"This will all make sense when I'm older." Said Olaf as he slowly backed away from the burning tree.
"Fire Spirit!"
"Get back, everyone!" Called a pair of Northuldrans as the Fire Spirit, a fast-moving, glowing burst of pink fire, ran across the ground.
"Head for the river!" Shouted Mattias as everyone started fleeing the area. The Fire Spirit set several other trees ablaze before returning to the ground, where it came dangerously close to igniting Elsa as it zoomed across.
"We're under attack!" Yelled Ratchet.
"Open fire!" Ordered Ultra Magnus.
Elsa started blasting the ground with her ice magic, putting out some of the flames but missing the Fire Spirit. The Autobots deployed their guns and started shooting at it.
"This should be fun." Said Wheeljack as he took his twin swords back out and made a run toward it while five of the other Autobots tried shooting at it from a distance. Ratchet stepped out from behind a rock, deployed two swords over his hands, and ran towards the Fire Spirit. Optimus, a blaster on his right arm and a sword on his left, followed in Ratchet and Wheeljack's footsteps. A pair of small blasts of fire came towards him, but he blocked them with his left arm.
As the fight began, a group of panicked reindeer fled the scene.
"No, no, no, no! The reindeer! That's a dead end!" A panicked Northuldra boy proclaimed.
"Come on, Sven! We'll get them!" Said Kristoff as he mounted his trusty reindeer and ran into the fire while Elsa and the Autobots continued to do battle with the Fire Spirit.
Anna was in the middle of fleeing with everyone else when she stopped by a tree to catch her breath. She turned around and spotted Elsa and the Autobots.
"Get out of there!" She yelled.
None of them heard her, they were too busy shooting. Anna ran in after them as they continued shooting at the Fire Spirit, pushing themselves hard. After deflecting about a dozen fire blasts from the spirit with his swords, Wheeljack made a swing at the spirit. It stopped just short of his blade, only for Wheeljack to spin around and kick it hard with his left leg. The spirit went flying a ways away before it hit the ground and continued zooming. After Elsa got the area they were in under control, she and the Autobots ran further into the fire.
"Elsa!" Called Anna.
Anna started coughing from smoke inhalation. She covered her face with her cloak as she continued after them. Kristoff and Sven found the other reindeer cornered in a dead end mostly surrounded by flames. Sven got their attention as a burning tree fell down.
"Come on, buddy! We can do this! Hyah!" Said Kristoff as the reindeer jumped over the flames and ran to safety.
The Fire Spirit was then confronted by Ratchet, both his arm swords ready. He attempted a jab and a swing, but the burning spirit dodged both of them and jumped onto his chest, shoving the Autobot medic against a tree. After a moment, it jumped off him and ran off again. Smokescreen observed it from a distance in vehicle mode and noticed that when it came to a stop, there was a clear fire-free path to it.
"Clear shot, I'm going in!" Announced Smokescreen as he put the pedal to the metal and drove straight toward the Fire Spirit. But before he could reach it, the ground immediately surrounding it started igniting, and Smokescreen had to swerve around it as the grass suddenly exploded with more new, tall, pink flames.
"Scratch that!" He said as he braked to a stop.
The Fire Spirit settled on top of a rock a ways away from Smokescreen when it suddenly heard a crash. It turned and faced Bulkhead, who wasted no time in running towards it, deploying a mace over his right hand. The Fire Spirit launched two fire blasts at him, but Bulkhead blocked them both with his mace before using it to strike the top of the rock, breaking a few small pieces off of it and sending the Fire Spirit flying back. It recovered and launched more fire blasts, but Bulkhead picked up the rock and used it as a shield, blocking all of them as he changed his mace into a cannon and returned fire. His first several shots missed, and the Fire Spirit launched another fire blast before two of Bulkhead's last two shots landed direct hits on it, sending it flying back even more from the impact. While it was disoriented, Ratchet ran towards it and struck it with his left sword. The Fire Spirit then ran off and Ratchet attempted to follow it, but it quickly changed direction and left the Autobot medic in the dust.
The Fire Sprit launched a barrage of fire blasts at the area Arcee, Bumblebee, Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack were using for cover, but only managed to hit the tree between them as Arcee and Bumblebee returned fire. Wheeljack deflected one fire blast that came close to the rock he, Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus were hiding behind with his swords before putting them away and jumping behind it for cover. As Ultra Magnus returned fire with his left blaster, Wheeljack grabbed a grenade off his hip and faced him.
"Permission to hasten our progress, Chief?"
"Granted!"
Wheeljack got out from behind the rock he was hiding behind and ran off to the side as the Fire Spirit slowly moved forward. It suddenly got hit by a pair of energon blasts back to back.
"Hey! Hothead!"
The Fire Spirit turned around and faced Wheeljack, who had his right arm cannon deployed and a grenade in his left hand. Wheeljack shot the Fire Spirit two more times before preparing to throw the grenade, only for the Fire Spirit launched two fire blasts at him. They flew forward so fast that there wasn't any time to dodge them. The first hit the ground right in front of Wheeljack, sending him flying back, and the other hit Wheeljack head on, knocking him down and making him drop the grenade, where it bounced across the ground before coming to a stop further away. Bulkhead and Arcee saw it happen from where they were.
"Jackie!" Said Bulkhead as he transformed into vehicle mode and drove through the flames toward his friend.
"Bee, can you handle it?" Asked Arcee.
Bumblebee beeped. ("I think so!")
Arcee transformed and followed Bulkhead while Bumblebee continued shooting at the Fire Spirit. The Fire Spirit ran away, changing its target to another Autobot.
Optimus ran across the fiery forest before coming to a stop, turning around, and firing his right blaster twice, shooting the side of the rock the Fire Spirit was hiding behind. The Fire Spirit then emerged from its hiding spot and launched two fire blasts, but Optimus ran behind another rock as the blasts made impact on it. The Fire Spirit ran after Optimus, dodging four of his blasts before returning fire at the rock he was standing on. Optimus leaped onto another, longer rock, dodging its blasts. Just as the Fire Spirit joined him atop the rock, Optimus shot it. It quickly recovered and returned fire at Optimus, striking the bottom of the rock as the Prime jumped off the end of it. Optimus then shot past the top of the rock before he continued running, dodging another fire blast. The Fire Spirit jumped off the rock and shot at Optimus one more time before he disappeared around a corner. The Fire Spirit reached that area, but saw that Optimus was long gone. Before it could figure out where he went, it stopped and turned as it heard another set of footsteps approaching.
The Fire Spirit was now facing Ultra Magnus. It charged towards him, only for Ultra Magnus to grab it with his right hand while shooting it point-blank with his left blaster. After taking nearly a dozen blasts to the face, the Fire Spirit broke free of Ultra Magnus's grip and hit him in the chest, knocking the blue Autobot back. Ultra Magnus struck a three-point landing as he slid across the ground before coming to a stop. He got back up and ran back toward the Fire Spirit, firing from his left blaster even more as he did. After taking two more shots, the Fire Spirit ran away, settling on top of a tall rock. It launched a fire blast at Ultra Magnus from above, but missed as he closed in. Ultra Magnus then retracted his blaster as he jumped onto a smaller rock before yelling out as he tackled the Fire Spirit off the rock and back onto the fiery forest floor. The Fire Spirit jumped into the air as it attempted to attack him, only for Ultra Magnus to beat it with his left fist before punching it with his right. He then landed a right uppercut that sent the Fire Spirit flying far away.
As the Fire Spirit recovered from fighting Ultra Magnus, it came under fire from Smokescreen as he ran towards it, both cannons blazing. The Fire Spirit launched a fire blast, but Smokescreen moved to his left and dodged it before shooting the spirit even more. He then noticed just how small it actually was right before it launched another fire blast that hit him head on, sending him flying back against a rock with a yell. Smokescreen quickly began recovering as the Fire Spirit ran away.
Not long after that happened, Ratchet regrouped with Optimus, standing back to back with him.
"Optimus! This prolonged exposure to fire is sapping our strength!" Proclaimed Ratchet.
"We cannot falter now." Responded Optimus.
As Optimus and Ratchet ran back into the fray, Arcee and Bulkhead helped Wheeljack back onto his feet. Despite the strength of the fire blast, he suffered no visible damage.
"I've been worse." Said Wheeljack.
As Ratchet navigated the flames, one of his swords drawn and at the ready, he stopped in his tracks and turned around when he heard someone coughing. That someone was Anna, who then collapsed from extensive smoke inhalation. Kristoff spotted her as the other reindeer ran away.
"Anna!"
Elsa laid down another thin sheet of ice and stopped in her tracks as Ratchet ran towards her.
"We have a situation!" He said.
Elsa turned to her right and her jaw dropped in shock as she and the Autobots spotted her sister.
"So how are we gonna get her to safety?" Asked Wheeljack.
Elsa, with some struggle and effort, laid down an extensive coating of ice that extinguished all flames in the area immediately surrounding her. She fell to her knees from exhaustion. Ultra Magnus observed the situation as it unfolded with great disapproval. As Anna recovered, Kristoff scooped her off the ground and onto Sven.
"Get her out of here!" Ordered Elsa as she got back on her feet.
"No! Elsa!" Called Anna as Kristoff and Sven took her away. The moment they were gone, the Fire Spirit came back, setting up a new line of fire next to them as it zoomed away.
"Oh no you don't!" Said Wheeljack as he deployed both his arm cannons.
"Wheeljack!" Called Optimus.
"Jackie, no!" Yelled Bulkhead as Wheeljack opened fire.
Optimus made a run for it as Wheeljack shot at the Fire Spirit and ended up hitting the grenade he dropped, causing an explosion. Bulkhead tried to run away, but he didn't get far before the explosion caught up to him and sent him flying, where he hit the ground with his right arm on fire. Wheeljack ran through the smoke as the explosion cleared, swords back out, and he yelled as he leaped high into the air before stabbing the ground the Fire Spirit was standing on mere moments ago. He got up and glared at the new trail of fire it left.
"Bulkhead!" Said Elsa as she ran to the downed Autobot.
"Easy! I may be hot to the touch!" Said Bulkhead as the flames on his arm went out.
"Wheeljack! You could have caused serious damage!" Shouted Ratchet.
Wheeljack scoffed.
"Well our Con's getting away!"
"Incoming!" Yelled Arcee as she and Bumblebee turned around and aimed their guns in their forward direction as the Fire Spirit circled back around to them.
Elsa put out the flames it left and ran after it. Ratchet transformed into vehicle mode and drove after her while everyone else remained in robot mode as they ran after and continued shooting at it.
"Down in front!" Shouted Smokescreen.
As they chased the Fire Spirit into a Northuldran camp, Elsa started creating walls of ice to try to contain it. After several big ice blasts and a lot of Autobot firepower, the Fire Spirit finally got cornered in a crevice in a pile of rocks. Wheeljack fired two more shots right above it with his right cannon.
"You got nowhere left to run, Con!" He said.
Ratchet transformed back into robot mode and reactivated his swords.
"It's all right. I'm an emergency vehicle."
Elsa's hands started glowing as she raised them, ready to finish it off, but then she stopped. As the Fire Spirit stopped moving, they saw that it was actually a small salamander. Curious, Elsa moved a little closer to it.
"So that's the spirit of fire, huh? I kind of figured it'd be bigger."
Upon hearing Wheeljack say this, the Fire Spirit got into an aggressive stance. In return, Optimus aimed his right blaster toward it.
"Stand down." The Autobot leader sternly advised.
Elsa slowly got down onto her knees as she came closer than ever to the little salamander. It remained aggressive as it glared at her and the Autobots.
"You don't scare me, Ugly!" Said Smokescreen.
The Fire Spirit launched a fire blast at Elsa, but she dodged it and it instead hit a tree, where she put it out with her ice magic without even looking. Wheeljack was impressed.
"You sure you weren't a Wrecker?" He asked.
Bruni slowly lost his aggression. His eyes widened as he tilted his head at Elsa. She tilted hers in return. Bruni chirped as he slowly moved towards her. The Autobots retracted their weapons as he did. Elsa lowered her hand in front of him. Bruni stepped on it, and turned out to be really hot as Elsa winced from the heat as she balanced him between her hands before he cooled down. He stretched on her open palms, extinguishing the small flames on his back and the flames throughout the forest. Elsa created a small snow flurry above Bruni, where he ate a single snowflake.
"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess." Proclaimed Bulkhead as Mattias, Yelena, Honeymarren and the others arrived at the scene, all with thoroughly bewildered expressions on their faces.
Bruni leaned out and got a good look at them, and Elsa caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye.
"They're all looking at us, aren't they? Got any advice?"
Bruni tilted his head the other way.
"Nothing?"
Bruni licked his eye.
"Should I know what that means?"
The voice called again. Bruni reacted to it at the same time Elsa did.
"You hear it, too. Somebody's calling us. Who is it? What do we do?"
Bruni jumped out of Elsa's hands and ran forward onto a rock. He looked back at Elsa.
"We've combed the entire floor. For the moment, that remains our only clue." Said Ultra Magnus as he figured out Bruni's potential usefulness to their quest.
"Okay, keep going north."
Bruni jumped off the rock, ready to lead the way. Just as Elsa and the Autobots started following him, though, Anna ran in from behind from out of nowhere.