A/N: Thanks for those who've reviewed so far (I updated pretty late last night, so it's understandable).

ShadowStrike Rising

Chapter 33

In an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of Tokyo, Sosuke and his gang, the Hollows, were searching the building for the ninja who attacked them earlier when they were trying to exterminate Shinigami in that alley. Sosuke's contact informed him that the one in question had been seen entering the warehouse they were currently occupying. Making sure each exit was covered, the Hollows proceeded to search the building in search of their prey. What they found instead was horrifying.

Charlie group had been attacked and trapped in a room, their screams unheard. Someone or something had ripped them apart like they were paper. Sosuke had seen (and done) some sick things during his time with the Hollows, but nothing he'd ever seen came close to that. He thought for a moment what could cause such damage. There was no way a human did any of this; he'd studied biology and could tell animal markings from human.

Charlie group had definitely been attacked by an animal; from the looks of the damage, the creature was as feral as they came. It had to be a bear of some sort (how one got in the middle of the city without anyone noticing was beyond him). No other creature that currently inhabited Japan was strong enough to do that kind of damage. Sosuke shook his head; now wasn't the time be thinking. He had to figure out where this animal was and take care of it (he'd pay some fine to those Animal Rights nut jobs later).

"What the fuck!" one of the Hollows voice echoed throughout the building, causing everyone moving within it to freeze. This time, they heard the cries of pain and pleas for help, along with the sound of snarling and growling. They could hear the flesh being torn from his bones. Regaining their composure and remembering just who they are, most of the Hollows stormed halls toward the room. Stopping just short of the door, the piled up as much as they could, their weapons readied for action.

With a collective nod, the doors were pushed open to reveal yet another horrific sight; a large black wolf (get it) appeared before them. His sharp teeth were stained red with the blood of their friends and his golden eyes pierced their beings. His dilated pupils made him appear even more like a deranged monster. Snapping his jaw, the wolf stalked toward them searching for his next prey. They were all so frozen with fear, their previous confidence gone.

They creature took another menacing step toward them, a low growl escaping his throat. They all stepped back, nearly falling over due to their close proximity. They were all too afraid to make a move for fear that it would provoke the beast. The creatures golden eyes roamed over them as if studying their reactions to find the weakest among them and attack. The Hollows stood their ground; they wouldn't let some overgrown mutt get the better of them.

Regaining his confidence, one of them stepped forward, "Listen up, you flea bitten mutt! I don't know if someone trained you or if you're naturally this stupid, but no one, man or mutt, attacks the Hol-" His impressive speech was cut off by the wolf lunging at him, sinking his fangs deep into his body. Blood splattered everywhere as the two struggled, everyone else looking on in complete horror. The creature ripped the flesh from the bone, shaking his head furiously.

"Fuck this!" one of them shouted.

"I'm outta here!" another said. The Hollows all turned toward the door, only to fall into a big pile, struggling to get back up. Forgetting their bond as a gang, the Hollows punched and kicked each other to be the first to reach the door and escape this nightmare. As they fought, they were unaware that the wolf had finished ripping the cocky Hollow to shreds and was now stalking them. The fighting ceased when the creature let out a loud howl before attacking.

ShadowStrike Rising

Oroku Saki sat in his desk while the monitor in front of him flickered to life, revealing the scarred face of Megatron, leader of the Decepticon army. He'd contacted Saki to discuss the terms of payment for spending the last five months digging up Cliffjumper's body. Saki knew the Lord of the Decepticons was not pleased with the news that the Autobots gained a large amount of energon thanks to their absence, but he still upheld his part of the bargain.

"Megatron," Saki greeted. "How are you?"

"Let us dispense with the pleasantries and get down to 'business'," he rasped. "During the five months we spent unearthing what was left of the Autobot Cliffjumper, the Autobots were allowed to gain a rather large stockpile of energon."

"Aren't your own energon reserves vast in number?"

"That is not the point! I need to keep the Autobots scrounging for energon in order for my true plans to come to fruition. Now that they have attained such a large amount, they will be able to interfere with my plans without pause for the next few months."

"Exactly," Saki grinned.

"You have a plan of your own, I presume?"

"Indeed," Saki's grin widened. "It involves the Autobots fighting you and MECH without failure or interruption. So long as they are distracted, my plans can be carried out. Yours can be easily carried out by my ninja, with a little tweaking."

"We shall see," Megatron nodded. "I will require a large amount of your soldiers in order to retrieve a relic that has been located in a museum."

"Sneaking around?" Shredder chuckled. "I wouldn't think that your strong suit."

"That is why I require your men."

"Very well. Contact Karai and have her deliver as many as you need." Megtron gave another nod before the screen turned black. Moments later, if flickered back to life to reveal the scarred face of Silas, the leader of MECH. "Silas. How goes Project: Chimera?"

"We have finally managed replicate as much as we can. The prototype will be operational within the next few days. Now all we need is a good place to test it. You wouldn't happen to know the name of the nearest government or military base, would you?"

Saki's smile returned, "Let me make a call."

ShadowStrike Rising

Sosuke ran around the halls of the warehouse, the cries of his comrades echoing through the walls and hallways. With them, the snarling of the wolf could be heard. Sosuke could feel his heart beat like a bongo drum against his chest. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he searched for the nearest door. Surely one of them had to be an exit.

The wolf let out another howl as large footsteps pounded on the floor, getting louder. Sosuke's heart was beating even faster now (he'd definitely lost a few years of his life tonight). Finding the nearest door, he turned the knob to find it unlocked (he thanked Kami for that) and hid inside. He quickly hid himself inside a storage crate. Slamming the door shut, Sosuke hid at the edge of the metal box, waiting in silence.

His thoughts raced to how he'd gotten into this mess. He remembered cornering the Shinigami in that alley, prepared to finish them once and for all. There were only three left in the alley (he would gladly deal with the rest later) when some ninja showed up and attacked. He'd severely injured Kaname, putting him in the hospital. While Sosuke couldn't care less what happened to his easily replaceable right hand, he still decided to make an example out of this ninja.

His contact in the outskirts of Tokyo informed him that the ninja had been seen going into the warehouse, so that's where Sosuke decided to bury him. He led just about all of his gang into the warehouse, intent on showing them just how powerful the Hollows truly were. He'd spent all day coming up with ways to make the ninja scream before he blew his brains out. He didn't expect the night to end up like this; trapped in a storage container, hiding from some kind of monster. A feral growl broke his train of thought.

Sosuke stood still while he heard the sounds of the creature's feet pounding against the floor. Each slam of its paw on the pavement drove Sosuke closer to running out of the container and high tailing it out there. He remained still as he heard the creature stalk around the metal crate, possibly having Sosuke's scent. The Hollows leader had to think quickly if he was going to get out here alive. Suddenly, he remembered something important.

He had an explosive, one he'd been saving for the ninja when he was through making him scream. He knew it had enough power to level a small portion of the warehouse and kill whatever was in its radius. It was perfect; all he needed to set it and run like Hell. Without another thought, Sosuke clamped the bomb against the walls of the crate. He knew he'd probably just attracted the wolf's attention, but he was too excited to care.

He heard growling and feet pounding against the floor, but he'd just set the bomb to explode in the next 60 seconds so he didn't really care. Without another thought, he jolted from the metal crate, ignoring the wolf's snarling, and bolted for the nearest exit. It was all so clear to him now; the exit was the door across the hall. Had the situation not been so serious, he would have laughed. He pushed the door open and was met with the cool night air.

He continued running until he heard a large explosion and felt a shockwave push him forward. He landed on the ground in slight pain, but he was alive. He opened his eyes find a portion of the building was on fire. That must have been the part he set the bomb in; the part where the wolf was. A large grin spread over his face as he began laughing like a mad man, happy to be alive.

"Yeah!" he shouted. "Take that you son of a bitch! That'll teach you to mess with Sosuke, leader of the Hollows! Let that be warning to anyone who wants to fuck with me!" He kept on laughing like a crazy person, twirling around as if he were a ballerina. HIs laughter was cut short by a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to find a black blade piercing him; turning, he came face to face with ShadowStrike. The ninja's outfit was charred from the explosion and he was panting heavily.

They both fell to the ground as the burning warehouse illuminated the night sky.

ShadowStrike Rising

A/N: Got leave here for right now since I love to leave you guys wanting more ;) Next time: An injured ShadowStrike is taken back to the Autobot base. Meanwhile, MECH puts their plan into motion.