Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with transformers or "The Pit and the Pendulum"

AN: I'm in a sarcastic bitcy mood so this chapter isn't going to be as serious as it probably should be but hey! (Fake cheeriness) It 's my story! (Fake cheeriness gone) where'd that come from?

Chapter 14

Saka had applied for a transfer to Kyoto the day after Koji had started school. The transfer had come through Friday. Saka was gone by Saturday. Optimus found all this out on Sunday. Optimus was not very happy about this.

"Damnit!" the Autobot leader cursed slamming his fist on his desktop.

"Optimus, that's the third time you've said that in the last five minutes. When this is over remind me to teach you some new swear words," Ultra Magnus complained. Why Optimus thought he wasn't allowed cuss was beyond his younger brother. If it was to set a good example for Koji then he was wasting his time controlling his tongue. Koji could swear more fluently than most of the hardened warriors. Ultra Magnus had found that out when Koji was thirteen.

"Magnus-" Optimus tried to break in.

"Don't even start. I know this isn't the best time to be making jokes but being to serious isn't good for you no matter what the circumstances are."

"Magnus-"

"I'll help with anything I can but you need to lighten up."

"MAGNUS!"

"What?" the confused rogue asked.

"I was going to ask who would be the best choice to tell T-Ai that Koji's been kidnapped, but since you volunteered, good luck," Optimus said, getting up to leave his office.

"What! Why can't you tell her?" Magnus asked.

"I have to tell X-brawn, Prowl, and Sideburn," Optimus said leaving his brother to figure out how to tell T-Ai that her boyfriend was missing.

'This is really getting old' Koji thought to himself. He'd been strapped down to a table watching this razor swing back and forth as it was steadily lowered toward him. It would probably slice him slowly in half in another hour or so.

Poor Scourge thought he was being so original with this torture. Koji didn't have the heart to tell the guy that a human author had already come up with this a century ago and that it had probably also been used during the Spanish Inquisition. 'Next he'll be sealing me inside a wall in a crypt or burying me alive,' the boy thought bitterly.

"Why isn't he breaking?" Scourge hissed. They'd been watching the boy since they'd started the swinging razor thing. So far they only emotion the boy had shown was exasperation. "He's supposed to be terrified!"

"I'm sure he's just in shock. He'll start being terrified any second now," Bouncer, yet another new recruit/Autobot deserter, tried to assure his commander. Inwardly he wondered why he'd left the Autobots to serve Scourge. Prime could be an overbearing, pompous asshole, but at least he wasn't insane, which the Deceptacon was beginning to suspect Scourge was.

"Yes. But let's move on to the next stage anyway," Scourge said looking too happy about the next torture.

"Umm T-Ai?" Magnus said trying to get the girl's attention. He felt weird standing in the middle the cafeteria that had been installed for the humans that worked at the base.

"Huh?" T-Ai asked between bites of her lunch. Ultra Magnus tried not to laugh at the sight of the slim girl surrounded by a mountain of food.

"I think you should come with me. We need to talk." 'Way to not freak her out smart guy,' Ultra Magnus mentally berated himself.

"Ok- uohh," She said covering her mouth running for the trashcan. Once there she promptly threw-up the food she'd just eaten.

'Great. I get to tell a sick woman that her boyfriend's been kidnapped. Why do I get stuck with all the crummy jobs?' Ultra Magnus thought.

"You said you'd talk to us when you got back," Sideburn said sitting on his recharge table.

Optimus had found the three Autobot brothers in their barrack. And they weren't happy about being left out of the loop about what had gone on that morning. 'Better just get this over with,' he thought.

"Scourge has Koji," he said without preamble.

The brothers weren't surprised. They'd known after Optimus had refused to tell them what was going on before he took off for Saka's place.

"How are we going to get him back?" Sideburn asked.

"That's the problem. We think Scourge is just out for revenge this time. Koji is no longer a valuable source of information. His only use to the Decepticons is blackmail. The likely hood of rescuing him is very low."

"So you're saying we're most likely never going to see Koji again?" Sideburn asked.

"It's a distinct possibility."

Sideburn buried his face in his hands while his brothers tried to comfort him.

"But we're not giving up hope until we know for sure what's going on. We still have to question the prisoners," Optimus said.

"We want to help with that," X-brawn said.

"No. The three of you are to emotionally involved in this," Optimus told them.

"Optimus can we talk outside," X-brawn asked leaving Prowl to take care of Sideburn.

"Of course," Optimus said following him out.

"Why do you want to keep us out of this? Really?" X-brawn asked once the door shut blocking his brothers from hearing.

"I-"

"Don't even try that bullshit you were using in there. You, Ultra Magnus, and Axel are involved in this emotionally too and I know you three aren't going to be sitting this one out," X-brawn said.

"None of us fought with Koji yesterday. Sideburn's feeling guilty and not thinking straight," Optimus told him. "We can't afford to let things get away from us. Not if we ever want to see Koji alive again."

"This isn't going to be easy on Sideburn. He thinks it's his fault that Koji in this mess," X-brawn said.

"This is in no way, shape, or form any of you three's fault," Optimus emphasized.

"Try convincing Sideburn that. The only person that can is Koji."

"T-Ai are you sure you're alright?" Ultra Magnus asked as the girl dry heaved into a bucket in the Mainframe room.

"Yeah. I'll be fine in a minute," the girl said in between heaves. True to her word the heaves stopped in a few moments.

"Does that happen often?" The rogue asked.

"Every day around lunch," she admitted.

"Is that normal?"

"For someone in my condition, yes," she said reluctantly.

"What condition is that?"

"Ummm… I'm kind of… pregnant."

AN: "Koji's Son" fans should have seen that coming a mile away.