maybe she could switch with someone since this middle shift was getting old…  Slowly, she made a circuit around her camp, keeping a watchful eye on the road.  Why did they even have a night watch?  It wasn’t as if anything ever happened…

           After the thought, she didn’t know immediately what it was that made her look up, but she felt a definite tug on her awareness…as if there was something she should recognize.  Curiously, she glanced over at the mountain, straining her eyes to see a blur of movement on the slopes.  It looked and felt odd…  Intently, she retrieved the watchlight and flared a surprisingly strong beam at the spot in question.

           As the light came to rest upon dull eyes, a glimmer was reflected back from the glossy surface and the creature growled, its presence betrayed.  In that instant, the creature flared to life in a burst of fury, fire erupting from between the cracks in its body and wreathing it in the conflagration.

           Summer screamed, a terrified and high pitched note that immediately woke the others.  The creature launched itself from the wall, the force of the propulsion indenting the surface behind it.  Still clutching the watchlight, Summer backpedaled, nearly tripping over the fire and bumped into Kyuhyun who was staring in wide-eyed terror at the flaming monster coming right at them.  “Move!” she cried, pushing at him, desperately trying to put as much distance between them and the construct as she could.  Wait…construct…?

           The rest of the party bolted from sleeping rolls, completely alert despite being fully unconscious just a few seconds ago.  Leeteuk and Siwon dashed in to help Summer with Kyuhyun, who seemed frozen in place.  Kharin and Eunhyuk, never far apart, sprinted off to the right of the camp, the complete opposite direction of Eleanara who ran the other way.

           Almost as soon as they cleared the camp, the construct landed nearly on top of the fire, the impact force making them all unsteady on their feet as hot coals flew everywhere.  The heat from the flaming monster was incredible and made the whole party recoil, desperate to escape the sensation.  Immediately, the light elementalist wrapped them all in null-heat barriers, effective only in reducing the effects of intense heat, making its presence tolerable but no less terrifying.  Unlike the first construct that they had fought, this one gave them no chance to collect themselves.

           It focused on the largest group and darted for the four almost directly in front of it, flaming claws outstretched and savage jaws wide open.  Leeteuk and Summer sprinted hard to the left, working in tandem to get out of its path.  With his greater strength, Siwon hauled the unresponsive Kyuhyun off to the other side, trying to shield the younger man from the heat of the flames, still warm despite the barrier around them.  “Are you alright?” Siwon asked hurriedly into his ear as it seemed Kyuhyun was having a very hard time recovering.

           Kyuhyun’s breathing was ragged and he was shaking uncontrollably.  His dark eyes focused on the play of shadows around them, dancing animatedly from the roaring flames.  He felt Siwon’s arms around him, protective as he kept the fire elementalist’s head down.  Nearby, Kharin and Eunhyuk had just started a concentrated assault, trying to distract or deter the creature.  Torrents of wind and shadow blades alternately buffeted the creature and caused it to bleed molten liquid where fragments of its body chipped away, only to be reformed after a brief pause.

           The construct came to an abrupt stop and whipped its head around, spewing a stream of thick lava as it went.  At the same time, it pivoted in place so that the tail end swung around in Eleanara’s direction.  Both attacks missed Leeteuk and Summer who reeled around and watched in horror as their companions were imperiled.

           Siwon heard the sound first, an awful roaring that thundered behind him.  Still standing in front of Kyuhyun, he turned with just enough time to throw up a water wall in a blind attempt to divert the attack, or something equally effective.  As soon as the two forces collided, a loud hissing sound erupted as steam billowed up angrily, leaving behind little more than solidified lava still hurtling at them.  The water elementalist looked startled and then alarmed as he turned to cover Kyuhyun’s body before the attack could land.

           As he clutched Kyuhyun protectively, the breath was pounded from his lungs as several hefty pieces rammed into the entirety of his back.  Unable to scream, he convulsed when one ill-placed rock impacted his spine and he shuddered at the resultant crack.  The force of the rocks threw him forward, taking Kyuhyun with him even as his knees buckled and he lost all sense of feeling in his lower body.  Forcefully, the pair hit the ground hard, Siwon dazed and limp atop a very confused Kyuhyun.

           The stream continued around the Kharin and Eunhyuk who had only slightly more time to react.  With a similar effect but more success, Eunhyuk was able to divert most of the arch of fire, flinging lumps of rock back at the construct.  At the same time, Kharin grabbed him tight and promptly dragged him into the shadows at their feet, desperate to get them away from harm.

           Oblivious to the interplay on the other side of the creature, Eleanara paled further as the thick tail swung around, following the natural flow as the creature turned.  “Not again,” she gasped as she tried to run out of its path.  She pulled up short, realizing she would not be able to outdistance it and briefly struggled with supporting a double barrier to counter the physical attack and the heat of the fire still raging up and down its body.  For one agonizing moment, the tail contacted the shields, fire washing over the invisible barriers as it held for a second and then failed entirely as she was overwhelmed.  As the flaming tail continued its swinging motion, the backlash from the barriers failing was enough to throw her away, avoiding direct contact with the monster but her body was lost in the darkness beyond the light it cast on the area.

           Still otherwise untouched and with their attention split so that they were having trouble keeping tabs on how everyone was doing, Summer and Leeteuk felt anger wash over them swiftly.  Summer threw the watchlight down, ignorant of where it landed, and with Leeteuk, they focused their attention solely on the construct.  Savagely, Summer bent her will to unmaking it, at which it immediately focused on her, well aware of what she was trying to do.

           Leeteuk stepped in front of her and raised a pillar directly in front of the creature.  The spire rammed into the creature’s jaw, snapping the head up and making it stumble back a step.  It howled in pain and anger, a sound that made the ground hum in response, and then snapped back at him hungrily.  Leeteuk repeated the process, successfully keeping it distracted and focused on him as spire after spire hammered into it, not overly damaging but incredibly infuriating.  As he continued to attack, he saw the construct begin to blur, the edges not so defined.

           As another plate on its body chipped and fell away, a thought occurred to the earth elementalist and he reached for it wildly.  While it was recovering yet again, still off balance from the last strike, he reached for the nearest plate of its armor and pulled fiercely, feeling immediate resistance.

           The construct felt it too and snapped at the invisible force pulling at it.  Abruptly, the whole plate tore free, spewing a glob of lava out and onto the ground.  Before the gap could solidify, a newly emerged Kharin hurled several shadow blades into the unshielded space, tearing through the soft material within while Eunhyuk followed with a barrage that solidified it once more.

           “Again!” they called in unison, side by side, as the flames on the creature died down further.  As Summer continued to work, the creature became even more sluggish, responding to each attack slower and slower.

           Exhilarated by his success, Leeteuk reached and pulled again, finding the next plate easier to dislodge.  Again, Kharin and Eunhyuk struck in concert, helping to diminish the creature further.

           Now the construct keened, feeling itself being depleted.  It had not expected such resistance and clumsily it tried to turn around in an attempt to flee.  Leeteuk saw it and with an angry snarl, he ‘caught’ the tail, the earth around it responding to his demand reluctantly, before he anchored it to the ground, fusing earth to earth.

           “Get ready!” Summer shouted, alerting them that the threads were coming undone.

           In understanding, Leeteuk looked over at Kharin and Eunhyuk who nodded, alert and ready.  The earth elementalist extended his power as far as he dared and pulled with all his might.  Plates all over the body stretched outward as Kharin sent further blades to harry the structure and Eunhyuk threw as much debris as he could send pelting the shifting structure.  All at once, something gave and Leeteuk managed to heave all the outer plates from the body while shadow and wind tore the unprotected interior to pieces.  With a final satisfied yank from Summer, the construct unraveled completely, turning to dust as the power left it.

           Weak-kneed with relief, Leeteuk shuffled over to Summer and pulled her into a thankful embrace.  “Good job,” he remarked quietly, taking a deep breath as he took a quick look around.

           “You too,” she responded, still breathing hard as she hugged him back gratefully.

           Still in the circle of light, Eunhyuk and Kharin shared a considerably warmer embrace.  He even went so far as to lift her slightly off the ground and twirl her around once, bodies pressed close together and faces smiling in elation.  They had done it!