Are we going to talk about how Nick's fake identity was M

I feel this should have been a stand-alone, self-contained. This ending here is ideal for a Zootopia story like yours.

I expected the final exchange with the shot Butcher to go like this...

Fangley: (Injured yet pleading) Tell me...! Why did refuse to join me?! Why, Wilde..?! How did I disappoint you?!

Nick: You were incapable of believing in me. You stole what you had from others, you rejected your Zootopian origins and chose to covet the power of what you call the "Natural Food Chain"; the so-called 'enefsee'. You never grew beyond your days as a company worker. did you truly think you could become superior to Zootopians by returning to the instinctual ways of yore? Don't make me laugh!

Fangley: (Hurt and angry) What's wrong with that?! I only wanted to obtain perfection! I wanted this world's order for my own! Why should I be punished for that?! What's wrong with craving power and control?! What's wrong with showing others my way in the path to perfection?!

Upon Nick's rejection of their ways, I expected the Butcher to be like: "No...you and your messianic tendencies. What do you think you can do, leaving this world intact? Do you intend to preserve the current status quo? Are you going to destroy the order of things? So even you would make that choice. Cowardly Zootopian...but you are too late to walk that path. You have chosen to preserve the status quo, yet you choose to upend it as well. Why do you oppose us? Will even you place your hopes in the possibility of a future? Even after we have shown you many times there is no future for Zootopia? You are no longer of use to us. May you regret your choice in this prison until you die."

good story

I expected Fangley's last words to be something like: "I fought, I lost. Now I rest. If I had to do everything I did all over knowing where I'd end up, I pray I'd make the right choice again."

I noticed the animal farm references you snuck in. This story is honestly great I can’t stop reading

Damn! He Hannibal Lectored them!

Being a fan of grim endings such as this alternate one, it is my preference. For some reason when characters suffer in ways such as this I find it to be an interesting way of exposing something of their inner self. But I do think the official ending was also a good one. Job well done on this story, though I felt like the confinement/middle part went on for a little too long. Maybe it was to drill in the horrors Judy and Nick went through, but as a suggestion I think it could have been trimmed slightly. I look forward to seeing the aftereffects of the case on the main characters in the sequel.

Will there be a sequel? Just curious...

I preferred the original ending, but this was awesome. I loved how Nick's mind made the best out of this situation. I can't wait for the sequel. You did a great job here.

Yeeeah, that is what I expected from the alternative ending! Utopia city where everyone can be what they want - well I want to be a carnivore! - seems like Zootopia haven't considered that. The only way for predators to keep their features as claws, teeth, etc. is to sustain the hunt. Well, prey won,t give up just like that, obviously. City will drown in blood. Very dark AU indeed (for the prey). But I still liked this ending more than original one. Too bad it won't get continuation but oh well. I'll look forward to what will you come up with in the part 2 of bButcher's Den./b

Neither was good, but the AU was worse.

If Nick truly was Judy's friend, he would have sacrificed himself to get her out of trouble. That's what real friends do. And if he had killed and eaten Judy, the level of betrayal that he stooped to should have made him sick, suicidal even.

But apparently he didn't care at all for Judy, since by the end of it, he didn't even bother recognizing his possession as the remains of someone who called him a friend and trusted him with her life. A trust he betrayed so utterly and completely.

Spasiba means save...

Ugh, that's what not I expected honestly. Carnivorism still remains unsolved. Well, it's probably because there is no solution at all. It's good for herbivorous and omnivorous to be, but not for carnivorous. If a predator eat doesn't eat meat anymore, why does it still have sharp teeth? If a predator doesn't hunt down prey anymore, why does it still have claws? If a predator isn't active during the night anymore, why does it still have a night vision? I still can't imagine how it is enough for lion or cheetah to eat only donuts and bugs (and fish maybe). Yes, the ending is indeed bitter-sweet. I will wait for the alternative one.