The ground seemed to fly by as Karma launched herself through the expanse. Her Territory was quite far away, and her mind was racing as fast as her feet.

A surge of flame swirled in front of Karma, giving her pause as the flare took shape into a floating wolverine Celestial.

"Fervor, this is not the time!" Karma shouted. Turning her head, she saw the rhino Celestial Fortitude taking heavy steps toward the two.

"Hey there, Karma!" Fervor exulted with an uneasy grin. "Couldn't help but notice you had quite a sudden surge of conviction and passion burst from you a few moments ago!"

Karma growled at the wolverine, who kept floating as to block her path. "Yes, and I need to get to that, so-"

"Fortitude!" Fervor shouted.

"Hrup!" Fortitude lowered his metallic horn and caught Karma under the midsection, lifting her up so she lay across the bridge of his snout.

"Wrgh!?" Karma flailed her limbs, which found no purchase on Fortitude's smooth, metallic form. "Release me!"

"Not until you tell us what you're up to, Karma babe," Fervor shook a claw then folded his paws. "Inner strength and conviction are our areas. So, you need something done, just let us know and we'll get right on that. Promise."

"It's nothing you could do!" Karma spat, trying to free herself once again, but Fortitude kept altering the angle of his head to make the task difficult.

"Try us, Karma," Fortitude said in a casual voice as he thwarted her escape efforts.

Karma turned her head to look at Fortitude in one of his eyes. "It's nothing a Chaos Celestial could do."

Fervor twisted his mouth into a frown. "Oh, is it going to be like that?"

Karma glared at Fervor. "I'm sure you two must be loving this. With the disorder running rampant in Zootopia, it gives mammals so many opportunities to show their inner strength; to fight against the oppression."

"Now wait a second," Fortitude frowned. "We may enjoy when mortals get to show their determination and strength, but we also agree that the balance has been pushed too far the wrong way."

"Zootopia's the beacon for all of the mammalian world," Fervor agreed. "If this situation isn't resolved, the rippling effect could bring hardship to other parts of the planet as well."

"Which is exactly why that 'beacon' needs to be fixed," Karma hissed.

Fervor held out his claws in a fierce fashion. "What exactly are you intending to do, Karma?"

"I will set things right," Karma declared with a bold voice. "I will bring balance to both of our worlds!"

"What...?" Fervor piqued an eyebrow.

"Hrah!" Karma thrust her hind legs against Fortitude's forehead, pushing forward. Thrusting her forepaws downward against his muzzle, she flipped over his horn and landed on the ground between Fervor and Fortitude.

"What the-?" Fortitude blinked.

"By justice be bound!" Karma declared, slamming her forepaws on the ground and drawing two small magenta circles on it with her paws. The circles chased after Fortitude and Fervor and expanded beneath them, creating shafts of magenta light. Fervor pressed his claws against the column around him, finding it solid.

"Aha!" Fervor grinned adventurously. "You want a challenge, do you?" Fervor spun around in place and began to channel searing fire into his claws. "That's what we're all about, sister!" He started to slash at the column wildly with his claws.

"This won't stop us for long, Karma," Fortitude warned, thrashing his head against his prison. Shortly thereafter, both columns quickly began to buckle, cracking under the assaults.

"No, but long enough," Karma said, then turned around and began to run.

"What's she going to do, Fervor?" Fortitude paused his thrashing.

"One way to find out..." Fervor shook a paw, his claws vibrating, then drew in a huge breath to increase his volume. "ACCELERATION!"

Karma drew in a tight breath as she heard Fervor's call. It wouldn't be long before the cheetah would be on her. She hastened her pace; her Territory drew near.

Acceleration pulled up beside Karma, matching her pace with minimal effort.

"Hi, Karma," Acceleration greeted in a friendly voice. "So... um, what's all this about, then?"

"No servant of Chaos is going to stop me," Karma grunted in determination. "So you might as well not try."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Acceleration rapidly blinked his colorful pupils. "Uh, stop you from what, exactly?"

"Bringing balance to this world," Karma said, willing herself to go even faster. Acceleration did not relent, again easily matching her speed.

"How do you intend to do that?" Acceleration wondered. Karma shot him a dirty look, but his pupils drew question marks. "C'mon, Karma, it's my job to bring the news."

"It won't matter if I tell you or not," Karma stated. "When I'm through, you won't be able to recall any of it anyway."

Acceleration actually halted, stunned. Karma looked over her shoulder at him to regard him. His pupils drew ellipses, then quickly morphed into exclamation points, and with a red flash, he was gone in the opposite direction.

Karma breathed out in relief as she finally came upon her Territory. She hastily threw open an astral window and saw Judy, her exemplar, looking despondent at one of her parents' carrot stands.

"She stands mere feet from the source of Zootopia's woes," Karma observed. "Her sense of justice must be rekindled." Karma drew in a deep breath. "And I shall personally guide her."

Karma began to circle the entire circumference of her Territory three times. After the third revolution, she began to pace three different circles that intersected the Territory and created a small untouched space in the very center of her area. After she traversed the final circle, the ground on the untouched section of the pattern cracked open with a terrible whine and became a swirling portal.

Bracing herself, Karma began to walk toward the portal.

"May this world find justice," Karma sighed. "Even if I am not here to provide it."

Karma bowed, then leaped for the middle of the portal.

"GUH!"

A sudden impact struck Karma in the side and she flew away from the portal, crashing into the ground off to the side.

"Who...!?" Karma looked around. Floating next to her was a very grim looking Serendipity. The floating bunny's colors swirled with royal purple, and she had blazing yellowish pupils. "Of course... I should have known."

"Karma!" Serendipity yelled. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"None of your concern!" Karma lunged upward from her position and swung her head, catching Serendipity in the side and tossing the bunny Celestial away from her. Karma began to gallop for the portal once more.

Serendipity gasped and gestured forward with her paw. "Rgh!"

A fierce, colorful firework exploded right in front of the portal, sending Karma flying backward again. She hit the ground hard and tumbled across it from the force. The stars of the firework made her fur sizzle as it reconstituted itself.

"Serendipity..." Karma growled. "Of course you would be my final obstacle. It only makes sense."

"Final obstacle?" Serendipity looked frightened. "What are you talking about!?"

"This world is falling to Chaos," Karma stated, rising to her feet once more. "And it's in Chaos because of me. Because of my trek through the Garden of Souls, because of the exemplar I sent there."

"What!? No!" Serendipity shook her head rapidly. "I have an exemplar too! You can't blame yourself...!"

"There are more Order Celestials than there are of Chaos," Karma said darkly. "There are more Order exemplars than there are of Chaos. An imbalance! The nature of things is to rebel against imbalance! The void must be filled! The scales must weigh evenly! The physical world has begun to tip into Chaos because of the imbalance of Order in the Celestial Realm!"

"Karma," Serendipity's brow furrowed. "I've had just about enough of your crazy theories."

"I am going through that portal to Earth," Karma said resolutely. "And you are not going to stop me. I will help show Judy the path. And if, as I expect, that is beyond my allowance... then I will be no more."

"No!" Serendipity shrieked, her colors growing pale yellow. "You can't!"

"Don't be so distraught, Serendipity," Karma held her head up high. "Once I am gone, you won't remember me."

"You- you think I want that!?" Serendipity screeched. "Nh-no... no!" Serendipity panicked, rapidly flashing colors. Karma began to walk forward with purpose, and Serendipity rushed to her side and grabbed on, trying to stop her. Karma merely shook her off.

"This is how it had to be," Karma let a breath out slowly, finding calm within herself. "You stopped me twice. The third time is the completion. My completion. I will complete my final circle... and then maybe the world will know peace and balance once more."

Serendipity frantically flew toward the portal and hovered mere inches from its mouth, her fur becoming blazing oranges and reds and her eyes shining with conviction.

"No!" Serendipity held up a paw. "I will stop you again, and your final failure will be the end of this nonsense!"

"Serendipity...!" Karma barked. "Move!"

Serendipity did not budge, and Karma found herself pausing. She'd never seen the little bunny Celestial with such a fiercely determined look on her face. It was rather unsettling; as if she was tapping into the primal force of Chaos itself. Karma almost found it difficult to put one paw in front of the other.

"That's right," Serendipity said coldly. "You won't risk me being pushed into the portal as well, will you? It'd upset your precious 'balance'!"

Karma grit her teeth, growling at her loudly. "Do you think mortals care for my designs? Do you think they understand or think it 'just' when I'm driven to punish them in one life for their crimes in the previous one? Mortals do not have the sight for my kind of justice. They denigrate my very existence! 'Karma's such a bitch, isn't she!?' The world would be better off without it. Without me!"

Serendipity shook her head. "This world will have karma, and it will have serendipity. Stand down."

"Serendipity... you can't stop me," Karma grit her teeth. "I know you want me to stay... but don't worry, your pain will vanish the moment I do."

"NO!" Serendipity screamed. "Chaos, give me your might!" Serendipity rose into the air, then gathered strength into all four of her paws. Tossing a glowing sphere toward the ground from her paws, it burst open into innumerable crackling firework explosions. The meeting between the power of Chaos and the portal of Order destabilized both of them, and caused a huge surge of bright energy in all directions that made Karma close her eyes, gasping in pain. The force washed over her as she dug in with her claws to stand her ground. When she opened her eyes, the portal was gone.

"S-Serendipity...?" Karma looked around, but didn't see any trace of the bunny. "Serendipity! Did she- did she go through the portal before it was destroyed? Nh- no. No! I have to..." Karma jerked her head left and right frantically. "I've got to make another one and go after her before she-"

"Boo," Serendipity blurted, poofing into existence right next to Karma's ear. She wore bright pink colors with sky blue eyes.

"Gyagh!" Karma flinched away from her. "Serendipity...! This is no time for your games!"

"No, you're right," Serendipity's brow fell. "It's time for you to stop being a dumb puppy and start listening to me."

"...What do you have to say?" Karma asked cautiously.

Serendipity floated circles around Karma, ending up near her face. "You're being so hasty, Karma. ...Can't you give our exemplars a chance to work things out themselves?"

Karma sighed, a disappointed look crossing over her face. "Serendipity. It's been three months. They are two hundred miles apart. Judy doesn't realize the colloquial name for the plant that causes savagery is 'Night Howler'. Without any sort of intervention, there will be no way to reignite Judy's drive."

"I dunno, Karma," Serendipity opened an astral window, looking at her talking to her parents. "My Serendipity sense is tingling awful hard."

"Did you forget that she's my exemplar?" Karma huffed. "The two are so far apart... and unless you intervene, which I can't have you do... how is a lucky occurrence going to..." Karma shook her head. "Nothing will draw them back together, Serendipity. They are not soulbound."

Serendipity nodded slowly. "Maybe. But we are."

Karma felt a chill pass through her fur and gawked at Serendipity, who was still looking through the astral window. Karma felt her mouth move, but no words came out. After a cough, she finally spoke again. "Wh-what did you say...?"

Serendipity coyly tilted her head in Karma's direction. "What, does that surprise you?"

A mystified, half-angry look twisted Karma's muzzle. "I... don't play with me, Serendipity."

"It's so fun, though!" Serendipity giggled.

"We're soulbound," Karma said incredulously. "You and me."

"I mean, duh?" Serendipity chuckled. "We're drawn to each other. We're the orderiest Order and the chaosiest Chaos. We're made for each other!"

"Uh..." Karma gave an amused huff.

"Opposites attract, yadda yadda," Serendipity shrugged, wiggling a front paw.

"...If I were to ask Destiny... would she be able to tell that two Celestials are soulbound...?" Karma wondered, staring at the ground.

"Pff, isn't that like looking at the back of a math book for the answers?" Serendipity laughed, throwing her paws out. "C'mon, you know you can't resist me."

"It would seem that you have proven that... physically at least," Karma said wryly. "Though I can just make another portal, you know."

"Too late," Serendipity pointed at a van pulling up through the astral window. "I delayed you for long enough to prove my point." Gideon Grey, the fox that had bullied Judy in the past, came by to apologize to her, and by sheer coincidence, happened to speak the colloquial name "Night Howler".

"What... incredible!" Karma blinked. "Gideon... his reformation- he deserved to be free of his guilt from his past bullying of Judy, so he was drawn to my exemplar for that... but where did that luck come from!?"

"Since you like theories so much, I've got one of my own," Serendipity turned around and kicked through the air, her paws behind her back. "Judy's not your exemplar."

"What, she's yours?" Karma smirked.

"She's ours," Serendipity smiled. "And so is Nick. They're both ours."

"...That would explain a thing or two," Karma had to smile. Her smile grew wider as she visibly saw the fire return into Judy's soul as the little bunny started to put the pieces together, knowing that she had to return to Zootopia to set things right. "...I think she's a little more me, though."

"Probably," Serendipity wiggled her feet.

"So, all that business about us being soulbound..." Karma clicked her tongue. "Was that a 'hustle' on your part?"

"Nah, I meant it," Serendipity winked. "I kinda think Nick and Judy must be soulbound by proxy, then! Betcha she goes right back to him."

"Hm, she hurt him pretty badly," Karma searched the ground, then looked through the window at the bunny tearing off in her father's truck. "...But I think she deserves to close that circle and start another with him."

"Right?" Serendipity laughed. "C'mon, lets meet up with the others and go see what happens next!" Serendipity flew off enthusiastically, but then halted and looked back at Karma sternly. "...No making any more portals."

"No portals," Karma conceded, shaking her head and rolled her eyes. After one last sigh, she started to slowly walk after the exuberant Celestial. "I think I'm starting to believe in our exemplars again."