Woo! Thanks for all of you guys for reading my story!

Disclaimer: I have to put this here 'cause I don't own Final Fantasy. I don't own Transformers either...Just Kai, Xan, Sage, Rowan and all the other OCs.

Thanks to:

Fantasyfan4ever - I know and the plot shall continue to thicken. XD

Mic Mov - Finally! The Pretenders have arrived! Thanks for the idea oh fanfic buddy of mine!

Raine44354 - I know, seriously. Love the movie by the way but I totally didnt make the connection until you said something about it. lol thanks for the review.

Chapter Ten

Return to the Makai

Bumblebee kneeled once they were outside the main hanger, letting Sam and the winged demon climb upon his hand. After a few twists, turns, and several corridors later they ended up in the Medical Bay.

The Medical Bay was composed of three large rooms. An operating room, which was where the Autobots needed to go when they needed to be fixed, a recovery room for extensive injuries or other ailments, and a large storage and experimentation room for Ratchet's trinkets. Of course, the Autobot medic always complained that he could have used someone called Wheeljack's expertise at building models, but he was able to accomplish building the Pretenders' protoforms by himself with the aid of some of the mechanics in NEST.

"What you are about to see may shock you, Sam. If, and when, we are in dire need of extensive recon missions, we may need to look more human than our holoforms. Holoforms are solid holograms, which are useful, but are limited to the range of motion that we are able to provide." Ratchet explained as he entered the key code into the Medical Bay's security pad.

A sudden commotion down the hallway caught their attention, but Ratchet just ignored it. He motioned the three of them into the Medical Bay and led them into the adjoining room where Ratchet's experiments were. There were seven human sized spindly robots lying on human sized medical berths. The funny thing about them was that they actually looked…mostly human. Well, except for the part where they were made of metal.

"Ratchet, what are they?" Sam asked in awe as Bumblebee put him down. Even Rowan seemed to be in a bit of awe as he jumped off of the Autobot medic's hand, gliding over to the human sized berths. There were also quite a few Autobot sized berths as well – probably about twelve or so. There were also empty human sized berths – probably for new human sized robots.

"These are the Pretender protoforms that I have created to take place of our holoforms. When they are properly activated they will mesh with our robotic forms in a small container that I shall install in all of us, but for now they will be used for blending in with the natives of the Makai. Each of them has been programmed based on the classes of video game characters…Final Fantasy I believe it was called. I thought it appropriate for the situation." The Autobot medic explained, leading Bumblebee over to one of the larger berths.

Both of the smaller beings watched transfixed as Bumblebee laid back on one of the berths.

"Basically you I have to transplant a bit of your spark into one of the Pretenders. Then, once your spark has taken, you can transfer your consciousness to the Pretender, just like you would with a holoform." The medic explained as he popped open the Autobot's spark chamber. A pair of tiny tweezers protruded from Ratchet's hand and slowly extracted a part of Bumblebee's spark. The look on the Autobot scout's face was indescribable.

"Bee, you alright?" Sam asked with a worried look on his face. Ratchet was inserting the small piece of spark into the Pretender's chest while Optimus, Jazz, Ironhide, Jolt, and, unfortunately, Galloway sidled into the Medical Bay.

"And I still don't get why we have to help them! We're better off letting those…those things kill each other off!" Galloway exclaimed angrily.

"Liaison trainee Galloway, we have promised the Princess we would help if we could. Even your president has spoken along with the other world leaders. We will help them. It is final." Optimus spoke, glaring down at the annoying human. It took a lot of prodding to make Optimus Prime angry and so far Galloway was doing a fine job.

Suddenly, Sideswipe appeared in the Medical Bay doorway along with Lennox and Epps.

"Sorry, the little squishy got away from me." the silver Autobot warrior said, plucking Galloway up by the back of his shirt. Once he was towed away, Ratchet had the other Autobots lie down on the free berths. The Autobot medic explained the procedure to the others and went to lie down on a berth himself. He was fairly confident that Jolt was able to perform the procedure on him without any repercussions.

Jolt was an extremely good medic and performed the spark transplants easily. He waited until the spark pieces took hold, then the Autobots powered down and transferred their consciousness to the Pretenders.

Bumblebee was the first to 'wake' as the Pretender his spark was transferred into started functioning. He looked around amazed at how…well…small he was. Suddenly, Jolt started to instruct them on choosing a 'skin'. A skin was how they would look as their human mode. Basically it was the same as their holoform, but it was different as well since they were going to blend in with the Youkai.

Bumblebee went first since he was the first to wake. He downloaded the proper information into his processor and watched in awe as skin slipped over his metal and spindly skeleton. Sam's awe dropped as he watched his friend's Pretender slip into its human form for the first time. Bumblebee looked like he stepped out of a Final Fantasy video game.

His blond hair was short and spiky and a black headband was on his forehead, covered by a set of thin but strong goggles. There was a black archer's cap on his head with two feathers on each side shaped like a wing. He was wearing a tight black tee shirt with a dark yellow half vest that was zipped up, loose yellow pants with a wide black sash with yellow embroidery and black ninja shoes that looked like they would be found in the show Naruto. He wore black and yellow fingerless gloves. There was a bow and quiver of arrows on his back and a small dagger attached to his sash. In Final Fantasy he would be classified as a cross between a scout and a thief.

"Whoa, Bee! You look awesome, dude!" Sam yelled as he approached his friend. Bumblebee grinned as well, thanking his friend as the brunette teen circled around him.

"I'm glad you approve, Sam." He said, clearly happy that his voice was available to him while he was a Pretender. The Autobot scout turned back to the others still on their berths, calmly waiting for them to mesh into their new human forms.

Next up was Jazz. He was still in a slight shock as he stared at his skin in amazement while he downloaded the information. When he was finished he was surprised to see that he had fairly tanned skin – but not dark like an African American's skin like people would normally think – and possessed spiked chin length black hair. Both his and Bumblebee's eyes were bright electric blue.

Jazz was wearing a black sleeveless martial arts shirt with matching pants. A silver sash went around his waist and he was wearing matching arm warmers. On his black clothing there were red outlines, clearly making his clothes pop and stand out. He wore a silver headband and black martial arts shoes. In Final Fantasy terms he would be a cross between an assassin and a monk. A wooden bo staff was attached to his back and there were throwing knives hidden in his arm warmers.

Ironhide had a thick head of brown hair, but it was shaved in a sort of military buzz cut. Like the others his eyes were bright electric blue as well. Ironhide was wearing loose brown breeches and a sleeveless red tunic. The tunic was semi-long, reaching the middle of Ironhide's thigh. He wore a black belt equipped with a sword to keep his tunic closed. Underneath the tunic he wore a skin tight three quarter length blue shirt; it resembled cold gear that runners would wear. On his feet were clunky brown hiking boots and he wore thick shoulder pads where the straps crossed over his chest. On his hands were brown leather gloves. In the world of Final Fantasy, Ironhide would be classified as a cross between a fighter and a knight.

Ratchet had a head full of blond hair, much like Bumblebee, but it was a darker yellow, almost dirty blond. He had spectacles resting on his nose and, of course, possessed bright electric blue eyes. He wore a brown short sleeved shirt and brown breeches with a black belt. He wore soft brown shoes and wore a green choker. He wore a dark forest green half vest that had a small clasp and, last but not least, he wore an intricately elaborate white trench coat with silver buckles on the sleeves. Ratchet carried an intricate staff with a clear crystal on the end; the crystal was incased in the white wood of the staff and almost looked like Gandalf the White's staff. He also had a bag filled with books. Ratchet would be classified as a cross between a scholar and a white mage.

Last, but certainly not least, was Optimus Prime. Optimus had brown hair, like Ironhide, but it was a long enough to be pulled back into a neat ponytail. He, like all of the others, also possessed the bright electric blue eyes. Optimus wore a tight black shirt with a red and blue thigh length jacket and a tattered black cape. A red hat with a wide brim was on his head and a blue feather adorned the side of the hat. He wore a white belt that held a sword, the sword was thinner the broad sword that Ironhide was using – and he had a large shotgun situated on his back. A gun holster was also around his waist, a smaller handgun was resting against the opposite side of the sword – it was probably uncommon in the Makai, but he was used to using a gun. A sling filled with bullets was across his chest. Optimus was wearing worn black boots, tight black leather fingerless gloves and a crimped tie. In Final Fantasy terms he would be classified as a mix of a red mage and a rogue.

Sam simply stared at them before starting to clap. The Autobots looked amazing! Truthfully they looked like they had walked out of a Final Fantasy video game…and could actually pull it off! He looked to the side and saw Rowan nodding to himself.

"You look fine. You'll blend in. Now let's get going." The winged demon sighed as he went to the open area of the Medical Bay. He was going to be extremely tired after his trip through the two worlds. The Autobots, Sam, and the two NEST agents followed behind him and complied when the winged demon requested that they form a circle and hold hands. As long as they were connected to someone that was touching him then they would be transported as well.

Rowan sighed as he concentrated on the shadows and on the path back to the Makai. He had a feeling that something important was going to be happening that he needed to be there for…and he had a sinking suspicion that whatever it was included the Princess.

The shadows around him started to dance, surrounding the group who had joined hands. This would be different than transporting just three people, including himself. There were nine people he was transporting. So instead of opening a portal, they sank into the shadows that covered the ground, becoming one with the shadows and exiting the shadows in the courtyard outside the Resistance's manor in the Makai.

"Well, welcome to the Makai." Rowan said before letting go of Lennox and Sam's hands. The others dropped their hands as well as they stared at the large building in front of them.

"Let's go see Kai!" Sam exclaimed as someone came through the front door. It wasn't Kai, as the brunette teen so hoped it would be, but Sage. He looked worried about something. Sam's heart shuddered painfully as he thought about why he would be worried. Was Kai hurt? Was she ill? Was she in danger?

"Sam…Kai needs you." Was all he said before Sam dashed into the house. The others followed him as he sped through the hallways and up the stairs. He had a feeling that she would be talking to that mysterious lady…Xan, who was also Sage's mother.

He burst into Xan's room unannounced, truly bothered by Kai's worried and sleep deprived face. She had light bags under her eyes and her hair was dull; her eyes weren't shining as she snapped her head to look at him. Once she realized it was Sam her eyes lit up and she launched herself into his arms.

"Kai? Baby girl, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong?" he frantically asked as her eyes began to shimmer. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she buried her face into Sam's chest.

"Kai has been receiving death threats since you've been gone. Time runs differently here, Sam. It's been eight days since you've been gone. She's been receiving the threats for the past five days." Xan exclaimed as the others finally made it into the room. Kai looked up and was excited to see both Epps and Lennox.

"Lennox! Epps!" she cried before separating herself from Sam and giving them each long hugs. Lennox, who still had the strange fascination with the silver haired Princess' ears, laughed happily before petting them. Epps did the same and they shared a smirk as she started purring.

At last she drew back and sighed in content as Sam wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering soothing words in her ears. She looked over at the last five members of their group – Rowan had slinked off somewhere – and was startled by the intensity of their blue eyes. The archer looked at her and grinned, sparking off a sudden realization.

"Bumblebee?" she gasped, eyes becoming wide before she grinned back. The Cavalry had arrived.