I decided to leave Jack alone today, so we will be paying the Guardians a visit! First...!

Guest Reviews:

Iloveanimals: Brutal is the understatement of the century...

Picasso Penguin: thanks for the birthday wishes, regardless about how I feel about the day. I think you'll like this chapter.

Layla206: he will be ok...eventually...

Yellowmiki98: WHAT!? What did I do?! (Makes an innocent face before running off.)

Sofie Rose: Poor Jack, eh? I have a feeling you'll be saying that more often... Thanks for the birthday wishes!

So without further ado, welcome to Chapter 10 of The Ultimate Ultimatum!

R&R

"E. ASTER BUNNYMUND! NICHOLAS ST NORTH! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF THE INFIRMARY BEFORE THE YETIS FINISH YOUR TREATMENT!?"

The Cossack and the Pooka both froze mid-run at the shrill shout. And they were so close...

They sullenly walked back where they were met with fed up yetis, an amused Sandy and a furious Tooth. The moment she saw the two, she stalked up to them and pulled them into the infirmary by the ear, falling deaf to their shouts.

"Owowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow!" They yelled in unison as Tooth thrust them towards the beds. She shoved the pair of them, under the covers. They peered up at her and simultaneously winced when they saw her glare. However, her face quickly softened and tears began to fall.

"I know you two want to help Jack, we all do. But none of us are in any state to leave the Pole, let alone make a week worth trip, by foot, to find Pitch's layer."

Sandy joined her and made a bunch of symbols which Tooth quickly deciphered. "Sandy's right. The quicker we heal, the faster we can go bring Jack back."

"We can't just wait here!" Exclaimed Bunny, indecorously. "He's with Pitch. Who knows what that bastard could be doin' ta him."

"Well, if you both keep running away, he'll be with Pitch longer than necessary."

The Cossack and the Pooka finally relented, but didn't mean they had to like it. North made to get out of bed. "Christmas was a few days ago. Need to check workshop." He explained at Tooth's raised eyebrow.

"I'll come with you." Sandy, however, pushed her into bed. He pointed at her teared up wings and the ointment a yeti was bringing over.

"Sandy's right." Said Bunny. "Yar probably tha worst outta all o' us. Ya need ta stay here too. North'll be alrigh'."

Tooth nodded solemnly and got into the bed as North left the room. The moment he did, Tooth told two of her fairies to keep an eye on him so he didn't run off, making Aster and Sandy snort in amusement.

North walked down the halls in mixed emotions. Yes, he was happy to be back at the Pole. To be back home. But he didn't like the cost it had come at.

"Ve need to work on bringing Jack back, quickly." He muttered to himself as he entered the main workshop.

The sight that greeted him, shocked him.

The yetis were doing their normal work. Making designs for new toys. Upgrading that year's most popular toy. But what surprised the former bandit was the fact that the elves were helping. Not their usual ridiculous experimenting. They were actually helping. They scuttled around, handing tools to the yetis, holding pieces of wood together in place, giving out uneaten cookies. Some were actually at their own workstation, designing.

"Shostakovich!"

One of the elves ran up and North realised that the elves and yetis alike were wearing name tags. The one that approached him was Dongle. Dongle held up a plate of cookies, one of which North accepted. He then lead the Guardian of Wonder through the workshop, pointing at things he thought might capture North's attention. Once they had travelled the whole way, North asked Dongle to take him to the Globe Room. Dongle seemed to get extremely excited when he said the word 'globe'. The Cossack soon found out why.

The Globe was ablaze with the lights of the believers. Pitch's Globe was much smaller, so it showed it in a smaller scale. Seeing the actual amount of believers they had gained was unbelievable. He knew they were still well believed in, but since he was starved and beaten for years, he couldn't originally feel the power believers normally gave him. Now that his wounds were healing and he had eaten a little, he could the feel the power flow through his veins as naturally as blood. Then North thought of something. He went over to the control panel and looked at the six buttons lined up at the top. Red for him, green for Aster, gold for Sandy, turquoise for Tooth. There was even a black button for Pitch. But North's attention was on the blue button on the end of the row. He pressed it and it was like snuffing out a flame. Almost all of the lights vanished. The only lights left, were those of the Burgess Believers.

"Impossible!" North exclaimed. He turned to a yeti that was passing by. "Tell me please, that something is wrong with Globe!" The yeti – who, according to the name tag, was called Benjamin – quickly checked over the rotation balance, the axis and a whole bunch of things. But there wasn't anything wrong. North quickly thanked Benjamin and Dongle, before turning quickly on his heel and trying to get back to the infirmary, as soon as possible.

He slammed the door open and looked in horror at the situation in front of him. Bunny was convulsing more violently than ever before and his eyes had turned grey again. That wasn't the most shocking thing, however. The most shocking thing was the fact he had shapeshifted into a young kit. He was no bigger than the length from North's wrist to his elbow. His markings were a darker blue and his usually grey fur had a blue tinge to it.

"Lizzy? Elizabeth!?" Aster screamed.

The Santa rushed over and picked up the Pooka-turned-kit, ignoring the shock his body felt when Aster unknowingly kicked him. He rocked Aster back and forth, gently shushing him. Eventually, he fell asleep, sucking his thumb as if he was truly a kit. After a moment, he put Bunny back in bed, tucking him in and watching him turn back to his normal size and form. He couldn't help the sad chuckle that passed through his lips when he saw the 6"1 Pooka still sucking his thumb.

"What was that?" Tooth asked worriedly. She and Sandy had been shaken up by the sudden screaming and neither of them had known what to do, so naturally, they were worried.

"Do not know, but Pitch has something to do with it." North scowled when he mentioned the Nightmare King. He let the anger fill him before he quickly remembered why he had come back so fast. "Where is medi-yeti?" Said yeti came over to check on Sandy. North raced over. He wasn't bothered to read the name tag. This was more important. "How long will treatment take for all?"

The medi yeti said that North and Sandy would most likely heal in two weeks because their injuries weren't extreme. Tooth would take a month at least. The medi yeti said as far as Bunny was physically concerned, it would take three weeks.

"What do you mean 'physically'?" North demanded, panicking. "Is something wrong?"

The yeti looked away, as if that would mean North would let him off. That wasn't the case.

"What's wrong?" North asked, again.

'Something Pitch did has caused a very rare type of brain tumor,' the yeti mumbled. 'It is only seen in spirits. He will continue to get random "anxiety attacks" that will be triggered by remembering the memory Pitch used to cause it. There's no way for us to cure it. Pitch made sure it would be permanent.'

The 3 Guardians let out loud (or silent) exclamations of panic and worry.

"There is absolutely nothing we can do?" Sandy signed for confirmation. The yeti nodded solemnly.

The medi yeti lead the Sandman to his bed and sprinkled a little Dreamsand on the small man, restoring the smallest bit of his golden glow and sending him to sleep.

"What's wrong, North?" Tooth asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed and patting the space beside her. He sighed as he took a seat.

"Is about Jack." Tooth patiently waited for him to explain but he shook his head and gestured for her to follow him. She took his hand as they walked towards the Globe Room.

"Wow!" Tooth said in awe. Never in her life had she seen so many believers. There were areas that looked like giant beacons of light on the Globe. "I don't understand. Why is this a bad thing?" North slowly walked to the control panel and pressed the blue button again. He turned away, not wanting to see it happen. Tooth gasped and she turned to North. Tears were blooming in her eyes. He put his hands on her cheeks and gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "He never got anymore believers for himself." She whispered, the reality settling in.

"That is why I was upset earlier. We have many believers, so even though we are hurt and starving, we didn't get too badly hurt. Jack will barely survive with so little believers."

Tooth hugged North tightly, burying her face in his chest. "Be honest, North. Do think Jack will be alright?"

North sighed as he hugged her in return. "I don't know, Toothie." He whispered, looking for the moon. But it wasn't there. He sighed, feeling worse than before. "I really don't know."