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He wanted to believe he was good. He wanted to believe that there was more to him than the pair of fangs he couldn’t hide, or the scales that slicked so smoothly over warm flesh that mammals would revile him as “slimy” and “gross.” He wanted to ignore the sting of emotion that pierced straight through his heart whenever someone looked at him like he was evil-incarnate.
He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t even want to!
Why wouldn’t anyone believe him…?
He never thought a mammal would ever look his way with anything other than disgust. But when Pawbert looked at him- really looked- Gary almost wept in relief.
Finally! After so many years of hiding in fear, here was someone that actually cared. From the same family line that cursed Gary’s own family, no less- And he wanted to help!
…
Or… so he thought.
When Pawbert- the lynx he’d come to see as his first ever friend- caught the snake by the throat and effortlessly picked him up, Gary still held onto the hope that Pawbert would change his mind. That he would see just how much he was hurting others and understand how much it stemmed from his own familial trauma.
Instead, Pawbert shoved open the door into the freezing tundra wind, and Gary was dumped unceremoniously into a poff of snow just outside. He was forced to watch- unable to move, barely able to keep his eyes open as the cat oh-so-gently removed Gary’s favorite fanny pack from his midsection, deliberately clipping it onto himself right in front of the snake to make a point.
No turning back.
Gary couldn’t even cry out for help as Judy Hopps was stabbed with the same venom gun that no doubt killed so many innocent people. It didn’t help that the “teeth” at the business end were actual fangs ripped from long-forgotten vipers of the past.
Gary sickeningly hoped his brethren had been dead before they’d been stolen…
Willing his mind to focus on the moment at hand, Gary’s mind sluggishly forces himself to focus on the rabbit lying across from him. He could feel her terrified heart thudding quickly by the vibrations through the metal floor.
He had to get to her- had to save her! He didn’t know how- not without his anti-venom pen- but he was willing to try anything at this point.
Even if that meant losing himself in the frozen wasteland of the tundra to get that blasted pen in time.
“Ni-Nick…” Judy gasps, the rabbit crawling pitifully toward the way out.
He had to help… Somehow…
“We shall… succeed… Judy Hopps.” Gary breathes, encouraging her forward as he inches his way toward her.
Every muscle screams at him to stop- to accept his fate and slip into the cold embrace of icy nothingness.
Another ripple of muscle drags Gary closer to his real, true friend. The one that vouched for him- risked her life for him!
His scales sear in agony.
Gary bites back the scream building in his throat. He couldn’t scare Judy any more than she already was.
“Nick…!” Judy whimpers, forcing herself forward just a little further.
“We… shall… succeed.” Gary reassures, though he knew his words ran hollow. Still, maybe if he said them out loud enough times, the universe would finally- for once in his miserable life- have mercy on him.
Judy feebly reaches for the door handle- not nearly close enough, but damned to try- before collapsing back to the ground.
“I can’t… move,” Judy whines, “And you’re too cold… to help.”
“And he’s gonna…” She continues, and though Gary can’t see her face, he can hear the tears clogging her throat, “Nick’s gonna…”
“Judy,” Gary cuts her off. He couldn’t have her falling into that dark hole of despair.
He knew all too well what that looked like, and they didn’t have the time for it.
“The world… was nev-never meant… to be… on one… animal’s… shoulders.” Gary continues, “That’s why… my great-grandma… wanted… Zootopia… to be… for… everyone. So, we could… all… help… each other.” He forces out, trying his best to make sure his words were clear.
At some point, Judy had turned her head to face him, and Gary could just make out the tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes.
Gary’s breath caught in his throat. He didn’t like it when others cried. All he wanted was for everyone to be happy- just as his great-grandma had when she took matters into her own scales and built the Zootopia everyone knew of today.
He hoped he could make Judy truly happy someday.
He just had to figure out how to save her first.
“I… didn’t… help…” Judy breathes, tears now trickling down her fuzzy cheeks.
“You did,” Gary presses, putting as much sincerity into his words as he could. His tail had long since gone numb- slowly creeping up his backside and filling him with a new sort of terror- and it was getting harder to move now, but she was so close-!
Gary shoves the thoughts aside once more.
“You chose… to help… me.” He laughs softly, though more out of incredulity than humor, “And became… my best… warm-blooded… friend.” Gary smiles weakly, trying to stop the shivering of his lips so that he could convey just how much he truly appreciated her.
With considerable effort, Gary shifts his tail forward, letting it fall onto her shoulder in a way that he hoped would bring her some sense of reassurance.
His heart beat just a little faster against the sluggishness of the cold, worried he’d done something wrong when Judy gave him the saddest frown he’d ever seen on another before.
“Very… warm.” Gary insists.
He had to help. He just had to! And to do that, he hated the fact that he had to essentially use her in such a vulnerable state.
Unconsciously, his vision flickers, and all he can see is her heat signature.
Her fur coat and police outfit blocked the biting cold, trapping her heat within until all he saw was a stark orange blob in the vague shape of a rabbit.
Ironically, it helped that the venom was causing her to heat up even more, which gave him the perfect opportunity he needed.
“Permission… to hug?” Gary asks, his own throat squeezing at the thought of never seeing her again. Even if this was it, at least he would be there to comfort her in her final moments.
Judy’s barely noticeable nod was all the permission Gary needed.
The warmth radiating from her was already thawing his frozen flesh, releasing just enough tension to allow him to move relatively freely. Gary slips around Judy, cradling her close with ultimate care and nestling his head beneath her chin.
And just like that, Gary could feel the ice in his veins melt away, releasing him from his own personal bodily prison.
If only Judy could understand just all of how much she was doing to help him- to help everyone- without even trying.
He only had to do one thing first.
Glancing at one of the cameras in the control room they were in, another shock of fear slithers down the whole length of his spine as he watches a red fox slowly backing away from Pawbert. Gary couldn’t look at the fear in the poor canine’s eyes any longer- he had to stay strong. For Judy!
“We’re gonna save you, and save your friend.” Gary promises, offering another smile in the hope that it would somehow help her push through.
Instead, Judy lets out a heavy, choked breath, her eyelids fluttering dangerously. Her head falls to the side- muscles no longer strong enough to keep holding it upright.
After that, everything became a blur.
Shouting. Hooves scrabbling at his slick hide. Hands crushing at various points before being forced to release as he flailed wildly in fear.
Was his last fang bared? Had he accidentally bit someone else?
Gary didn’t know, nor did he care.
All he truly cared about was keeping Judy safe.
Gary’s coils were wrapped around the rabbit as comfortably as he could manage- the scales warmed by her own body heat comfortable enough for her to imagine that she was at home in her apartment.
…
Judy’s lips curl into the smallest smile, willing herself deeper into the mass that just had to be her favorite heavy comforter. It caressed her- inviting her to sink in and let go. To allow herself to finally take the hand of the gracious presence that waited just beyond the veil.
Words. Sharp, frantic and loud, yet indiscernible in her ears. A pulse of worry rushes through Judy’s veins.
Wait! She couldn’t leave yet! Someone needed her help!
Judy swore an oath to protect her people- all of her people- with everything she had. Everything she was.
Judy groans, fighting back the urge to accept her fate.
She couldn’t let go. Not yet. Not… yet!
…
The first thing Judy sees is Gary’s overwhelmingly wide smile of relief- happy tears streaming down his cheeks.
The second thing Judy notices is the dorky anti-venom pen piercing right into her heart- Gary’s tail still wrapped tightly around it as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing was real.
Still, she didn’t have time to reassure him. Shoving herself free, Judy fights against the ache into her very bones, forcing herself onto her feet. Everything felt as if she were moving in slow motion as she looks back at the cameras- eyes catching on her favorite partner stumbling atop the crumbling ice ledge over a cavernous abyss.
Judy’s mind goes blank with fear.
The next thing she knows, Judy is lying in soft snow upon a solid surface. Heavy breathing that wasn’t hers invades her ears- a noise she understood dearly.
Nick! Her mind laughs desperately.
Sure enough, there he was- pushing himself upright right into front of her.
Judy’s mind took a moment to catch up with everything that had happened, and it seemed Nick’s did too. Just like everything else, they were still connected in that way that passed reactions between them like twins- both breaking free of the trance at the same time to crash into a hug.
Gary watches from his distance as the pair try to speak over one another at the same time. Gary’s body has once again begun to seize, but he couldn’t care less. The warmth of returning the unlikely duo together felt like more than enough of a reward for his sacrifice.
That, and he knew when people needed their space.
He also knew that Judy wasn’t the only one that needed help from his anti-venom pen.
It stung a bit as he forces himself to pull away- Gary really wants another hug- but he knew he was needed elsewhere.
At least the sun was starting to rise- the actual warmth from the heavenly star helping to thaw his stiff parts having refrozen in that short time outside.
“I’ll… help your friend.” Gary sighs, slinking off back into the maintenance door of the Tundra Town weather wall.
The viper looks back for just a second, seeing the fox and rabbit embracing one another a second time. They didn’t seem to have heard him, but that was ok. Gary was just happy everyone was finally happy.
Day saved!
What else could go wrong?