With the introduction of new characters and new plot. I think many of you will find this chapter to be quite enjoyable. Quite, quite.

I want to keep enough action in the story to keep all of you interested as well as keeping the development of the story fresh and new. So, death for some may be a thing in the future, but only OC's or unimportant tag characters.

Sooo... with that out of the way. Go ahead and read the new installment of 'TPiAB'.

Have fun reading!

Summary: Nick and Judy were partners in the ZPD police force, and they were damn good together. After Judy is abducted by an underground, prey-hunting organization, it's up to Nick to find her. Not only does Judy have to survive the insanity of of her captors, but now Nick must dive into a world that he had never thought could exist. His love will push him to save Judy no matter what.

Words this Chapter: 4,737 (Excluding A:N's and Bold Text.)

Chapter 2: Red Meating

The night felt long and tiresome, Nick thought. It had been a much longer day than he had anticipated, although getting shot was something to brag about back at the station. Nick smiled, remembering Judy and how worried the two were for each other's safety more so their own in those moments of terror. It was something Nick loved to dwell on, especially thinking back on it when the doctor had to stitch up Nick's wounds and then run through some tests. He had apparently hit his head, at least that's what Judy had mentioned when Nick had been shot.

It was quite embarrassing to think that he passed out because of being shot, but the pain that had occurred was enough to knock Nick on his ass, or in this case his head. The concussion, Nick had noticed, had made him slightly dizzy. Although, the doctor had said that it was minor and to just sit down and relax if the dizziness had come back. Nick only nodded and gave grunts of agreement through the whole process, stuck on the thought of Judy.

"Officer Wilde?" The doctor asked standing as he was about to leave. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah I'm fine! Just a bit tired." Nick replied with a small laugh. "It's been a long day..."

The doctor laughed, nodding his head in agreement. "Yes, I would believe it to be. Not everyday someone gets shot!" The joke got across to Nick, him giving a small chuckle.

"Yeah, well I hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon..." Nick said sarcastically. "Say doc, any chance of me getting outta here tonight? I don't like hospitals all too much."

"Yes, of course!" The doctor replied with a smile. "Just be sure to relax and take it easy, though most Officers just come back more banged up than they did coming in."

"No worries there, if I can get a reason to be lazy, I'm taking it." Nick said standing. He attempted to stretch his rather sore arm, but the sling reminded him to leave it alone.

"Well, Goodbye Officer Wilde." The doctor said with a friendly wave as he stepped out.

"Yeah, thanks for fixing me up." Nick said watching the doctor leave the room, the door clicking softly shut as the doctor left the room. Nick, picking up his police hat and putting it on, began to make his way out of the room. Knowing that Judy had most likely gone home to sleep off the hectic day, Nick decided that calling up a taxi for himself was probably a better idea. Nick knew from experience that waking a sleep deprived bunny, or Judy in this case, was NEVER a good idea.

Nick, stopping by the front desk of the hospital, asked the front desk attendant if using the phone would be alright. She obliged after Nick explained that he had left his phone in his squad car and didn't have any other form of communication. Nick, quickly called the Zootopia taxi service, being sure to give them the location of his pickup, how he was a fox, and where he needed to get to.

Deciding to wait in the lobby, Nick waited for about five minutes or so before seeing a taxi cab roll up into the hospital's entrance driveway and parking softly. Throwing down his magazine of Animals he quickly made his way outside and into the cab, greeting a tiger who was less than talkative. Nick enjoyed the silence though, and also enjoyed the soft jazz playing on the radio. Nick always had a soft spot for jazz, though he could listen to other music and enjoy it, jazz always sparked something in him that felt good. Rolling down the window, Nick let in the crisp night air and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, Nick took a deep breath, trying to take in all the fresh air he could.

"Do you mind if the window is open?" Nick asked the taxi driver.

"No, the night is good this night. I do not mind." The striped tiger replied softly. Nick only nodded his head and turned back to the open window, watching the lights of the city pass by in a soft haze of light and darkness.

Nick loved nights like these, anything could happen. That kind of mystery intrigued Nick, especially tonight.

Thinking back to earlier today, Nick knew that the shooter and all of the events that followed were going to inquire a ton of paperwork, which he and Judy both equally hated. Judy always mentioned hate was a strong word, but rather disliked was a more appropriate term. Nick always knew deep down that she hated paperwork, because of the groans that could sometimes be heard when Judy had been assigned the 'pen and paper' duty.

It was always just and evil necessity, Nick remembered saying. Judy had laughed at that, making the memory more fond for Nick.

It hadn't taken long for the taxi to arrive at Nick's apartment, especially since his mind had been distracted with memories and plans of the future. Thanking the cab driver, and tipping generously for the late night pick up, Nick left the cab and walked up to his apartment building's front door and entered. Yawning softly, Nick made his way up to his apartment floor, ready to go to sleep.

When he had finally gotten inside his small apartment and reached his bed, he landed with a thud and a soft groan as he removed his uniform, leaving only his boxers. Pulling the blanket of his bed over him, Nick dug himself in for a good nights sleep and hoping that after today, Judy was having an equally relaxing night.

It had been strange, Nick thought, that Judy hadn't checked up on him. Though he didn't give it much though as the exhaustion and the soreness in his arm pushed him further into a deeper sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and Nick was fully prepared to face it with his bunny partner.

Judy ~ 12:00 AM

It was quiet, and the darkness was painful to Judy. The compounding pain of her head and her sore muscles screamed at her, only making the aching worse. She knew she had done a number on that cheetah, though in her drug induced state, Judy could barely remember a damn thing. Let alone the ability to even open her eyes, which seemed to refuse opening. Was it fear? Or just the tranquilizer? Judy was afraid to know the answer to that question, but she knew eventually that she would need to open her eyes to the reality around her.

There was only a soft hum of air, and the occasional cough from an animal from outside whatever container or room she was in. Judy's body felt somewhat contorted to her, the soft pain of being laid in an extremely uncomfortable position was only adding to the aching in her body... in her head. The cold floor beneath her making her feel like a popsicle, so much in fact that she shuddered. The trembling could be felt throughout her body as she shivered against the cold hard floor. Smooth concrete, and there was a constant breeze, coming from the door? Or possibly or hole? Judy didn't know, but she did know that meant there had to be an exit of some sort.

The courage it took for Judy to open her eyes, only seemed sapped away when she finally opened them, only to find the same darkness there was when her eyes had been closed. Originally, she assumed that she somehow went blind, but the draft from whatever opening there was, reassured her when her eyes began to water. Blinking rapidly to remove the tears that formed, Judy stretched to feel around the area she was in. Feeling nothing she, slowly she sank back into her sitting position.

"Why... me?" Judy asked herself. The way her voice scratched and broke made her realize for just how long she may have been out... It scared her in a way she had never thought she could have been scared. The cough outside her dark prison being the only sign of life to Judy... the only thing to confirm that she wasn't alone. That did not make her feel any better.

Judy, slowly but surely began moving her aching body. The soft creak in her petite bones shifting as she weakly pushed herself up. Even without her sight, the room around her spun and made her stomach lurch. Shakily holding her hand to her mouth, Judy took in deep, shaky breaths attempting to calm herself and her stomach. The fear of the unknown had always gotten to Judy, but this was on a whole new level. Everything about her was gripped with fear. Her ears flapped noisily behind her head, her nose twitching softly and her hands shaking uncontrollably. When she attempted to stand, it was in vain as her legs refused to move at all.

She twisted around attempting to find some kind of foundation or bar to bring herself up on her own. She reached out, grasping for something to hold... something to support her. In that moment, Judy wanted to feel in control of something, and her standing seemed to be the one thing that would allow her to feel that.

"Come on..." Judy said to herself, or rather her legs, just to coax them in some silly way. "You've always worked before, so why won't you-"

Without warning, Judy's eyes seared in pain as the room she was in became flush with bright, searing light. She screamed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her face with her arms, in some desperate way to shield herself from the blinding light.

"The bunny is awake." A voice boomed all around her. "Such a cute bunny too."

"W-w-who...s ther..e" Judy shook as her eyes, still shut tight began to slowly crack open. The pure light searing her eyes and keeping her blind to the room.

"Oh..." The voice returned, as if it was mocking Judy's fear. "Judy, I'm your friend."

Judy, knowing now that the voice was coming from some sort of speaker, or intercom began to open her eyes. Squinting, she slowly opened them, blinking in the light as she slowly lowered her arms.

"H-how do you kno-w my name?" Judy asked with more confidence.

"Well, I've been following you for awhile..." The anonymous animal replied. "Ever since you got rid of little 'ol Bellwether."

"Wait? What?" Judy asked, her nose twitching in fear.

"It's not that hard little bunny. Quite simple really." The voice replied in a mockingly stupid way. Seemingly to make fun of Judy's confusion. "I've been watching you Judy Hopps. I've wanted to meet you since the day you turned the city against predators."

Judy, still utterly confused and scared only sat in response.

"Listen, I'll be down in a few seconds." The voice said slowly. The creepiness sent a shiver up Judy's spine. "I want to meet you. Animal to Animal."

Judy, quickly attempting to look for a way out began to search the room. Attempting once more to stand, Judy threw herself up thankful that her legs had finally decided to work with her instead of against her. The room she was in was fairly large and consisted of buzzing fluorescent lights. The walls of the room were surprisingly white and the room floor was still the same concrete that she had awoke from. Across the room was a small plastic formed mattress. No sheets and no pillows. Looking back around the room she noticed a large metal door that sat opposite of her.

Running to the door quickly, Judy pulled on the handle and even pushed. In a vain attempt to free her from the room. The door, not budging even an inch, convinced Judy that there was no way she was getting out of the room. Her ears, picking up soft fallen footsteps, alerted Judy that someone had been walking towards the door. As a last ditch plan, Judy got into a kneeling position, ready to push off as soon as the door was opened.

Holding her position, Judy continued to strain her ears to pick up the footsteps as the grew louder and more prevalent. As soon as the footsteps stopped right outside the door, Judy bolted up, ready to full sprint pass whatever lay on the other side. The clunk of the door unlocking made Judy twitch, but as soon as she saw that the door opened, she bolted towards the door and slammed into whoever stood there. She assumed it was the voice that was talking to her, but didn't care as she crashed into the unknown animal and quickly picked herself up.

Judy, noting the hallway she was running in, made it seem like wherever she was it was expensive. Running through the hallway, Judy slowly noticed that she had no idea where she was going and just how lost she was. Turning to the left, Judy heard quick footsteps as she ran down the hall. She could barely tell that they were headed her way, so in a n attempt to hide, she quickly ran to a door that had been in the hallway she was currently lost in.

Opening the door and quickly shutting it behind her, she felt the darkness of the room consume her. The smell in particular made Judy gag, the smell of iron was strong, but she refused to acknowledge it until she knew that whatever threat was outside was gone. The chill in the room was particularly strong, making Judy shiver.

"Okay Judy. So far so good..." She whispered to herself as she tried to calm her shaking hands. The footsteps that she had heard earlier, ran past whatever room she was in and eventually faded to nothing as the shouts of orders and commands could be heard through walkie talkies.

Judy, wanting to see if there was a way out in the room, began to skim the wall for a lightswitch. Judy eventually found what she was looking for and quickly flipped on the lights, smiling as she looked at the switch before turning around.

What she saw was enough to make her scream in terror as she backed against the wall, her hands covering her mouth. Tears began to stream down her face as she looked upon the gruesome scene.

Small prey and large alike hang from the ceiling on meathooks, their maws slacking open with their tongues lolling out, and their eyes, having rolled into the backs of their heads. The rom Judy was in, softly glowed in pale yellow light, a kitchen or storage of some kind. Judy cried as she looked upon a row of bunnies, all hanging from their respective hooks, the only fur left on their bodies, being the fur around their head. She sobbed in fear as she looked at the gruesome tools that had most like been used to carve and skin the animals before her. The prey that Judy was looking upon, seemed to be something of a sick memory of the history museum and the advanced hunting tactics of predators well before peace could be made between the species. Judy wanted it all to be fake. There was just no way for this to exist, but the smell alone only reinforced the horrible, disgusting fact.

Blood was dripping into buckets below each animal, making the soft patter of the room seem that much worse than it had sounded when Judy entered previously to escape her captors. Their was a singular, metallic table across from her that was seemingly stained red with blood. Trying not to vomit, Judy looked away from the scene only to find herself looking upon the skin and fur of the animals, red and butchered, hanging from the wall across from her. Judy, no longer being able to hold back her sickness, Judy fell to her knees and violently threw up. Though there wasn't much in her stomach so most of it was dry heaving and the occasional drool that followed.

Tears staining her face and the ever increasing need to leave the room immediately, Judy stood and quickly pushed the door open, not caring what was on the other side of the door. Practically falling out of the room, Judy slammed into a pair of legs, dressed in soft suit pants. Looking up, Judy saw a wolf with a scar slashing down on his closed eye looking back at Judy with a sickly smile.

"Oh, Judy. If you're hungry, you should've just asked!" The wolf said, the few men behind him chuckling. Judy, with fear obvious on her face could only fall back, her mouth agape with fear as she saw the men stand in front of her, no emotion playing as they looked into the kitchen. Judy, for a second, thought she saw hunger in their eyes. A primal hunger that filled her with fear.

"What is all of this?!" Judy yelled in fearful tone, grasping the attention of the predators now in front of her.

"What is this?" The wolf replied raising his eyebrow in mock confusion. "Well, it's our dinner of course."

"You know what I mean!" Judy yelled back, the her voice breaking. The wolf only grabbed her by her neck, slamming her against the wall, holding her there.

"Don't patronize me, Judy." The wolf said, getting in Judy's face. With how close he was to Judy, she couldn't help but look at who she was finally dealing with.

The wolf in question had tanish brown fur, with soft greys moving across his face. The most notable, to Judy, was the rather nasty scar that ran a ragged path down his left eye. The fleshy scar scared Judy more, the wolf's other eye staring her down with the glare of a crisp yellow and a glint of satisfaction shining in his pupil. His breath smelled terribly, forcing Judy to look away, the unpleasing smell turning her stomach. The wolf was dressed in a light grey suit, the red tie flashing brightly against the wolf's clothing and fur. His voice, was gruff and menacing when he had threatened her, although when he was calm, his voice was soft. The factor of the kitchen only worsened Judy's mood as he tightened his grip on her neck.

"Why are you doing this?!" Judy asked, wheezing through each word. He only chuckled softly, softly running his paw down Judy's cheek, smearing the tears into her fur. Judy jerked from his paw, her nose twitching in fear.

"Well... prey tastes... good." The wolf replied shrugging as he looked at his men behind him for some kind of approval, the three predators behind him happily agreed with soft 'Yeahs' and high fives. Judy, disgusted by the predators in front of her only fought harder as she kicked away at the wolf.

"You're a monster!" Judy screamed as she pushed away from the wolf, who only tightened his grip on her throat, choking her. "You're... ins..ane!"

"Oh, nonono. I'm a predator." The wolf said, bringing his maw directly to her face. His voice gruff with hunger and delight. "And you're my prey."

Nick ~ 2:45 PM

"Come on Judy, you know that's not true." Nick said scruffing her head lightly. "Nobody cares enough to do anything about it anyway!"

"I... I know Nick, but... what if we get fired?" Judy replied, worry coursing through her. "Or worse?!"

"Listen, Judy..." Nick said kneeling in front of her with a quirky smile. "I love you no matter what. Nothing is going to change that. Not Bogo, not this city and definitely not some stupid taboo."

"Yeah... I guess you're right Nick..." Judy said, Nick reassuring voice finally convincing her. She blushed softly as she looked up at him with a smile. "I love you - BEEP BEEP BEEP."

"Wait what?" The look on Judy's face had not changed, but the strangely familiar sound that came from her surprised him. "Are you okay Judy? You sick?"

"What? No!" Judy replied softly punching his arm. "I said I - BEEP BEEP BEEP."

"What is going on?" Nick stated standing back from Judy, who face was blank.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Nick awoke, his eyes heavy and his mouth dry. Groaning softly, Nick forced himself up and pushing away from his comfortable pillow. The incessant beep of his alarm clock, beginning to anger him. Making a fist, he practically punched the alarm clock's snooze button, silencing its constant alarm. Falling onto his back, Nick softly rubbed his eyes, before stretching out his one arm with a thick yawn.

Pushing himself off the bed, and tasting the morning breath he had, Nick headed straight to his bathroom. Stepping in and switching on the lightswitch, the room filling with a soft yellow light. Nick proceeded to brush his teeth and complete his morning routine, though it had been around 2 or so when he had awoken, though he was too tired to have noticed the time on his alarm clock when waking up. Nick was never good with waking up, he shared that little habit with Judy. Removing his sling and the old bandage around his wound, Nick hopped into the shower washing away the grime of yesterday and being sure to be extremely tender with the stitched wound on his arm. The warm, running water soothed his wound, relaxing him as he stood under the soft spray of the showerhead.

After finishing his shower, Nick stepped out, dried off, and wrapped his arm in the extra bandage that the doctor had given him to keep the wound clean. Finishing his morning, or rather afternoon routine, Nick finally decided to get clothed. It was his day off, but Nick knew all to well that he would probably get called into the station for the paperwork, though he knew that he and Judy would see no field work today due to yesterday's events.

Not wanting to bother with his uniform, Nick just threw on his off day outfit, his soft khakis and his green Hawaiian button up shirt. Applying the sling to his injured arm, Nick suddenly remembered that he had left his phone in the squad car, meaning that Judy had most likely dropped off the cruiser at the station lot and even more likely his phone would be dead. Before leaving the room, Nick stuffed his policed badge into his shirt's pocket, before entering the lobby of his apartment building ready to leave.

Nick decided to walk to the station, rather than call another taxi cab. Usually Judy would have been there to pick him up, but after noticing that she was not parked in their usual pick up spot, he assumed that she had been at the office, cracking down on the paperwork. Although Finnick used to drive him, ever since Nick had become a cop, the small ex-partner in crime avoided Nick. Nick understood though, and didn't judge Finnick for his choice as he had never expected to become a cop himself.

Nick knew the walk to the station wouldn't be bad, it being just a small 30 minute walk or so. Usually he enjoyed cutting that to 10, but Judy had not been there to pick him up. Stuffing his paw into his pocket, Nick shuffled down the empty sidewalk, enjoying the morning summer air.

The walk itself had not been to bad, although he did almost trip over a couple of mice, who was equally at fault, but still griped and hollered at him in their squeaky and irritating voices. Nick had finally approached the station and was walking up the stairs, when he noticed that two officers who were standing outside, suddenly looked at him with weird looks. They almost looked... guilty? Ashamed? Nick was usually good at reading faces, but the minute he looked their way they immediately turned away from him and began to walk away. Nick had assumed that animals had gotten over a fox cop, but maybe some things couldn't change.

Nick only shrugged as he walked into the station his sly smile comfortably plastered on his face. The station had been eerily quiet and somewhat empty, Nick could only assume animals were stuck with paperwork, or a meeting had been taking place that required every mammal in the station. Which never happened. Nick's smile disappeared as he walked further into the station and to the front desk where Clawhauser sitting at the front desk looking rather depressed.

Mentally kicking himself, Nick remembered that Claahauser's birthday had been yesterday and he had entirely forgotten! Judy was going to destroy Nick for this, thinking of the next best thing, Nick approached the front desk getting Clawhauser's attention.

"Hey, Clawhauser." Nick greeted slowly. Clawhauser, looking up in surprise leaned over the desk looking at Nick with a mix of sadness and pity... somewhat as if he was hiding something. Clawhauser picked up the front desk phone and silently informed someone of something, though Nick couldn't hear as his chubby friend whispered into the phone.

"Hey... Nick." Clawhauser said, his usual gay (Happy) emotion now gone. "Liste-"

"No, I know." Nick said laughing nervously. "I missed the party, I apologize man. I was so tired yesterday and I totally forgot!"

"What? Nick, haven't you heard?" Clawhauser said softly, confusing the fox.

"What do you mean...?" Nick said slowly, confused by Clawhauser's response. He noticed that Chief Bogo, his face more grim than usual, was walking towards them from the first floor's central meeting room.

"Nick... This is gonna be hard for you..." Clawhauser replied, his voice seemingly getting softer with despair. Nick's heart panged softly at the remark only adding to his confusion.

"What are you talking abouts Clawhauser?" Nick retorted back, beginning to get angry. "What the hell is going on?"

"Judy was..." Clawhauser only paused, his breath shaking lightly. Chief Bogo, now standing amongst the two, rubbed his eyes before resting his hoofs at his hips.

"Nick. You need to know something that won't be easy to hear." Chief Bogo said gruffly, his voice hoarse and more tired than usual. Nick immediately knew something was wrong the minute the Chief had said his first name. He never used first names, ever.

"Woah, hold up Chief!" Nick said stopping the Chief. "What's with the first name basis? What is going on here? Where is everyone?"

"Nick..." The Chief continued, his accent softening as he kneeled down to Nick's level. "Judy, was abducted last night."

Done. D-O-N-E. Done.

I enjoyed writing this chapter though because this is where the real story begins! Did you get the joke in the chapter's title? "Red Meating"? Get it? No... ? Well, fine whatever.

Don't you all love cliffhangers? Cause I sure do! Muhahaha!

See you all in the next installment!