Karma's pace became unhurried as she slowly trotted to the meeting place. Serendipity had taken a leisurely position mounted on her back, and Karma was tolerating this, if barely.
"You know, you can get off of me any time you'd like," Karma remarked.
"Yeah, I know," Serendipity tittered.
A large astral window was already open and focused on Zootopia at the meeting place, which wasn't too unusual. More surprising, however, was that all eleven other Celestials were already there, and most of them were looking at the two with measures of concern. Serendipity squeaked and Karma's eyes widened.
"Um, hello...?" Karma greeted hesitantly.
Acceleration was the first to speak up, and the white cheetah tilted his head in feline curiosity. "So... what did you do?"
"What did I-," Karma started, then took in a small breath.
"Judy's combing Zootopia up and down for Nick," Drive observed, zooming in the astral view slightly to pick up her truck. "Whatever you did, it really restored her focus on her goal."
"You've got me curious, that's for sure," Fervor smirked, folding his arms. "With all that fuss you put Fortitude and me through, I figured you were about to do something drastic."
"It sure seemed that way from what she told me," Accleration wiggled his head rapidly in affirmation. "Something about bringing balance to both of our worlds...?"
Phantasm laughed gently. "For a balance to come to this realm... numerically at least, a loss would have to occur. I was wondering what sort of thought might have entered your mind, Karma."
"Aheh...!" Karma grinned with an unusual broadness. "Well, I'm still around, so..."
"Are you sure everything's fine?" Paradigm asked. "I sensed an explosion of Order and Chaos energies."
"Yup, everything's perfectly peachy!" Serendipity insisted, starting to float off of Karma's back.
"Huh, an 'explosion' of Order and Chaos energy huh?" Fervor's smirk grew dangerous. "If I didn't know any better-"
"You don't know any better, Fervor," Fertility interrupted with a chiding smile. "So hush."
Several of the Celestials chuckled.
"Uh, I don't get it," Growth blinked, tilting his head.
"So," Karma barked, clearing her throat and trying to thrash the giggling Serendipity away with her tail. "What's- ah, what's the status?"
"Well, whatever happened, Judy is trying very hard to find- oh, she's gotten a lead from Nick's acquaintance Finnick," Drive peered down at her. "Her conviction to find Nick is suddenly so solid, and chance seems to be working in her favor to find him."
"She's very strong," Fortitude nodded in agreement. "But what force is driving them together? I thought I heard that the two aren't soulbound." A few heads turned toward Destiny, who was standing there with a bland look on her face.
"Nick and Judy are a special case," Destiny said finally. "It's not that they were created soulbound from the Source, but their being exemplars of two that are soulbound makes the two bound regardless. It's a different kind of bond, and unprecedented in the mortal world."
The shock and surprise on many of the faces around caused Karma to cringe and Serendipity to look off to the side with her paws behind her back, trying to wrestle her mouth away from a big grin.
Growth broke the silence with a loud exclamation: "Karma and Serendipity are soulbound!?"
Celestial heads turned to the two standoffish looking Celestials, then back to Destiny.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Destiny replied blithely.
"Mmm," Fertility's eyes half-closed as she fluffed her cheeks. "I did always wonder about those two... they do work well together."
"Huh," Fortitude grinned.
"So, by bringing 'balance' to the Celestial realm..." Fervor tapped a claw on his muzzle.
"We have eons to discuss this at some other time," Karma blurted, clearly flustered, her posture almost crouched, "let's focus on Judy at the moment, if we could."
"Because of their bond," Fortitude narrowed his eyes, "does that mean that both Nick and Judy have tendencies from both of their patron Celestials?"
"Something like that," Destiny nodded. "Though weighed more toward which they are the exemplar of."
"Intriguing," Surrender piped up abruptly. "Dual exemplars...?"
"Hey wait, wait," Growth's eyes widened. "Judy's found Nick!"
Judy approached Nick, eagerly telling him about what she'd discovered about the Night Howlers. Nick responded with sarcastic dejection and began to leave.
"What...?" Fervor blinked. "She led with that?"
"Tsk, it does fit her," Karma frowned. "Her morality drove her to let him know that she was wrong about predators straight away, but she didn't realize how much she'd hurt Nick, or how deeply he feels about things..."
"It's not over yet, Judy! Go after him!" Serendipity wiggled her front paws.
Judy pursued Nick, and launched into a heartfelt plea for Nick's help. She asked not for his forgiveness nor his compassion, just for his aid.
"Oh..." Fertility smiled. "She touched him... she touched his very core." Fertility looked very pleased and her face softened.
"What's he gonna do?" Growth saw Nick rustling for the carrot pen he'd been hustled with, and played back a recording of Judy calling herself a "dumb bunny". Growth's face was as confused as Judy's
"Hehe, surprise!" Serendipity giggled. "He kept the pen, 'cause Judy's important to Nick!"
"That's a weird way to show it," Acceleration's eyes flickered on and off.
"Eh, it's totally Nick-ish," Serendipity flicked her paw, assuming Nick's colors. "He's got this thing with carrying around significant items, thinking they'll bring him the fortune he wants, or at least remind him of what could have been had things been luckier."
"And they're together again," Fertility smiled. "So sweet..."
"Yes! They are so good together!" Fervor looked enthralled. "Now they can go kick some tail!"
"Ooh," Serendipity grinned as they headed off. "I'm getting a weird feeling about those blueberries. And he's putting them in his Junior Ranger Scouts handkerchief from his childhood! Double lucky bonus!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Karma scrunched her muzzle.
"Dunno yet; we'll find out!" Serendipity was getting more and more excited, vibrating in midair.
The newly-reconciled duo sought out Duke Weaselton, whom Judy had arrested before. After three months he was back out on the streets, selling DVDs. When Nick and Judy shook him down for information, he refused, saying there was no way the two could get him to talk. The two tossed each other a look.
"Oh, I know what they're thinking," Phantasm grinned.
Duke was dragged off to the crime boss Mr. Big, and he was suddenly all-too happy to talk.
"Ha!" Fervor grinned. "Can we call that Instant Karma?" Karma rolled her eyes at the quip.
"Just add water!" Serendipity agreed as the weasel was held over an icy pit. "Really, really cold water!"
"Well, revenge is a dish best served cold," Fortitude remarked sagely. Karma groaned loudly.
"Patience, Karma," Surrender said, barely stifling a grin. "The real test begins now."
"They're getting right into the heart of the chemical operation," Surrender noticed. "Dawn's lackeys won't be expecting them..."
Against Nick's desperate urging, Judy launched a surprise attack on the chemist and started to attempt to steal the train.
"Wh-what!?" Drive blinked in disbelief. "She's trying to start the train? She's trying to start a dilapidated train."
"And it's starting," Acceleration's eyes became upward curves. "All aboard!"
"How did she even know how to do that?" The caracal celestial stared at Serendipity.
"She's just lucky, I suppose," Karma grinned at the floating bunny, who squinted her eyes in happiness.
"Oh, this is not good, this is not good..." Industry fretted, nibbling on his paws. "The utter recklessness! They're surely going to destroy something!" He summoned several bodies, each opening a window with various equations and projections on them. The bodies came to a consensus, and the original mouse looked up at the main view in despair. "No no, this has a very, very low probability of going well...!"
"It's this type of high-stakes action that really gets the blood pumping!" Fervor flew around in a broad circle, leaving a trail of fire. "Get them, girl!"
"Kick that ram! Ha ha!" Fortitude stomped at the ground. "I love that bunny!"
"How on Earth did she make that shot?" Drive marveled at Judy's kicking of the ram, which altered the track course to avoid a head-on collision with another train. She looked up and spotted Serendipity's enormous grin. "You know what? I'm going to stop asking questions."
"It's gonna crash, it's gonna crash!" Industry screeched, his extra bodies vanishing. "Destruction, doom, danger!"
And crash the train did, spectacularly, into multiple explosions.
"But Nick kept his head," Karma noticed. "Despite Judy's recklessness, he was able to focus on protecting the most important evidence to the case. The piece that will inevitably spell the defeat of Dawn should they tie it to her."
"She is on her way now," Surrender warned. "She will not be able to let that pass. She will silence the two if nothing can be done to stop her."
"Here comes the game changer," Paradigm nodded. "They've isolated themselves in a building under construction. The perfect venue for a disaster to befall the exemplars."
"But which ones...?" Fortitude narrowed his eyes.
Judy was able to intuit Dawn's suspicious arrival, and a tense chase ensued. Judy unluckily injured her leg on a prop mammoth tusk and she and Nick were forced to come up with another plan.
"Just listen to them go!" Fertility marveled as Nick and Judy formulated a strategy. "They speak as though of one mind... their thoughts flow like quicksilver!"
"The way their ideas are collaborating is very inspiring," Phantasm considered. "But can they bear fruit so quickly?"
"Hehe, yes, they sure are gonna bear fruit! The blueberries! The blueberries!" Serendipity squealed. "I knew something felt funny about them!"
"Blueberries, the one fruit that could possibly be the harbinger of justice in this occasion," Karma chuckled. "That... is a new one."
By pulling a convincing scam, Nick was able to fake going savage and delay Dawn enough to get a confession out of her. Meanwhile, the ZPD were summoned by Dawn's own hoof, and quickly surrounded her. Karma beamed with pride.
"There might be something to that 'Instant Karma'," Paradigm chuckled.
"YES!" Serendipity flew a loop in the air, giggling. Karma turned her warm gaze up at the exuberant floating bunny.
"Dawn has been defeated," Surrender smiled. "At last, her corrupt perversion of my ideals will be suppressed. Destiny."
"Mm?" The giraffe was barely paying attention to him, focused on the scene.
"When Dawn finally passes away," Surrender started, "you and I must examine her soul. Should Karma be correct about Calamity residing within her..."
Destiny nodded, giving him her attention. "I wonder if this all has been some sort of game that Calamity has been playing. Was he really erased, or has he been attempting to cover his tracks? Did he find some sort of way to go dormant for a few hundred years, only to attempt to subversively return in the soul of an exemplar?"
"I suppose that is a question we will have to answer at another time," Surrender shook his head.
"The damage has been done to Zootopia," Paradigm warned solemnly. "Fear and intolerance have been stirred. Merely removing the head of the plot will not erase them. However... now things will now slowly come back into balance."
"And thank Chaos for that," Karma grinned at Serendipity, who proudly waved both front paws.
"Never thought I'd heard those words come from our Orderly pup," Drive chuckled.
"It does take eons, but even the Celestials can change," Acceleration nodded to his fellow feline.
Karma closed her eyes and smiled. It was a change she felt was right. The observations and lively talk between the Celestials calmed her, and she finally felt at peace.
Nine months later, Karma was reclining in her Territory, her large tail swept around her and in her mouth. One of her ears twitched, and she flicked a paw to open a small astral window. She observed Judy, as exuberant as her first day at the ZPD, now with her partner Nick at her side, about to receive their first assignment together.
"It's been a long time coming for them..." Karma half-smiled. "Finally, they will get to enjoy each other's company."
"What? Where?" Serendipity's voice came from Karma's midst. "Pfeh! Get this thing off me!" Serendipity wiggled out of Karma's grasp, throwing Karma's large, concealing tail off of her. She matched Karma's colors, but quickly switched to police blues when she saw what was happening. "Ooh, look, there he is!" Serendipity giggled into her paws. "Not even Nick can hide how pleased he is!"
The two obtained an assignment to catch a speeder, and their drive was full of playful banter and affectionate quips.
"Wow..." Karma shook her head. "'You know you love me?' A bit bold, and a bit provocative..."
"And the response is just as teasing!" Serendipity squealed. "Oh, what a cute little couple they make! I'll have to show Fertility that one."
"I suppose the question now is..." Karma looked at the ground, "have they fulfilled their role in Zootopia's history? Saving it from a crisis, becoming the first of their kinds on the force? Or has their journey just begun?"
"Their journey together has just begun," Serendipity turned her head, shooting Karma a coy smile. "Who knows what their combined talents are capable of?"
Karma swiftly darted her muzzle forward and gave Serendipity a long lick, to which she shrieked and wiggled.
"Who indeed?" Karma teased.
"Hey, you're not supposed to surprise me!" Serendipity protested, wiggling her paw reprovingly. "That's not fair!"
"Oh, but Serendipity," Karma yawned. "It would be ever so boring if we were completely beholden to our own traits forever... even your ability to shock and surprise could get predictable and dull after a time."
"But you've never gotten sick of my surprises," Serendipity accused.
"No, Serendipity," Karma looked at her warmly. "I suppose I haven't. ...So keep surprising me, little bunny. On into the future. For eternity."
Serendipity saluted, her lower lip wobbling. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Speaking of surprises..." Karma grinned, getting up. She growled playfully. "Perhaps it's time I showed you why ancient canines revered me as the Celestial of dogged pursuit."
"Eep!" Serendipity squeaked, and poofed out of existence, then back into existence further from her. "Like you could ever catch me!"
"You'll get what's coming to you, Serendipity...!" Karma lunged for her, starting to chase her.
"I hope so, but she'll have to catch me first!" Serendipity laughed and flew away.
Phantasm entered Growth's Vale, where the small deer was relaxing.
"As I've been summoned, I come, like the comforting visit of a returning dream," Phantasm greeted.
"Phantasm! Hello!" Growth sprang up and began to frolic around her. "I was hoping you'd tell me a story today."
"Of course, Growth," Phantasm nodded, her mane and tail flowing freely. "What would you like to hear?"
"Tell me the story of how Serendipity and Karma learned to accept their differences and grow closer together," Growth said with a smile. "How they both learned to change and become stronger with each other."
Phantasm laughed. "Silly Growth. That story just happened."
"It's still a good story!" Growth insisted, his eyebrows raising. "C'mon, I wanna hear how you tell it, with all your confusing metaphors and flowy similes and stuff."
"As you wish," Phantasm said with a smirk, starting to recline in the Vale. She looked over at Growth with a teasing eye. "Shall I skip the mushy parts?"
"Oh, no way!" Growth said exuberantly. He shut his eyes and his horns glowed green, and he "grew up" into a teenage form, his voice dropping a bit in response. "See? I'm mature enough to take it!"
"Very well..." Phantasm laughed softly as Growth reclined near her. "Once, there were two Celestials by the names of Karma and Serendipity..."