The sound of keyboard typing filled the room of the ZPD labs, as a familiar form sat near her favorite compute screen once more; performing with the manic productivity only possible from a weasel.

Jenna Jagger pushed up her glasses once more, as she clacked, and observed silently, oblivious to the world around her. A few candy bar wrappers, and a cup of coffee sat at the side of her desk. Cleanliness was never one of her high points, but when it came to quick analysis, no one could touch her.

Chief Bogo walked slowly up behind her. He could have gone home long ago, but given the situation, it felt wrong for him to go to bed tonight, without at least a few answers. When he shared Judy's sentiment that tonight's murder was something he'd never seen before, he meant it.

"Anything yet, Jagger?" he asked the busy weasel.

"Are you kidding me?" she answered in a focused, but slightly frantic voice. "The DNA scanner nearly broke, trying to identify the traces this damn thing left behind. It's fucking unprecedented!" She took a swig of her coffee, before returning to her work.

Bogo sighed, rubbing his brow. "I was afraid of that. Argh, 26 years on the force, and I thought I'd seen everything. Especially after the Bellwether affair.."

"Ohhh yeah..." Jenna nodded as she clacked away. "That compound was one hell of a tough nut to crack. If Khan hadn't stepped in to help out with their techs, I'd probably still be here, trying to figure it all out."

"Yeah...yeah..." Bogo's brain lit up at the mention of Khan pharmaceuticals. They seemed unusually keen on getting a look at the night howler compound, but at the time, he figured they just wanted an edge in the PR department...give the other companies, Lilith, Fischler, a run for their money. He was deep in thought, now, as Jenna looked up at him.

"Look, I don't think I'm gonna have anything solid before tomorrow. You go home and get some rest. You know I'll email anything important." She was still typing as she spoke, taking another sip.

Bogo sighed again, and nodded. "You're a lifesaver, Jagger." He smiled softly. "Just don't pull an all-niter again. I need you sharp for tomorrow."

Jenna just nodded, working away as Bogo finally left. She typed, and typed, until she suddenly froze after what seemed like an eternity later. She pushed up her glasses, and narrowed her eyes, taking a good look at one of the data readings on the screen.

"No...No fucking way..."

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Judy Hopp's Apartment

Judy sat in her room, looking blankly at her mother's face on the phone.

"My god..." she spoke to her daughter. "It must have been terrible to see..."

"I did my best not to look at the aftermath." She paused for a moment. "And Nick...he's a tough guy, but this made him literally sick to his stomach."

"I can imagine" Bonnie Hopps spoke, compassionately. "Do you feel like you need a break, after this? You and Nick are always welcome over here..."

Judy shook her head. "I appreciate the thought, but this is something I can't leave alone, and I don't think Nick can either."

"No way..." Nick answered, sitting on a chair nearby. Neither him or Judy wanted to be alone after tonight, so they had both returned to her place. "I doubt I'll be able to sleep again, until I can get some answers."

"Well..." Mrs Hopps answered. "You know where to find us, if you change your minds..."

"Thanks, Mom..." Judy smiled, before the two said their goodbyes.

Judy put her phone down, and collapsed onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. She wanted to sleep just as much as Nick, but like him, her brain couldn't stop running.

"Why are we still alive?" she wondered aloud.

"Come again?" Nick yawned as he slumped in his chair.

"It could have killed us too..." she shivered a bit at the thought. "But it didn't...why?"

"Well, it can't just be because we're cops...I doubt it has much of a moral compass, seeing what it did earlier..." Nick narrowed his eyes a bit.

"But still..." Judy answered. "It spared us...anyone on night howlers wouldn't have spared a single animal. It doesn't make any sense..."

"The world doesn't have to make sense, carrots..." Nick reclined "Reality's messy, just like you said..."

Judy nodded silently, as the two drifted off in their separate spaces...

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The Next Day...

Chief Bogo had given both officer Hopps and Wilde the day off, to recover, psychologically. He was still a bit shaken himself, but he was still tough enough to preserve the veneer of a calm and composed officer.

He looked up from the analysis that Jenna Jagger had given him, and furrowed his brow slightly. "Are you sure about this?"

Jenna nodded. "Yes sir. On a hunch, I compared the chemical signature our friend left behind, to the active ingredient in the night howler flower...they're practically identical."

Bogo's jaw dropped just a little as he closed the window to his emails. "You're telling me that this murdering animal nobody's ever seen before came from a flower?" He blinked in disbelief a few times as well.

Jenna crossed her arms. "It's not definite. I can only tell you what our limited resources are telling me. There's something very strange going on here, and the night howlers seem to be at the center of it all." She tapped her chin a bit in thought. "The only other techs in this town who could possibly be able to enlighten us any further would be the ones at-"

"Khan Pharmaceuticals..." Bogo finished her sentence for her, as he slowly got out his phone. "You're right, Jenna. Something very odd is going on in this city...and these damned flowers aren't the only thing it seems to be centered around."

Jenna watched as he dialed a number on the touchscreen, and waited.

"Adrian Khan's office..." A secretary answered on the other end.

"Is Mr. Khan in at the moment?" The chief politely asked.

"No, sir..." she replied. "Mr. Khan left the building about an hour ago."

"At this time of the day?" He wondered in his head, before going back to the call.

"Do you know where he went?"

"No sir, he wouldn't say..." the secretary replied once more.

"Thank you..." he answered, before hanging up the phone.

"I'll go run a few more tests. I'll tell you if I find anything else..." Jenna spoke, before finally leaving the chief's office.

Bogo nodded silently, watching her leave the room as he tapped the desk in thought. He never fully trusted Adrian Khan, from day one. He seemed approachable enough on the outside, but inside...he couldn't put his finger on it, but it almost seemed like he was burying the same unreasoning hatred for other animals that he had seen in so many hardened criminals from over the years.

"What in God's name are you up to, Adrian..." he wondered to himself...

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Zootopia Correctional Facility

Dawn Bellwether sat in a single room, where a guard had recently placed her. She had been told she had a visitor, but had no idea who it was. Most of her friends had either turned their backs on her, or had been arrested with her, for her plot to turn prey against predators in the city.

The guard, a large rhino, stood silently outside of the room, until a familiar shape walked up and handed a wad of dollar bills to the guard.

"Leave us..." the visitor told the rhino. The rhino silently took the money, nodded, and walked away.

Dawn looked on suspiciously, as the form of a tiger in a business suit stepped through the door, closing and locking it behind him.

"Adrian Khan..." she narrowed her gaze at him. "Come to rub my nose in my defeat?"

"Oh no..." Khan answered, calmly. "You haven't lost yet...like my father always said, you've never really lost until you've died..." He pulled up a chair and sat across from her on the table.

"Still the same pompous asshole of a pred, I see..." Bellwether sneered. "Just like my former boss..."

"Ah yes...that idiot, Lionheart." Khan smirked. "He tried so hard to crack your little code, but he was too stupid, and sloppy in his attempt." The smile then vanished from his muzzle. "I sniffed you out as the culprit from the moment it all started..."

"Then why didn't you sick your goons on me before I got your idiot friend pulled from office?" Bellwether smirked in return.

"Because I wanted you to THINK that you would win...at least for a while..." The tiger rose and began to circle the seated, cuffed form of the ex-mayor. "Nothing's more satisfying than seeing a fool riding high, before she's finally cut down to size..."

He then moved his head closer, trying to intimidate her further. "I knew you'd slip up, because you're just as sloppy as Lionheart...so sloppy, that all it took was an upstart cop, and a fox, to bring you here."

"And now that I'm here?" She looked up at him, not at all intimidated. "Now that I can't hurt you and your meat-eating friends anymore? What do you want with me?"

"Oh, I just came to pass along some news..." he crossed back to the other side of the table. "See, the antidote for your night howler compound was just the beginning of my research. I've found out some...interesting things about your little flowers, that you never even knew were possible..."

"Oh yeah? What?" Bellwether quirked her brow.

Khan rolled up his right sleeve, showing his arm off to the sheep. The fur suddenly began to be covered by a viscous fluid, red and black in color. Bellwether froze, her eyes opening wide, as a series of small tendrils rose and flicked at the air, as the tiger grinned to her.

"Let's just say, when it comes to their potential to change the world...you merely scratched the surface..." He then leaned closer, and gave her a chilling death-grin.

"You've finally lost, Dawn..."

With that, an ear-piercing screech filled the room, followed by Dawn Bellwether's shouts of anguish, as blood suddenly spattered on the walls, and onto the small window into the room.

With that, a series of guards, led by the same rhino from before, rushed into the room, kicking the door down with guns drawn. They looked to see the shredded corpse of Dawn Bellwether laying on the floor, with a homemade shiv at her side. Khan was at the other side, cradling what appeared to be a sliced right arm.

"I had no choice!" He blurted. "She came right at me! You know how she felt about predators!"

The guards, all knowing what an important animal Khan was, rushed to help him to his feet, as others quickly gathered the remains of the slaughtered sheep. He was helped out of the room, calmly assuring the guards that the medical staff at his own facility could take care of him.

He left the scene of chaos, making sure he was alone, before finally allowing his arm to heal up, the wound slowly closing, with the help of the same black and red liquid.

"There can be no peace without war..." He thought to himself, as he walked back to his limo. "No order, without chaos..." He stepped in, letting it drive away from the prison.

"No calm...without carnage..."

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Nighttime: Streets of Central Zootopia

The form of a female otter roamed the night-lit street. In her arms, she clutched a bag, containing what seemed to be a folder, and several data discs.

She scanned the area cautiously as she walked. She regarded everything, every animal, as a potential spy. It wasn't easy to steal from Khan Pharmaceuticals, but she had managed it, with a lot of patience, and planning.

She saw someone suspicious in the distance, and not taking any chances, slipped through an alley, hoping to lose the animal.

Instead, the frightening figure of Venom himself, landed in front of the otter, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Dr. Tara Stone!" The distorted voice growled to her. "Did you really think you could slip away from us? Didn't you hear of what we did to your friend, Tessmacher?"

"I know! I know all about it!" She protested, frightened. "That's why I want to help you!"

"Help?" Venom sneered. "You've done enough to us already!"

"See this bag?" She showed him what she carried. "This has all the data the ZPD needs to bring Khan down."

"Bring him down?" Venom hissed. "Do you know how many cops and guards he's most likely paid to look the other way? The only way Khan will go down, is if WE reach him, and add his heart to our collection!"

"You have to let me try!" Tara protested, squirming. "Believe me...I was never in favor of what they did...please...for HER sake...let me try..." Tears now began to form in her eyes, as she struggled against the large hand.

Maybe it was the tears, or maybe it was the sincerity in her voice...

Either way, it was enough to make the creature release his grip on the otter.

"Thank you..." she stroked his arm a bit.

"Hurry to the police..." Venom spoke softly now. "Don't make us regret sparing you..."

As he watched her leave, it began to rain a bit. Venom kept to the shadows, as a conversation began in his head.

"Why did you let her live? She's betrayed already. Who's to say she won't betray us as well?"

"Call it animal intuition...I could sense her feelings...I think she's on the level..."

"I hope you are correct. I am still new to sensing what you creatures sense...but for now I shall trust your so-called "intuition".

With that, the dark figure turned, and walked away.

"Just don't forget our purpose...never forget what they did to us..."

"There's not a second goes by, that I don't forget..."