Lightning flashed. Thunder crashed. Elsa, Optimus and Ratchet stood on the black, rocky shores of the Dark Sea. Some fog surrounded the coastline as waves constantly crashed against the shore and receded. Optimus and Ratchet faced a small, set-up Cybertronian station with a single screen displaying a picture of Bulkhead with a yellow arrow extending from it and connecting to a pulsating orange dot on a blank, dark green background.
"Bulkhead's signal, over a thousand clicks from here. And I would have to imagine that the others are with him." Said Ratchet.
"Have you attempted contact?" Asked Optimus.
"No response." Ratchet responded.
After a few more bolts of lightning flashed and lit up the dark gray sky, Elsa walked away from the shore. She took off her coat and boots and put them on a rock. She adjusted her hair from her typical french braid to a ponytail as she turned around and faced it again. Optimus deployed his battle mask.
"Proceed with extreme caution." He said.
Elsa ran toward the waves, with Optimus and Ratchet not far behind. As she reached the water, she created small snowflakes made of ice with each step. Optimus and Ratchet jumped across them as a wave started rapidly approaching. Elsa tried to run over it, but it crested right as she reached the top and sent her and the two Autobots back to shore.
A few minutes passed. Though they were all soaking wet, they were determined to try again.
"Okay." Elsa said quietly as she, Optimus and Ratchet headed for the waves again.
As a new wave started forming in front of them, this time they jumped into it. On the other side of the wave, they grabbed onto a rock formation and climbed up to the top of it. Elsa slipped, but she created an ice slide and went down it before she continued running, making more ice snowflakes with each step as Optimus and Ratchet followed. An even bigger wave than the first two started approaching. Too big to jump through, Elsa blasted it with her magic and created a massive ramp. As she started running up, Optimus and Ratchet transformed into vehicle mode and started driving up it.
"Maximum overdrive!" Exclaimed Optimus as he accelerated.
Just as they approached the top, the power of the wave's motion caused the ramp to start cracking. Elsa yelled out in shock as she, Optimus and Ratchet lost their grips and fell into the sea as the wave crested and destroyed the ramp.
All three of them plunged twenty feet below the surface of the sea as the remains of the ramp sank behind them. Optimus and Ratchet transformed back into robot mode. As they made their way upward back to the surface, a horse made of water, the Water Spirit, appeared ahead of them for a split second before vanishing. It then materialized right in front of them, making Elsa swim back as it stared at them menacingly.
"We don't fear you!" Proclaimed Ratchet.
The Water Spirit observed them with a menacing gaze for another moment before disappearing. As soon as it did, Elsa, Optimus and Ratchet managed to resurface, fighting very choppy waters as they struggled to stay afloat. They looked down and saw the Water Spirit heading straight for them. Elsa created a patch of ice and pulled herself onto it, and Optimus and Ratchet followed. They looked down and saw that the Water Spirit was still heading straight for them. Ratchet figured out that it was not on their side.
"Over my sparkless husk!" He said as he yelled out and jumped back into the water, only to be thrown out a moment later, flying a good distance away before disappearing beneath the waves.
"Ratchet!" Called Optimus.
The Water Spirit jumped out of the water, knocking Elsa and Optimus off the ice patch and sending them to the same area Ratchet ended up in. All three of them resurfaced at the same time, struggling to stay above the surface of the choppy waters.
"Ratchet! Get out of here!" Pleaded Elsa.
"No! I shall stand with you and Optimus! You both may require a medic when this is over with." Said Ratchet.
Before Elsa could say "okay", the Water Spirit rushed back toward them and forced Elsa underwater. Optimus dived after them, deployed his blasters and started shooting at the hostile water horse, but it nearly-instantly repaired the damage his shots made as it forced Elsa further and further below the surface. Unable to free herself, Elsa froze it with her ice magic. Ratchet deployed his swords and cut into the frozen Water Spirit, tearing small pieces off of it.
"I recommend dissection! The smaller the pieces, the better!"
"Sound advice, old friend!" Said Optimus as he replaced his blasters with swords and joined Ratchet in slicing the frozen Water Spirit to pieces.
It suddenly disappeared, including the small, frozen pieces sliced off of it. Elsa and the two Autobots made a break for the surface again, but they only had a moment to catch their breath before the Water Spirit returned and attacked again, sending all three of them flying.
At the top of a wave, Elsa created a hanging sheet of ice as the Water Spirit came toward them again. Ratchet yelled as he jumped forward as the sheet of ice fell on the Water Spirit, punching it as it landed to maximize the impact. They were taken underwater again. Optimus reactivated his right blaster and shot at the Water Spirit, but it disappeared before the blast could hit it. Ratchet ran across sinking chunks of ice, both swords drawn, but the Water Spirit grabbed him with its mouth and threw him to the side. Ratchet tumbled across several sinking chunks of ice before coming to a stop face down on one. The Water Spirit rushed toward him, but Ratchet heard it coming and turned around, where he sliced into its chin and neck, making it stall. As Ratchet moved closer, the Water Spirit recovered and hit him with its head, sending him crashing into a tall, submerged rock. He then fell down to a lower part of it and rolled across it, retracting his swords in the process. Elsa created a large snowflake in front of her as the Water Spirit moved in for another attack. Ratchet flew into it from its side, grabbing its head while also taking it off course and briefly restraining it before it flipped over, crushing Ratchet against another sinking chunk of ice. It then shook the Autobot medic off, where he hit another sinking chunk of ice before landing, seemingly defeated, on top of another. The Water Spirit charged back toward Elsa, shattering the snowflake with ease and hitting her head on. Ratchet witnessed it from the sinking chunk of ice he was on and found the strength to get back up and run back toward the fray, only for the Water Spirit to suddenly abandon its assault on Elsa and move back towards him, where it shoved Ratchet against the submerged rock. Ratchet grabbed the Water Spirit's head with his right hand while simultaneously holding off its front right hoof with his left. They both struggled against each other with considerable effort. Just as the Water Spirit started scraping its hoof against Ratchet's head, he pulled its hoof aside and headbutted the horse hard, making it back off. After letting out a pained neigh, the Water Spirit disappeared.
Optimus, his right sword drawn, sliced into the Water Spirit's muzzle. It backed up and tried to attack again, but Optimus blocked it and pushed the horse away. The Water Spirit sent its front right hoof forward, and while Optimus was able to force it down with his sword, he was kicked in the face with his front left hoof. The moment Optimus recovered, the Water Spirit hit him with its head, sending him flying back before he landed on his feet on a large, submerged piece of ice. Optimus retracted his sword and transformed into vehicle mode before driving toward the Water Spirit at full speed. He drove off the upward-pointing edge of the ice and hit the Water Spirit in the head hard, making it move back and sink a little. Optimus then transformed back into robot mode, but put his right leg in its vehicle mode configuration before pinning the Water Spirit to the sea floor. Optimus grinded his right leg tires against the Water Spirit's neck, inflicting noticeable damage before it grabbed him with its mouth and tossed him off to the side. Optimus landed on his hands and feet, but quickly recovered as he changed his right leg back into its robot mode configuration and ran back towards the spirit.
As Elsa made a break for the surface again, the Water Spirit moved in to attack her again, but Optimus got in the way and punched it hard in the face, making it move back. As it recovered, Optimus delivered two more heavy punches to its face before landing a wicked uppercut that sent it flying back into a huge piece of ice that broke to pieces on impact. It then fell to the sea floor with its eyes closed, but as Optimus approached to check if it was really beaten, the Water Spirit put on an aggressive glare before striking Optimus in the chest with its front left hoof, scratching his windshield.
"Water Spirit, stay down!" Ordered Optimus as he punched it in the face with his right fist, sending it back to the ground.
Further away, Ratchet got back up on his feet and rushed to assist Optimus while Elsa swam further out to sea. The Water Spirit saw it all as it recovered and aggressively glared at Optimus before bucking him hard with both its front legs at the same time, sending him flying back through the water just as Ratchet arrived, both sword reactivated. No sooner had he sliced across the right side of the Water Spirit's neck with his right sword than he noticed Optimus flying back out of the corner of his optic.
"Optimus!"
The Water Spirit quickly recovered from Ratchet's attack and took advantage of him being distracted, grabbing the Autobot medic by his shoulders with its hooves and aggressively glaring at him. Optimus slid across the sea floor before coming to a stop a ways away. A second later, Ratchet was thrown against a rock right next to him and collapsed face down. Ratchet was in the middle of recovering when the Water Spirit grabbed him with its mouth and tossed him aside. The Water Spirit then raised its front right hoof and prepared to bring it down on Ratchet's face, but it suddenly turned to ice and froze in place. Ratchet looked to his left and the Water Spirit looked to its right just as Elsa's hand stopped glowing. As the Water Spirit glared at Elsa, Ratchet pushed its frozen hoof aside before kicking it in the face with his right leg, making it back off as he slowly started recovering. The Water Spirit hit the ground hard, but recovered quickly and rushed towards Elsa without interference this time, ignoring the slowly recovering Optimus and Ratchet.
After both sides of the fight landed several more hits on each other, the Water Spirit ran along the surface of the water, dragging Elsa along by holding her left hand tightly in its mouth. Optimus and Ratchet grabbed onto its left side and held on tightly, but they were so busy making sure they didn't fall off that they couldn't attack it any further. Elsa unleashed her ice magic and created reins around the spirit's muzzle. It let go of her hand in surprise as she brought herself onto it's back. The Water Spirit furiously tried to buck her off, but she wasn't letting go, and neither were Optimus and Ratchet. They had come too far to not make it. After a prolonged intense struggle, the Water Spirit finally ran forward in the direction they wanted, obeying Elsa's command as Optimus and Ratchet continued hanging onto its left side. The Water Spirit soon lost all hostile intent, happily neighing as Elsa stroked the side of its head. In the distance was a bright, glowing, white and blue glacier between rocky mountains. Ahtohallan.
"Elsa, Ratchet, we have located Ahtohallan." Said Optimus as he retracted his battle mask.
Ratchet sighed. "At last."
"Of course! Glaciers are rivers of ice! Ahtohallan is frozen." Said Elsa.
The voice called out again, this time in an almost heavenly tone.
"I hear you. And I'm coming."
The four beelined toward Ahtohallan as the sea around them steadily got calmer to the point of being so still that it looked like glass.