AN: Oh boy. Here we go! XD

So this is quite unusual for me… This is my first non-Lion King fanfic, and I must say I am very excited and curious about how it turns out.

I liked Zootopia from the start, although there are some parts of the plot that leave you wondering. I'm planning to focus on one of the more 'controversial' questions which, as I have noticed, doesn't receive as much attention as other issues. That is- the question of how do predators and prey get along in Zootopia since, naturally, the former used to eat the latter?

So we know that in this universe, animals (or at least most mammals) have evolved beyond the need to sustain themselves by consuming meat. But what if there were some predators who wanted that process reversed to, you know, the natural way? As we were able to see in the movie, the social order and political correctness of Zootopia are extremely fragile, and any possible threat that emerges causes its animal citizens to tremble with fear.

So we will imagine what would happen if the threat of 'carnivorism' actually became a thing. Obviously, the ones who are going to have to save Zootopia from another crisis are our favorites, Nick and Judy. But when predators start having an appetite for steak, will the two ZPD officers survive unharmed? And so, in this dark time of the year, I invite you to join me in a noir story from the land of Zootopia XD

Zootopia:

The Case of Butcher's Den

"Because we are all steak"

- King Julien XIII

Chapter 1

Officer Nicholas Wilde of the Zootopia Police Department leaned over the hood of his brand new Stallion Firebird Convertible and gazed at its shiny ruby-red paint which reflected the morning sun.

Yup. A law-enforcer's job ain't easy, but at least the pay, plus performance bonuses, is almost as good as my former occupation, heh-heh… - he said to himself in his thoughts.

By now, he'd been able to pay off the loans he took out in order to pay for his tuition at the Police Academy, and was finally able to serve himself for a change with the help of a couple months' worth of savings. After all, buying a dream vehicle is nothing bad… especially that he did it completely legally.

Beaming with pride in the middle of the Zootopia Police Headquarters' parking lot, he took a look at his watch. It was five-to-seven AM.

Well, better get goin' – he thought, saying goodbye to his red rocket. He then reached into his pocket and grabbed a pair of mirrored cop shades. Noticing a streak on one of the lenses, he proceeded to wipe it off using his tie.

"Darn, it is hot!" he whined, looking at the blazing sun. "It's barely morning, and it's already as bad as Sahara Square. Well, I just hope Sahara Square is not the place Judy and I will be going today…"

With a sigh, he took another look at the now-spotless lenses of his favorite pair of sunglasses. The sight of himself in his ZPD uniform always cheered him up. Although the navy-blue didn't quite match the green of his eyes as well as his old Junior Ranger Scout outfit from the days of his childhood, the shine of the golden badge with his name on it still made him feel way more proud.

He put the shades on to shelter his eyes from the morning sun, and then undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie a bit.

"Argh, I'm already exhausted!" he huffed a final complaint and, with his hands in his pockets, continued walking over to the entrance to the building.

"'Sup, Fangmeyer," he called out to his colleague, passing him by in the station's lobby.

"Mornin', Wilde!" the tiger responded to Nick's greeting, lifting up a cup of coffee. "Hey, I saw your new ride out there at the parking lot. Is that a Stallion Firebird? I didn't know they still made those… especially in your size."

The tiger's admiration caused a very enjoyable sensation inside the fox's heart…

"Yeah, they just came out with a new series. Keep saving up those bonuses and who knows, maybe you can buy yourself one someday?"

"Well, how about if you let me take your beauty out for a run one day? I guess I could fit in it if I tried real hard… How's that sound?" officer Fangmeyer asked, presenting a type of grin Nick had not seen him make before.

"Ha! And let you scratch the interior with those big sharp claws of yours? Keep dreamin', fuzzy!" he ridiculed the feline's idea jokingly as he passed him by. But what Nick failed to notice was that the expression of offence that appeared on his colleague's face after he said that was way more serious than his former smile…

Saying hi to his other co-workers as he made his way to the vending machine in the corner, the fox took out his wallet and bought himself a triple espresso. After almost two years of service, he still couldn't get used to rising this early in the morning. Carrying his coffee, he made his way to the front desk, where Judy, his partner, was engaged in a conversation with Officer Clawhauser… or rather, having her bunny ears talked off by Officer Clawhauser.

"Oh, oh! Here, take a look at this one!" exclaimed the cheetah enthusiastically as he extended his chubby arm to show officer Hopps something on his phone. – "Here's little Bobby and Jasmine, dressed in matching outfits! I helped my sister pick these personally. I think they look simply adorable! What do you think?"

"Yeah, sure, Benjamin. This one is even better than the last!" Judy gave the device back to Clawhauser, already exasperated by the fact that touching it was making the fur on her paws stick, as the phone was covered in powdered sugar.

"Ah, you really think so? Gee, thanks, Judy! I can always count on your opinion. You know, my sis is family, so I guess she wouldn't just say it to my face if she didn't like my suggestions… But now that I know what you think, I can rest assured!"

The corpulent feline touched his chest with a sigh of relief, giving the rabbit just enough time to send Nick a quick look that said 'help me'.

"Hey, how's it goin', everybody?" he swiftly broke into the two's dialogue, getting the message sent to him by his partner. "What ya got over there, Clawhauser?"

"Ben was just showing me pictures from his niece and nephew's first birthday," Judy explained.

"Oh, you mean the twins?" Nick vaguely remembered hearing about that earlier. Truth was, Clawhauser couldn't stop talking about his sister's children when they were born just a year ago, but since the fox didn't pay much attention to his constant tales about the twins, the only thing he remembered right now was that there were indeed twins.

"Yes! Let me show them to you!" Clawhauser said, scrolling up to the very top of a long photo album. This time, it was Nick who yelped in desperation… Seeing that, Judy just shrugged and smiled mischievously. "So here's little Bobby with his cake. Annnd here… here's little Jasmine with her cake! My sister had two cakes made for each of the siblings. So she calls me a week ago, and she's like- hey Benny, you just gotta help me out here! So I says- what's the problem, Janet? And then Janet is like- oh, I was thinking about the twins' birthday. I mean, what are we gonna do with the cake? Should I put two candles on it, or just one? But if I put just one, which of the cubs should blow it out? What if it makes the other one think I favor the child that does the blowing more? This is so confusing… So then I'm like- Janet, dear, calm down. Don't be silly, nobody's gonna accuse you of liking one of your twins over the other! Say, why don't you just buy two cakes? Or, better yet, order two cakes, and I'll pay for one of them. I'll still bring presents for both Bobby and Jasmine, of course. I already bought those…"

"Say, Carrots!" Nick used the slightest millisecond which Clawhauser needed to take another breath in order to address his partner, who was already starting to look terrified of the perspective of having to hear the same story a second time. "I wonder how such problems were taken care of in your family. After all, how many siblings did you say you have… at the moment?"

"Very funny, Nick," Judy didn't like the fox's evident sarcasm. "I, at the moment, have just as many sibling as I had after I graduated. Then my parents decided to stick with just 318."

The fox and the cheetah exchanged a communicative look after hearing that the rabbit had just 317 siblings… Clawhauser decided to say something to ease the awkwardness.

"And, were there any twins?"

That question actually made officer Hopps laugh out loud.

"Haha! Were there any twins? Obviously, you don't know much about rabbits, Ben…"

But Judy was not destined to describe the nuances of her species' reproduction that day, as before she was able to begin a new sentence, she and her colleagues heard the raspy voice of Chief Bogo.

"Clawhauser!" yelled the buffalo, emerging from around the corner. "What have I told you about eating at the counter?!"

Caught red-pawed, the cheetah quickly hid a half-full box of donuts underneath his desk in a belated act of desperation, attempting to sooth his boss' anger with an awkward smile.

"Sorry, sir! Heh-heh, I swear you won't see me doing that ever again! I mean… I swear I'll never do it again. Yeah, that's what I meant! Not as if I would…"

As Clawhauser spoke, Chief Bogo charged. Nick and Judy had to step aside to make room for him. Then the boss stood in front of his frightened subordinate, and poked his chest with his hoof.

"Listen, Clawhauser. If I as much as hear about you tarnishing the good name of this institution by your unbridled gluttony, it's going to be the Archives for you! Do I make myself clear?!"

The cheetah hesitated for a second, biting his lip, but then waved his head so energetically it made all of his chins shake. He didn't utter a single word more.

"Good," said Bogo, turning around from the front desk and heading toward the briefing room door, in which everyone was already waiting for him.

"Jeez, somebody musta blown his horn today…" whispered Nick as soon as the buffalo was out of earshot.

"Well, we better go," Judy summarized with a sigh, lifting her chin up dutifully. "Have a nice day, Benjamin!"

Nick sent the cheetah a reassuring nod, and then, grabbing his coffee cup, he caught up with Judy.

"Allow me," he said, reaching out to open the door to the briefing room for Judy.

But his courtesy was not to be rewarded, for as soon as the fox grabbed the door knob, somebody opened it from the other side so forcefully that it almost made Nick trip over his own tail. He groaned, barely able to maintain his balance and almost dropping his coffee to the floor, making his partner giggle at the sight.

"Oh. Sorry about that," said Chief Bogo, who was poking his head out of the room. Then he started yelling again. "And where are you two going?! Wilde, Hopps- I'll see you after the official briefing. In my office. Go there now and wait for me."

After that, he slammed the door in front of their faces.

"Wellll… this is unusual," said Judy, assuming a rather bitter expression.

"Err, just when I thought this day started out alright... Okay, what did you do this time?" Nick scolded her, putting one paw on his hip.

Then, suddenly, the door opened a second time, and Bogo's large head emerged from the briefing room yet again.

"One more thing. Wilde?"

"Uhm, yessir?" asked the fox.

"Take off those ridiculous sunglasses, and cease making a show of yourself. I'll see you in five minutes."

The door slammed another time and, embarrassed by both his boss and Judy's jeering gaze, Nick had to take off his mirrored shades and obediently hide them in his pocket.

They walked over to Bogo's office in silence. When they were inside, Judy sat down on one of the chairs, while Nick, after taking a sip, put his coffee cup on the desk.

"I told you you shouldn't have tazed that bulldog the other day," he addressed his partner, mentioning what he thought was the reason Bogo wanted to speak to both of them in private.

"Excuse me?" Judy asked, outraged. "I already told you, he was resisting arrest! And besides, you saw what he did when you told him to keep his paws in the air…"

"He was reaching for his phone!" Nick repeated, probably for the hundredth time. "Somebody texted him at that very moment. It's kind of an involuntary impulse, you know. You do the same thing."

"I do not!" the rabbit staunchly protested.

"Ah, never mind…" he waved a paw at her. Then he came up to a white board which was hanging on the wall of the office, which had magnetic markers on it in the form of letters. Some were not arranged in any particular order, but three of them on the side spelled the word 'BOS'.

"Oh, look at this," Nick commented. "How modest of Bogo. It's a shame he's missing a second S, though. But what if I rearrange the letters juuust a little bit, so that the B and the S switch places…"

"Nick! Stop it!" Judy rebuked him, seeing what he was doing. "He's said he's going to be here in five minutes. If he sees you…"

"Chill out, Carrots!" the fox turned away from the white board, smiling. He then paced to the other side of the desk, took a look outside the window… and, suddenly, sat himself comfortably in the Police Chief's chair.

"Nick!" his partner shrieked through clenched fangs.

But the fox remained unmoved by that.

"Hey, this is a very nice chair, actually. I wonder if this is real cowhide leather. Ha! Get it? I wonder what Bogo keeps in his drawer…"

"Uhh, you're worse than Clawhauser…" Judy covered her face with a paw. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"Wow, look at this! Is this a switchblade?" Nick examined the first thing in the Chief's drawer that caught his attention. "I used to have one of these. I thought they were illegal, though."

"It might have been confiscated from someone."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's his," stated the fox, trying to figure out a way to open the blade. When he unlocked the safety button, the knife made a loud CLICK! And revealed itself to actually be a…

"It's just a comb?!" – Nick whined in disappointment.

"Huh, well, I'm sure that's legal. Wait, what are you doing? Stop combing your fur with that thing! What's wrong with you? This is disgusting!"

All of a sudden, Judy's demeanor changed from one of irritation to that of genuine fear.

"I think he's coming!" she gasped, raising an ear, making sure what she heard was actually the sound of hooves on the steps. "Quick!"

Without hesitation, officer Wilde threw the switchblade-comb back in the drawer, closed it, and then swiftly ran to the chair on the opposite side of the desk. As he did that, he accidentally knocked his coffee cup with his elbow, but was barely able to catch it before the whole thing fell to the floor. With a gasp of relief, he leaned over the side of the chair as the sound of doors opening could already be heard behind the duo's back, receiving a final angry look from his partner.

The buffalo entered the room without a word. Circling around Nick and Judy, he sat down in his chair and unfolded a file he was holding, laying out some papers and photographs on the surface of his desk. The tension in the room rose rapidly, at least from the perspective of the underlings.

During a long awkward silence, Judy attempted to take a peek at the documents her boss was shifting through, though unable to do that due to her short stature. Nick, however, was trying time after time to nonverbally catch Chief Bogo's attention. Finally, he spoke.

"Uhh, sir? Are we in trouble?"

At first, the buffalo didn't pay attention to the fox's timid question. Finally, he blew air from his nostrils and, not lifting his eyes up from the file, said:

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

Judy and Nick looked at each other, and gulped.

"And, by the way," Bogo finally sent the fox a chilling gaze, folding his hooves, "I believe your shirt is undone".

Nick quickly buttoned the shirt and fixed his tie, wishing that, instead of playing with the things in Bogo's office, he had turned on the AC.

The Police Chief then grabbed a bunch of photos from the desk, handing them to Judy.

"We've received a request for caution, and possibly help, from the Horne County Police Department just outside of the city. It seems that they too, as we ourselves a couple of years ago, are suffering from a plague of mysterious disappearances."

Nick moved over to Judy's side to examine the photographs. What he saw was pictures of sheep, deer, antelope, and various large rodents.

"But… Sir, these are all prey animals," said the rabbit, visibly perplexed.

"Yes, all of them," Bogo agreed. "That makes the case even more interesting, doesn't it? Or rather, should I say, troublesome."

"Riiight…" said Nick. "So you want us to investigate the case of the missing prey, correct?"

The Chief gazed at him for a second, frowning. Then he responded:

"Incorrect. Let not your judgement be as fast as that new car of yours, officer Wilde. As I said, all of the disappearances occurred in Horne County which, I remind you, is outside of ZPD's jurisdiction."

Now both members of the duo looked at their boss in confusion…

"Sooo…" wondered Judy.

"What's the case, then?" asked Nick.

Bogo took a deep breath, and put his elbows on the desk.

"The case, as I hope, is no more than that of an urban legend. Rumors circulating around the city. But disturbing rumors, nonetheless… You see, some of the citizens of Zootopia, who have heard of the alleged kidnappings in Horne County, have started spreading the word that there is a specific group of criminals responsible for those disappearances."

"What kind of a group?" Nick inquired.

"Is it the mafia?" Judy followed with another question.

"No!" their boss yelled, slamming his fist into the desk. "Will you let me speak?! The problem is, it's neither of the criminal syndicates we are already familiar with. It's said that it is a… secret society. A very specific secret society. Again, these are only rumors, and I will not tolerate anyone spreading them outside of this room! Do you understand? All that you are about to hear is strictly confidential!"

The two officers nodded, yet deeply concerned with the fact that, actually, Bogo sounded as if he was not just angry, but also greatly disturbed himself.

"The rumor has it," he continued, keeping his voice down, "that Horne County is the home for a secret society of… carnivores."

The sound of the last word echoed around the room, yet was too terrible to actually comprehend.

"Carnivores? You mean, like, predators?" Judy asked, hardly able to believe her ears.

Nick released the air he was holding in his lungs for a while with a loud wheeze… Then he said:

"No, Carrots… Not just that. I think he means like, actual... carnivores."

The rabbit remained silent for a while, blinking and frowning. Then she laughed, yet in a very strange way.

"Heh-heh… Ridiculous, right? I mean, there are no actual carnivores anymore. You know, predators used to eat prey thousands of years ago… Nobody actually does that anymore… Right?"

Not receiving an answer, she raised her voice somewhat.

"Right?! I mean, this is nothing more than just a stupid rumor, correct? There isn't any hard evidence, or anything of the sort, to prove that this outrageous little urban legend is anything more than that- a… legend. Right?"

"Right! Of course!" Nick and Bogo responded simultaneously.

"Sure, predators don't eat meat!" continued the fox. "As the only predator here, I can assure you that I have never, ever eater, or even thought about eating meat in my whole entire life! A-and same with all the other predators I have ever met. Heh-heh. Nothing more than a rumor. Nothing more than an unsubstantial, implausible urban legend…"

While Nick was still speaking, however, Chief Bogo, with a sigh, pulled something out of his back pocket. It was a piece of paper, which he unfolded and placed in front of the fox's eyes.

"… implausible… and… unsubstantial…" Nick repeated, as his ears began to fall.

"A tiger brought this to one of the officers yesterday," spoke Chief Bogo silently. "He said he was given it by another member of his species he'd never seen before in one of the bars in the Rainforest District. With all the rumors going around, he said he thought it was quite suspicious. You can see for yourselves that he was right."

The piece of paper turned out to be a cheaply-printed flyer. It had some cartoonish pictures on it that didn't look like anything at first glance. On the left, there was a drawing of a bunch of carrot, an arrow, a picture of a rabbit, another arrow, and then a drawing of a fox. But it weren't the pictures that were the most disturbing thing about the flyer. No, that would be the words inscribed underneath them. And those read:

BUTCHER'S DEN

"What is that?" Judy asked, not sure of what this whole collage meant to signify.

"Well…" Nick answered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "This appears to be something called a natural food chain."

"A what?" frowned the rabbit.

"You know, like it used to be, thousands of years ago. See- the carrots are being eaten by the rabbit, and then the rabbit is being… eaten... by the…"

"Your colleague is correct," Chief Bogo spoke, cutting into Nick's stammered explanation. "It appears that someone, and we don't know who, is trying to intimidate the citizens of Zootopia by spreading rumors that there exists a secret group trying to restore this… natural food chain. That there is a secret society of predators practicing carnivorism. A society called…"

"Butcher's Den!" Nick and Judy read the words from the flyer simultaneously.

"Yes, that is right. And they're the ones supposedly responsible for the disappearances in Horne County."

"Too bad there's no address, or anything..." complained the rabbit.

"Whoah, whoah! Now let me get this straight," her partner cut her off, snorting and waving the piece of paper in front of his boss' face. "You want us to find whoever is spreading these rumors and distributing these flyers around town, amiright? Ha! And, what, just because there's a picture of a fox and a bunny on this darn thing?"

Bogo looked at him passionlessly for a while. Then he ripped the flyer straight from his paw and put it back on the desk.

"I was thinking more of taking into account the outstanding results both of you have achieved while working here, as well as your wide network of connections in your former criminal environment, officer Wilde. But scratch that. Yes, I want the two of you to take care of this case because there is a picture of a bunny and a fox on this flyer."

Then Chief Bogo leaned forward, crushing his desk with the weight of his body so much that the wood started to crack.

"Now let me make this clear to you," he whispered very seriously, "I called the mayor today, informing him about our little discovery. He told me that, if this escalated, all of Zootopia will be thrown into chaos. It is now your duty not only to keep this a secret, but also to find whoever is responsible for spreading these disgusting rumors and arrest him before the peace between predators and prey is ruined yet again! Do you understand?!"

The surface of the desk suffered yet another punch after that angry monologue. And the impact was so powerful that it made Nick's coffee cup tip over… The fox rushed to save the flyer from being drowned in coffee, while Bogo quickly gathered up the documents of the Horne County Disappearance case, doing the same.

"Ehrm! Sorry!" said the Chief, clearing his throat in embarrassment. "I believe you get my point."

"I better go get a mop…" Judy mumbled.

"No, don't worry about it. Just call Clawhauser, he'll take care of it."

As Nick sadly observed his triple espresso going to waste, he noticed he was still pressing the Butcher's Den flyer tightly to his chest. He examined it once more, realizing that it luckily did not get stained.

And then he noticed something.

A thought went through his mind that was as surprising as it was gruesome. Carefully, he lifted the piece of paper to his nose, and sniffed. The feeling intensified.

"Nick, what's wrong?" his partner asked him, noticing the frown that immediately covered his face.

"Uh, nothing," the fox answered dismissively. "I better put this thing in a bag."

Opening one of the sachets on his belt, he pulled out a plastic evidence bag, carefully placing the flyer inside.

"Say boss… Which officer did you say the tiger gave this to again?"

"Francine. Why do you ask?" Bogo inquired, trying to wipe a coffee stain from his shirt.

"Oh, just to know…" he said, then handing the evidence bag to the buffalo. "Would you mind getting this to the forensics lab to get it examined? Just to make sure."

"Yeah. Haven't thought about that," said the Chief. "Go get Clawhauser, I'll have him deliver it as soon as he cleans my office. Now, get moving! And remember, keep this whole 'Butchers Den' thing confidential! Go undercover whenever necessary."

As the duo left their boss' office, Judy couldn't shake the feeling that Nick was looking kind of strange. Deciding to cheer him up a bit, she whispered:

"Hey, some people's kids, right? Goin' around town, spreadin' rumors that there is a group of carnivores kidnapping prey over in Horne County? Puh, ridiculous… What next- a reptile infestation? I'm telling you, this must be the most stupidest urban legend I have ever heard in my entire life…"

But Nick didn't answer. He was too deep in his thoughts. Finally, Judy pulled him by the sleeve of his shirt.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked in resentment.

"Err, never mind, Carrots… You're right. It's nothing more than a stupid urban legend…" the fox responded, yet not too sincerely.

AN: So that's chapter one for you. How was it? Not too long? XD

I'll do my best to respond to all reviewers, and to publish every couple of days. So please- let me know what you think, and I'll see you soon!