AN: Attention please!

Okay. You want it- you've got it! This chapter is an alternate, yet not equivalent ending to The Case of Butcher's Den. That is to say, I recognize the first as original, and this one is added just for fun/literary purposes. It is an AU, what if type of concept.

I would not want this scenario to actually happen, and I do not think that it is very probable that it would. I do not condone the actions and decisions undertaken by the characters. This version follows the more noir, or dark theme of the story, so if you're not in the mood for macabre at the moment, or if it would spoil your view of this story and its original outcome, don't read it. Or perhaps read it next Halloween.

Now, if you still want to continue, imagine that chapters 17-21 never happened, and all the carnivores are still alive. I suggest you re-read chapter 16 (or even some of the earlier ones) before continuing to put yourself in the right mood.

ALTERNATE ENDING – Chapter 17 Beta

He woke up panting, and at first everything was dark. He knew that it was a nightmare that terminated his slumber, but he couldn't recall what exactly he dreamt of. Turning around in panic, he tried to recognize where he was.

Then, slowly, he began to realize that the darkness was simply the result of being blinded by the light of an incandescent lamp. Calming down a bit, he found himself in bed, inside a poorly-furnished room with no windows. The ceiling fan was whirring, and an electronic clock on top of a shelf by his bedside showed five-to-seven AM.

Suddenly, a door on the other side of the room opened, and he strained his aching muscles to lift himself up and see who was about to enter. The animal, which gasped as soon as he saw him awake, was a male cat with a milky-white pelt, dressed in a simple shirt and pants.

"Mr. Wilde!" uttered the astonished feline. "I'm so glad to see you awake, finally!"

He then approached the fox's bed. Nick himself, however, was feeling very nauseous and confused. Looking up at the visitor with his tired, narrowed eyes, he asked him in a whisper:

"Am I… in jail?"

In response to that unusual inquiry, the cat chuckled merrily.

"Ha! Goodness no, of course not! Where'd you get that idea from?"

The fox took a look around, noticing that he was hooked up to an IV. His right paw was all covered in bandages. He was wearing his old shirt, but the buttons had been sewed back on. Plus, someone had also washed his clothes.

"Is this a hospital…?" he mumbled again, unable to understand why speaking caused him so much difficulty.

The feline by his bedside continued to grin mysteriously.

"That's not it, either. You're still in Butcher's Den. This is one of the living quarters in the basement- they're used when the workers need to stay overnight," he explained, looking at Nick with concern afterward. "Don't you remember anything?"

"Bits and pieces…" the fox groaned and turned his head when the cat attempted to touch his forehead. He then immediately felt a strong pain, both in his head and in his stomach. "Ugh! Who are you, anyway?"

"Don't you recognize me? Ah yes, we were never properly introduced… My name is doctor Rooford Katzenhaus. I'm a veterinarian. I've been taking care of you for the past two days, Mr. Wilde."

Straining his eyes, Nick indeed saw that the feline's face was familiar. He then remembered the carnivorists' monthly rally, and one of the rookie new members who stood on top of the platform by Oscar Fangley's side, embarrassed of being naked in front of so many other animals.

"Yeah, I recognize you…" he moaned, collapsing on top of his pillow. And then something else reached him. "But, two days…? Why have I been asleep for so long?"

The vet, now looking seriously troubled, rubbed his chin and asked:

"What's the last thing you can remember, Mr. Wilde? Do you remember… your hunt?"

The hunt… Nick whimpered internally. So the nightmares are real, after all…!

"I… I remember how it started…" he stammered, dark thought flooding his mind as he attempted to bring back his last murky memories. "I remember that I lurked, hiding… and how I ran… how I ran after… Uhh!"

A painful groan issuing from his throat, the fox covered his face with his only good paw. Then, turning toward the cat in despair, he uttered:

"Doc, you gotta tell me what the hell happened! Were you there? Please… What did I… what did I do?!"

"Calm down, Mr. Wilde! Everything is okay!" Katzenhaus said soothingly, putting a paw on his injured right arm. "I weren't there in person, but the other employees told me everything. They said it was quite a spectacle…"

Gazing at the cat with eyes wide open, the fox pricked up his ears, awaiting a terrible announcement.

"I've heard you cornered your prey like an experienced hunter," continued the vet. "Even Butcher himself was impressed. The rabbit did not give up without a fight, however… The others, who watched the whole hunt in the surveillance room, told me that, just before you bit into her windpipe, she bit you on your left ear. I-I did what I could, but I'm afraid that you're missing a piece of your earlobe…"

Nick quickly lifted his left paw to his ear and noticed that, indeed, the whole thing was swaddled in bandages… along with most of his head.

"What then?" he hurried the vet's relation.

"Then… well, then that rabbit kicked you in the face. Whence the black eye, which you're probably unable to see for yourself. You will though, as soon as you look into the mirror."

The fox cursed internally…

"And then?!" he growled at the cat, who bit his lip and frowned rather sadly.

"Uhm, I don't know how it happened… The other guys told me that she was lying by a tool rack or something... Anyway, before you were able to attack her again, your prey managed to find a wrench… She hit you on the head with it, and once on the jaw. I don't know if you've noticed, but your lower left fang is chipped… We're going to have to get you to a dentist, eventually."

Nick inspected the tooth mentioned by Katzenhaus with his tongue. Indeed, half of it was missing. The left side of his face was swollen, and he discovered that to be the reason why he couldn't speak properly.

"Is that when I passed out?" he inquired, a dim light of hope still burning inside of him.

Unfortunately, hearing his question, the vet just laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! No, of course not! Those blows only made you more angry! You pounced at the prey with doubled zeal, yet even the larger carnivores agreed that this was no ordinary bunny…"

"She was first in her class at the Police Academy," Nick mumbled, staring at the wall.

"Well, she definitely was a fighter," the cat agreed. "Your struggle with her lasted for several minutes. Although I didn't see it, your injuries clearly indicated that to me as soon as I arrived after Butcher called for my assistance…"

"Is she dead?" the fox then cut him off, piercing the feline with a glare.

Startled by his patient's behavior, Katzenhaus just stood there for a couple of seconds. Then, he answered:

"Yes, most definitely. She didn't stand a chance, ultimately, especially after you knocked the wrench out of her paw. The crafty critter still managed to bite you on the arm before your teeth finally reached her neck. I had to make sixteen stitches to patch you up! She also broke one of your ribs during the fight… but it weren't your injuries that made you lose your consciousness."

Feeling his paws clasping the sheets as his stomach ache suddenly increased severely, Nick muttered a final question through clenched fangs.

"What was it, then?"

The vet snorted, crossing his arms.

"It was all the meat you ate! Of course, once they saw that your hunt was successful, the others didn't have the heart to interrupt you feast… They should have, however. You'd been through too long a starvation diet for your stomach to be able to digest so much solid food at once. You almost suffered an intestinal volvulus! The guys panicked when they saw you regurgitating, and called for me. Before I drove all the way to Ferndale from home, however, you were already out cold. If I were there earlier, I'd make sure you weren't as voracious…"

Halting, Katzenhaus noticed that the fox was sitting on his bed with his head hung low, hollow eyes and shaking paws.

"Are you… going to be okay, Mr. Wilde?" the vet asked, alarmed.

He didn't get an answer.

The cat remained there for several more minutes, but after making sure that his patient was doing relatively well on a physical level, just not really in the mood to chat, he shrugged and pointed at a pitcher of water and a covered platter which stood on the shelf by the bedside.

"You were very dehydrated, so you need to drink a lot of fluids," he announced. "You've also lost about one-fourth of your entire body mass. I've been feeding you with nutrient drips, but eventually you'll have to get your system accustomed to proper food again. There's meat on that platter. You can eat some… but don't swallow it all at once! If you feel sick again, there are garbage bags underneath your bed. Try not to make a mess… I'll check on you in a couple of hours."

Turning away, doctor Katzenhaus walked toward the door, and exited the room. As soon as Nick could sense that the feline was nowhere near anymore, he closed his eyes, and ground his fangs.

"Ahh, yiff it all!" he growled, feeling as his sharp claws tore holes in the sheets.

There was no turning back for him anymore. He'd fallen into Oscar Fangley's trap. He may have been out from behind bars, but even if he ran through the doors of his room and through the front gate of Fangley Industries right now, he'd have nowhere to go… Not after what he did. Even if he returned to Zootopia, even if he reported the whereabouts of Butcher's Den to the ZPD, he wouldn't be able to explain where he'd lost his partner. And then, standing before the judges, Fangley would tell the whole truth. And they'd probably soon end up in the same execution chamber.

A face flashed in his memory only for a while. A memory of a voice, and of purple eyes…

Shaking with a furious growl, he opened his eyes again, looking for a target to aim his anger at. Gazing at the shelf on the side of his bed, he saw his neatly folded tie, a clock, a water pitcher, a platter with food on it…

At first he wanted to throw all of that to the floor. But then, he hesitated. What would he see, what would he smell if he uncovered the meat…?

Sniffing the air, he did not detect the scent of a rabbit, however.

Then, he noticed something else. Some kind of an envelope lay underneath the platter. Opening his clenched fists, he let go of the sheet, and stretched out his good arm toward the shelf.

The envelope bore the emblem of Fangley Industries. Inside of it, Nick found two pieces of paper. One of them had the Carnivore Principles, the predator supremacists' Decalogue which he'd seen during their rally, written on it. Probably to remind him of the rules he was now himself obliged to follow.

The second sheet was even more familiar. It was a flyer, identical with that which chief Bogo had given to him, with pictures of a carrot, a rabbit, and a fox. The food chain which was now complete. On the other side of it were the printed out words:

CONGRATULATIONS, NICHOLAS!

THE MEMBERS OF BUTCHER'S DEN WELCOME YOU AMONGST THEIR RANKS

AND SINCERELY APPOLOGIZE FOR THE INITIAL HARSH TREATMENT

Underneath, in two equal columns, were the hand-written signatures of the carnivores whom he met while in the cage, most of whom were his guards.

Kane De Silva. Tigon Burns. Leonardo Manendes. Larry & Barry Arf. Bearnard Clawford. Brenda Huntswell. Lawrence Vulpine. Chase E. Quiote. Robert Woodsworth.

All his grateful colleagues. His new friends. Even the likes of Chase, who had sold him the skunk butt rug…

Under those, written out with a fancy fountain pen, were the names of all the members of Butcher's family, including the boss himself.

Oscar Fangley. Julia Fangley. Ezra Fangley. Scarlet Vixey.

After reading the last name, he sighed heavily.

Then, in a fit of rage, he tore the envelope and its contents to tiny pieces, groaning as he did so. When he was done, he attempted to massage his aching temples with his healthy paw… but his forehead was so densely covered with bumps and stitches that he was forced to abandon that idea.

Thoughts and memories twirled in his skull like a kaleidoscope, and he couldn't force himself to think straight. Finally, feeling sick to the stomach, he poured himself a glass of water and drank it.

And then, he noticed something. His vulpine sense indicated to him that someone was approaching the door from the other side…

Quickly collecting the torn papers that lay all around, he hid them under his blanket. Right on time, as immediately afterwards, he heard the sound of knocking.

"Come in!" he answered automatically, although he didn't really want to see any visitors right now.

What he felt then, and saw afterwards, greatly surprised him.

"Hello? Nicholas? Are you awake?" a female voice called his name merrily.

Into the room, along with her dazzling scent, walked none other than Scarlet Vixey herself. She wasn't wearing her ruby gown, however, but a plain t-shirt and jeans. She still looked fantastic, though, and was smiling sincerely.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, walking up to the foot of his bed. "I've been waiting forever!"

Nick did not look her way, though. Having his arms crossed on his chest, he continued to stare at the wall.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" the young vixen frowned with a staged abashment. When he didn't answer her, however, she assumed a more serious demeanor. "Yes, you've been though a lot, I know… But I want to let you know that I'm happy to see that you're slowly recuperating."

Afterwards, she approached a chair which stood by the wall on the other side of the bed.

"You know, you drool when you sleep," she uttered casually while doing so.

"Yeah? Well, I do much worse things when I'm awake…" the male fox answered her dismissively.

In the corner of his eye, Nick then noticed that she brought a big bag with her.

"What's that?" he inquired in the form of a gloom grunt.

"This is your uniform, Officer Wilde," Scarlet informed him, putting out his blue shirt, pants and tie, all neatly folded, on top of the chair. "You know, I think you look very handsome wearing it. But then again… you also look very handsome when you're not wearing it!"

Suddenly, Nick realized something that made his jaw drop… Scarlet's joke was not a funny one.

"Wait… Were you the one who washed my clothes… a-and put them back on me?"

Glaring at him with a delicate smirk, the vixen nodded.

"Goddamit…" he then sighed in embarrassment, hanging his head.

Walking up to him, Scarlet just shrugged.

"What's the matter? Would you rather have some filthy factory worker take care of you?" she said, putting her paws on her hips. "I've dedicated my time to help dr. Katzenhaus as much as I could. It would at least be nice to hear a thank you."

"Thank you," Nick uttered rather reluctantly, gazing in her green eyes. "Now… who do I have to kill to get a cigarette over here?"

The vixen snorted, turning her head.

"No one, stupid. Not anymore, that is… Gimme a sec, Nicotine Nick."

She then made a quick one-eighty, her tail whipping through the air, and exited the room.

Seriously angry, the fox looked at the bag she left behind. There was something at the bottom of it. Reaching out with his good paw, he grabbed an object which was revealed to be…

His police badge.

"Puh! I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy…" he sneered grimly, gazing at his name engraved in the shiny golden metal. "May as well throw this thing into the dumpster now!"

Throwing the badge on the chair where his uniform lay, he noticed that the bag wasn't empty, yet. And this time…

He didn't know whether it was right or not, but for the first time since he woke up, he felt the slightest bit of comfort as he held the car keys to his Stallion Convertible.

As he gazed at them, Scarlet returned with a pack of smokes, a lighter, and an ash tray.

"Ah yes, Robert apologizes for taking those from you earlier," she announced, noticing what he was holding.

"That rotten thief…" hissed the fox, hiding the keys in his pocket and taking the cigarettes from her.

"Don't be so hard on him," she proposed, putting the ash tray on the shelf. "He barely ever drove the car. I hope you like the color silver, though, cause he had the guys repaint it…"

Nick didn't answer, and instead began smoking in silence. After a few moments, the vixen couldn't stand that anymore. Lighting a smoke for herself, she sat at the edge of his bed.

"You know," she said after exhaling, "you should eat something. That IV can only get you so far…"

She attempted to lift the cover of the platter, but Nick stretched out his arm to stop her. Unfortunately, he did that carelessly, and accidentally knocked the dish to the floor. A metallic sound echoed within the room. He then noticed that what lay on the plate was a sandwich, cut in four square pieces, stuffed with what smelled like the meat of some small rodent. Definitely not a rabbit.

Scarlet sent him an exasperated glare…

"Nick, watch out for your cannula! What's the matter with you?" she grumbled, irritated by his behavior.

Unable to fathom how the vixen could even ask him such a question at a time like this, the male bared his fangs.

"Get outa here!" he burst out at her. "Why are you even bothering me? I don't wanna talk to you, or anyone!"

Unfazed by his angry attitude, Scarlet breathed out a big cloud of smoke through her nostrils and crossed her legs. Then, putting the cigarette back in her mouth, she started speaking, as if to herself.

"I know you'll probably say that I'm lying… but I understand. You feel remorse. Your conscience is bothering you so much you can't stop thinking about it. It's normal, everyone has to go through that phase… I myself went through it at one point, too. But I also know another thing- that, right now, I'm probably the only animal you do want to talk to."

Narrowing his eyes, Nick continued to gaze at her in irritation.

"And how do you know that?" he hissed.

Without a word, the vixen lifted her eyes at him, and smiled. Then, she reached into the pocket of his shirt, and pulled out from it one of her brother-in-law's business cards. One that had her phone number on the back of it.

"If you didn't… why would you have kept this?" she then inquired.

Feeling completely confused, Nick stammered.

"I… I don't even know."

As the ash from his cigarette fell on his sheets, the fox issued a desperate yelp. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he covered his bruised face with his paws.

Groaning out loud because of the horrible mental and physical state he was in, he felt another animal's paw fawning the hair on his head…

Flinching, he moved away from Scarlet, who was looking at him with compassion. With a distasteful frown still disfiguring his demeanor, he uttered:

"Fine. Let's talk."

"Alright then," said the vixen, taking back her paw. "For starters, let me ask you a dumb question. How're you doing, Nick?"

Indeed, that was a stupid question. Although he was still on the brink of crying, the fox chuckled desperately.

"How am I doing?! Scarlet, did you even hear about what I did a couple of days ago?! I-I have killed a fellow officer! My best friend! I betrayed her, hunted her, choked her to death… and then I ate her flesh. And I enjoyed my meal so much that I threw up!"

His voice trembled as he spoke, and his overall behavior made it seem as if he was rabid or insane. He himself couldn't tell if he was sane or not. The vixen, however, continued to look at him calmly.

"Yes, I saw everything you did through the surveillance cameras," she revealed to him after he was finished. "But… your best friend? You've got a cracked rib, a broken fang, you're missing part of your ear… Would your best friend do this to you?"

"Don't try to turn the whole thing around!" Nick yelled at her, sensing that she attempted to use her vulpine smooth-talk. "Your brother-in-law almost starved me to death! And you know damn well that she was just trying to defend herself! Anyone would have done the same! It was me who betrayed her first. Even though she'd once trusted me. Even though she'd helped me…"

"And so she did. No one is denying that," Scarlet continued, shaking off the ash from her smoke. "But that wasn't why you ate her, right?"

"What do you mean?" the male asked, confused.

"Just this. Tell me- why did you eat that bunny?"

He hesitated, as the very act of thinking about it made him feel internal pain. Finally, he stuttered an answer.

"I-I did that because… I was starving. And I wanted to get out of the cage…"

"Exactly!" the vixen smiled. Then she stood up, walked over to the foot of the bed, and stood face to face with the patient. "Now allow me to ask you this, Nicholas. Why do you think I became a carnivore?"

He was neither in the mood nor in the right mental state for guessing games. But he was curious.

"I have no idea," he mumbled.

"Well," Scarlet then began her story, "my sister and I grew up here in Ferndale. Prey animals outnumbered us predators by thirty to one. And I guess you probably know for yourself how a poor little female fox is treated if she's the only predator in a class packed with hillbilly bulls, rams and boars…"

Nick realized that he knew exactly what she was talking about, but decided not to interrupt her for now.

"Anyway," Scarlet went on, "my sister was known as Ginger Julie throughout most of grade school. And guess what nickname I myself got when I reached high school? The other mammals were so jealous of my good grades they thought that there just had to be something suspicious about it. Especially with me being, you know... a vixen. And so, I was called Scarlet the Harlot."

That was a particularly nasty alias, even compared with the many ones Nick used to be dubbed with. But when she saw the frown appearing on his face, the female laughed.

"Ha! Good one, huh? The people here take specieism to a whole new level sometimes. I'm really glad to be away, studying in Zootopia right now. I study biology, by the way. But sorry, I digress. Back to my question- why do you think I ultimately started eating those who used to pick on me and my sister, hm?"

"Well, that's kinda obvious," Nick answered her. "You did that to get even. You wanted to have revenge."

A strange smile appeared on the vixen's face. At first she didn't answer, instead grabbing her tail and playing with the fur on its tip. Then, she walked over to the ash tray, and placed the butt of her cigarette there.

"You know, many animals think the way you do," she then responded, standing on the side of the fox's bed. "I don't blame you, because it's easy to jump to conclusions when you're observing the whole matter from the outside. I used to be that way as well. Back when Julia was trying to convince me to become a carnivore like her, we would argue about that all the time."

"What, do you mean to tell me that you don't hunt prey out of vengeance?" Nick inquired, her words confusing him.

Scarlet continued to smile.

"Oh no, not at all! It took me some time to understand how Butcher's Den really worked, but eventually I found out that the predators over here do not believe in the eye for an eye, fang for a fang rule. Didn't Oscar tell you that already? I'm sure he did. We don't kill prey out of hate! We don't even do that because many of them hate us! They've been oppressing us for centuries, but that's not why we want to start hunting them again. Sympathy and antipathy have nothing to do with it. I've forgiven my school friends for being jerks a long time ago. If I met any of them in the street right now, and sometimes I do, I'd just say hello and keep walking. I wouldn't pounce at them with bared fangs! I know a lot of predators who are jerks even as adults. Sure, we don't eat other predators… But the only reason why we do eat prey animals is that they are prey animals- because they're below us in the food chain. It's pure biology, nothing more. And if you've eaten your rabbit friend, it wasn't because you suddenly started hating her. No. You were a carnivore, and she was a prey animal. You did that just in order to satisfy your hunger. Period. No use thinking about it any longer."

After hearing Scarlet's explanation, Nick became even more confused. Sure, he understood what she was saying. To a certain degree, he felt that she was right, especially when it came to him and his partner… But still, the radical opposition of his conscience made him feel angry toward both the vixen and himself. His mixed feelings making him incapable of delivering a proper answer, he just sighed, and also butted his smoke in the ash tray.

"It ain't that easy," he whispered afterward.

"I know, I know…" Scarlet tried to console him. "Words won't do you much good right now. You need time. You need to know us better. Eventually, it'll become natural, and these truths by which we live will also be evident to you. Then the weight will be lifted."

Standing by the bedside shelf, she poured a glass of water and passed it to Nick.

"Here. You gotta drink a lot of fluids. That's what the vet said."

He accepted the drink, as his throat was dry from stress and smoking. When he handed her the glass back, she asked:

"So, what else do you want to talk about?"

The fox wondered. Remembering that he'd been asleep for the past two days, he became curious about what had been going on during that time.

"What's going on? Where's Butcher?" he inquired.

"Oh, that's right!" the female gasped. "You don't know anything!"

"Don't know anything about what?"

Scarlet then took her phone out of her pocket, and after finding something online, turned the screen so that Nick could see it.

"What's this?" he asked, startled.

"This is a video which has been released in all of the major TV stations in Zootopia shortly after your hunt," the vixen announced with pride. "One of our friends is a hacker. He managed to jam the satellites somehow, and made the stations show this video in prime-time, right before the daily news! ZNN, Channel 7… all of 'em!"

In utter astonishment, the fox observed a screen which displayed the depictions of several natural food chains, changing every couple of seconds. There was one with grass, an antelope, and a lion. Then, one with grain, a mouse, and a cat. And finally, the one he knew well- a carrot, a rabbit, and a fox.

In the background, morphed with the use of computer technology, there thundered a voice he barely recognized as that of Oscar Fangley. What Butcher said to the inhabitants of Zootopia sent shivers down Nick's spine.

"I am speaking to all of the predators whom this message will reach," the monotone voice delivered the terrifying announcement. "Many of you may have heard rumors of the existence of a certain group, which has mistakenly been dubbed a criminal syndicate. This group is known as Butcher's Den. It is said that its members, following their natural instincts and the ways of their ancestors, engage in the hunting of prey animals, and in the consumption of flesh. I am speaking to you today in order to inform you that all those rumors you have heard are true."

"Oh my God…" Nick uttered under his breath, only able to guess what kind of chaos that kind of revelation had for the society of his city…

But the message was not over yet.

"I am the one who is known as Butcher," Fangley continued, "and today, I would like to encourage all of you to look into yourselves. Embedded in your own bloodstream, there is an order which had been violated since the day prey animals and predators came together to found the city of Zootopia. A city planted on a false peace, coming at the cost of carnivores surrendering their natural right to hunt and feed on prey. This right which is still yours, even though you may not realize it, or fear what the consequences of embracing it may be. Today, I invite you to cast away that fear, and join us in our battle to restore the natural order. If we unite, we will create a force capable of accomplishing this task. We already are an army, which will only continue to grow. Search for us, and you will find your freedom again. Do not shrink from the opposition of the majority. Be proud to be predators. Be brave to be carnivores."

The video ended, and the fox took a look at the view count. It exceeded the number of 200 million. By now, any animal which had not seen it on TV, had either viewed it online, or at least heard about it.

Nick gave Scarlet her phone back.

"No way to turn this around now..." he mumbled grimly.

"No," answered the vixen. "Our recruiters have got their paws full. Many new members have entered already, but we still have to be extremely careful. Police are running around, sniffing everywhere they can, although they have no idea where to look. We know that a large percentage of Zootopia's predators are on our side, however."

"How many?" he demanded to know, feeling as if something were choking him.

"About one-third of them, maybe… we're not sure. We know that this number is growing, however."

She clicked on another video, and presented to Nick a footage which reported of riots all around the city. To his shock, the fox saw predators and prey animals fighting each other in the streets.

"Now check this out!" Scarlet said with a note of true pride, showing him a newsfeed. "It's from last evening."

He saw a rather distraught male zebra reporter, delivering the message in a shaky voice.

"The massive prison break which erupted at the Zootopia Central Metropolitan Penitentiary shortly after the illegal carnivorist transmission from yesterday, continues. The guards and police are doing their best to take back the building, although it appears that the mutinous inmates have by now been able to seize control over most of the complex. We have no information regarding casualties, but we know for a fact that the predators were able to reach the cell of Dawn Bellwether, the ex-mayor of Zootopia, who had been the leader of the prey supremacist movement which had been exposed and stopped by the ZPD four years ago. Bellwether was dragged out of her cell by the predators, who are apparently supporters of the carnivorist cause, and then mauled to death..."

The vixen paused the video and looked at Nick with a delighted smirk.

"The meek little lamb got what she deserved," she said with satisfaction.

Nick continued to gaze at her, stunned by what she had just revealed to him...

"But... this is complete chaos!" he gasped. "Those savage idiots... they don't stand a chance! If one-third of Zootopia's predators support carnivorism, they're still outnumbered thirty times!"

"And what are the prey animals gonna do?" the vixen asked smugly. "Put all of them in jail? Shoot them? No. By now, our cause is out of the underground for good. No one can deny it. Besides, Zootopia believes in freedom of speech- they can't do anything with those who only support us. The vast majority are not killing prey in the streets, obviously! Butcher says that, eventually, we'll convince all of the predators to join. And then, we'll be able to take control of the city."

"If there's anything left of it, at that point!" the male snarled at her angrily. "Fangley assured me the he didn't want any unnecessary bloodshed!"

"Hey, you wanna make a proper burger? You gotta whack the cow on the head…" Scarlet sighed. "This is just a phase, Nick. Do you think I like it the way it is? Julia and I can't take Ezra out on a walk through the streets of Ferndale for fear of being hit on the head with a brick! But we have to keep fighting… Oscar is doing all he can over there, but we still have many obstacles to overcome. A whole herd of enemies… And this is why we need you."

"What?!" he turned toward her, outraged. "What do you still need me for?"

The vixen sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"Uh, why must you act like such a little kit? Don't you get it yet? Our worst adversary is the ZPD! We haven't been able to turn a single police officer to our side, even though most of them are predators. That is, until you became one of us. You need to put your uniform back on and go back to Zootopia, Nick! All of us fear that the cops will suddenly break down the doors, guns blazing, and put all of us to sleep. Then our struggle would be for nothing. With your help, however…"

"Stop it!" he cut her off, furious. "What, do you expect me to just return to my station as if nothing happened, and then start secretly turning my colleagues into carnivores? How do you think I should do that? By frying their donuts in animal fat?!"

He continued to pant after he was done screaming, and Scarlet gave him a few moments to calm down.

"This is important. You know that," she then said rather sadly. "If you tried, I know you'd be able to think of a way to at least get the police off our tails. You know them, you know how they work. You know that whole damn city! I understand how terribly we treated you at first, but trust me… We need your help. All of us are putting our hopes in you, even Oscar. Please, don't turn your back on us now…"

Nick was sorry for making her feel that way. And, immediately afterward, he reproofed himself for that remorse.

"Don't try to toy with my emotions, miss Vixey!" he warned her.

Those words made her gaze him in the eyes with even more sorrow…

"Do you think this is all a show?" whimpered the female. "That I'm just another foxy con artist, sent here to trick you? No, you're wrong. But perhaps, we were wrong about you, as well… Maybe you are the con artist, and you've never actually joined us, really…"

"Ah, stop it! You saw me eating my prey, didn't you? I already gave Butcher his pound of flesh!" Nick kept speaking in anger.

When Scarlet didn't answer, the two foxes just continued staring at one another. They were both internally distraught… but they could sense that neither of them was lying.

"What can I do for you?" asked the male after he eventually turned to gaze at the wall.

"For now, get healthier," she answered passionlessly. "You shouldn't walk for at least a couple more days. But there is also something you can tell me right now, as long as you are willing to…"

"And what's that?"

"Can't you remember? I already asked you this when we met for the first time."

Indeed, now he could recal. Scarlet wanted to know the name of the traitor who led him and his partner to Butcher's Den.

"Yeah, I know…" he mumbled.

"Please!" the female looked at him pleadingly, which she'd not done ever before. "We're all in great danger! Now that all of Zootopia knows that Butcher's Den really exists, every cop on the planet who isn't busy trying to stop the riots, is looking for us. And if there's someone out there who told you about where to find us… what's keeping that person from informing others?"

Actually, the fox estimated that his fellow carnivore was right. And that meant that also his own life was now at stake...

After a few more moments of inner struggle, Nick sighed, and then stated the name.

"Mathilda Blacktail. She lives in the Hive. 2612 Fly Street, apartment 26D… if I recall correctly. Careful, though. She's dangerous…"

All of a sudden, Scarlet grabbed his paw and held it tightly.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Now you watch out for my cannula!"

The vixen did not pay attention to what he was saying to her, and instead focused on expressing her gratitude.

"Thank you so much! You've no idea how much this means to us! I'll call Oscar right away and tell him to send someone to get rid of her before she can do any more harm. That treacherous she-wolf… I always thought she was scary, and when she just vanished one day, I just knew that there was something suspicious about it!"

But that made Nick remember something else. Meaning, the promise he had once made to a certain crime lord…

"Wait, Scarlet!" he suddenly burst out. "This is not as easy as it seems!"

"Huh?" wondered the female, seeing as his ears fell.

Nick then confessed the whole truth to her, frowning in dismay.

"If we have Mathilda killed… it's gonna be the start of an avalanche! A war you just don't wanna fight! See, we didn't find Mathilda by ourselves… We were led to her."

"By whom?" asked Scarlet, herself visible concerned.

"Have you ever heard of Mr. Big?"

"That wealthy little bigshot from Tundratown?"

"Yes! But he's much more than just a businessman… He's the head honcho of the local mafia, and commands dozens of powerful underlings. Mathilda Blacktail used to work for him as a hired assassin. That's how Mr. Big found out about Butcher's Den in the first place. When she left, he took her under his wing… but he doesn't take kindly to carnivores. If anything happens to Mathilda, he'll go savage on our rumps!"

Opening her eyes wide, Scarlet gasped in deep concern.

"I need to report all of this to Butcher!" she announced, reaching for her phone.

"No!" Nick stopped her. "I'll tell him myself when he comes back. I don't think either Mathilda or Mr. Big will do anything immediately, so I guess we're safe, for now…"

There was something else on his mind, however. And he needed to tell her that, as well. A little voice inside of him still told him not to do it, but in the end, he knew that it was already far too late to go back. If he didn't do anything at this point, the lives of many more would be at risk. And he did not want to be responsible for any more bloodshed than necessary.

"I know how to get Mr. Big off your back," he announced to Scarlet, which made the vixen gaze at him in astonishment.

"How?" she inquired, full of expectations.

The fox then turned his head toward the uniform which lay on the chair by his bedside.

"I'm just really gonna have to put that on again. I'll crawl back to my police station, tell everyone about how I'd been abducted, starved and beaten, that my partner and best friend was killed… and that all of that was Mr. Big's fault."

Raising a brow curiously, Scarlet smiled ever so slightly… And then she demanded to hear the details of Nick's plan.

"Do continue, please!"

"Well," the fox asked her, lying on his pillow more comfortably, "you said you studied biology, didn't you? In that case, can you tell me what does an arctic shrew eat?"

"Arctic shrews are insectivores… but they did also consume meat, back in the day."

"And is it possible for an arctic shrew to develop a taste for flesh?"

Seeing the ingenuity of his plan, the vixen exhibited a wide grin.

"Yes, it is possible."

"There you go, then," Nick concluded. "I'll tell the ZPD that Mr. Big is the Butcher. Believing their fellow officer, they'll go to his house, and find a lot of ferrocious polar bears walking around the property. And when I tell them to search the frozen lake under the mansion… they'll also find a lot of dead bodies, ready to be thawed and consumed. Mr. Big and his goons will end up behind bars, whereas you'll be free to take care of Mathilda. And afterwards, to continue your work in secret."

Glaring at him with true satisfaction, the vixen corrected him.

"You meant to say, our work."

"Yeah, whatever…" he mumbled back without returning her smile.

"I'm curious about one more thing, though. Since when do cops associate with bosses of local mafias?"

The fox snorted.

"I've never exactly been a perfect cop, Scarlet… And, as I'm sure you understand, I don't intend to be one in the future. Mr. Big almost had me killed at one point. I'm sorry to say, but I personally still believe in eye for an eye, fang for a fang sometimes…"

"I'm sure it'll be for the good of all of us," she said to cheer him up.

Relaxing his head on the pillow and exhaling deeply, almost completely drained by the things he'd learned and the decisions he'd made, the fallen cop closed his eyes…

And then he felt someone's presence on the other side of the door.

"Who's that?" he sprang up suddenly, making the vixen turn the other way.

The door opened slightly, and the voice of what seemed to be a very young animal came from the other side of it.

"Aunt Scarlet? Did Mr. Wilde wake up already?"

"Yes, Ezra," the female answered her sister's son. "You can come in."

The twelve-year-old fox marched into the room, bearing a big smile on his face. He was wearing the uniform of a posh Zootopia private school, and carrying some sort of a package in his paws. When he stood by the side of Nick's bed, he gazed at him as if he were his idol, ignoring the fact that his appearance was disfigured by malnutrition and many injuries.

"I'm so glad to see that you're okay, Mr. Wilde!" said the kit, making the fox feel extremely awkward. "I brought you a present!"

He then placed the package he was holding on Nick's lap.

"Ezra's been keeping vigils by the door, waiting to finally be able to give this to you," Scarlet revealed to him, jerking the hair on top of her nephew's head.

"Uh, thanks, kid…" the fox mumbled back, forcing a smile.

Then Ezra noticed something.

"Sir! You haven't eaten your breakfast yet!" the kit pointed toward the plate which stood on the shelf. "You've got to have something, you haven't had real food since your hunt! You need protein in your system, or at least that's what my mom always tells me."

Sure, Nick did feel very hungry. But the rodent meat sandwich still did not appeal to him…

"Nah, maybe later," he refused. "How about yourself? Have you had breakfast already?"

Not waiting for Ezra to answer, he grabbed the plate, and put it in front of the young fox's nose.

"Here," he said.

Unsure what to do, the perplexed kit looked toward his aunt.

"Go ahead, but you can just take one," the vixen gave him her consent.

Laughing merrily, the young fox grabbed one of the four pieces of the sandwich, and bit into it with delight.

"Hey, thanks a lot, Mr. Wilde!" he said with his mouth full.

"Don't mention it," Nick uttered a bit more merrily, and then turned to Scarlet. "So where are his parents?"

"They're in Zootopia," answered the vixen. "Oscar's taking care of the expansion of Butcher's Den, so he's not even been coming back home for the night. As for my sister, Julia's at work, as usual. Which is why I have to drive Ezra to school right now."

"Awww, do we really have to go?" whined the kit.

"You know we do, cowboy," she stooped down to fix his little tie. "Look at the time. We've gotta go now, or else you'll be late. And besides, Officer Wilde still needs a lot of rest."

She then stood up again, and addressed Nick.

"When I'm back, we'll talk more about your plan. It's very interesting… For now, stay here and relax, and if you need anything, just call doc Katzenhaus."

Both her and Ezra then delivered their goodbyes. Before they exited the room, however, the vixen turned to him one last time.

"Nicholas," she called him.

"Yeah?"

"It's good to have you on board…"

He did not say anything in response.

Finally left alone, he kept staring at the ceiling fan for a while, his mind completely hollow and devoid of all emotions or thoughts.

Then he remembered the present he got. Examining the package, he found it to be a large item wrapped in packaging paper. He used his claws to rip it open…

… and felt a familiar scent.

Inside the package was a pouch, similar to the ones used by the members of Butcher's Den when they didn't wear clothes. The one he got was newly made from the beautiful grey fur of a Sylvilagus audubonii.

A cottontail rabbit.

His paws shaking and his heart hammering as the scent of the fur made him feel hunger again, he mumbled to himself the words which Chief Bogo had addressed him with at the very start of this case.

"Officer Wilde, you have not even began to scratch the surface of the definition of trouble…"

Setting the pouch aside, he reached for a piece of his sandwich. He then bit into it voraciously with the side of his mouth where he still had all his fangs intact.

THE END

AN: This gruesome AU chapter is inspired by the final scene of the book Fight Club (the novel, not the movie) and, of course, is deliberately similar to chapter 20 of my original story. Compare them if you will, and see the differences in mentality between carnivores and Zootopians.

So what will happen now? Did Nick really fully adopt the idea of integral naturalism, or is he still on the fence with that, despite having developed an appetite for meat? Will he and Scarlet end up in a relationship? Will the carnivores, with Nick's help, be able to win against a vast majority of adversaries, and seize control over Zootopia? Or is there going to be a gang war between Butcher's Den and Mr. Big's mafia? I leave answering those questions to your imagination.

Which ending did you like better? Make sure to let me know XD Thanks for reading, everyone!

P.S. - Please check out the sequel, 'An Aftertaste of Blood', which follows the original version of the ending.