Author's Note: Whoa-kayyy, it's been a while since I last posted again and I deeply apologize for that. QwQ

My mom and my sisters are currently preparing to leave for California on Monday and we won't be returning until next week. I've also had some family crap going on that's affected me both mentally and emotionally, and I'm still trying to recover from things, so...yeah.

On a lighter note, I got out of school last week! *Pops party popper* Honestly, I've never been so burnt out by a school year. So, I'm hoping to do a lot of rest and self-work this summer. I've also got a list of fanfiction and other projects I'm also hoping to jumpstart on this summer. I'm working to rebuilding my buffer/schedule so that by the time I start posting again, I have something to work from.

I'm not sure when I'm going to start posting again (especially since I've found it a little hard to find the motivation to write nowadays TmT) but I really don't want to stop writing for you guys because it's something I truly love doing, and I don't want lose that. I've gotten into some new fandoms (mostly anime but-*cough* wHatEvEr), during my absence, so expect future one-shots and stories to be a little more varied instead of the usual HTTYD or ROTG works.

Alright, this beginning author's note is getting way to long, so I'll continue my yapping at the end. XD This one-shot was inspired by the iconic scene after the Guardians (pretty much) kidnap Jack and North admits that it was his idea in response to Jack's sarcastic "I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal!" (this scene killed me when I first watched the movie-and still does XD).

This one-shot is mostly dialogue (again, using this as a bit of an exercise to slowly get back into writing these guys again), but I personally think it turned out very well, so I hope you guys enjoy it too. =)

Throw Him in the Sack!

The Guardians were at a loss.

Well, Bunny mostly.

"I don't understand," the Pooka said for the fifth time. The glowing moonlit image of Jack Frost still shimmered in the center of the room. Bunny ran a paw over his ears, discombobulated. "Jack Frost….Jack Frost! Why?!"

"Manny always has his reasons," North replied—also for the fifth time. The ex-Cossack clapped his hands together. "Now then! Shall we discuss how to bring him the news?"

Bunny scoffed. "Wait, wait, wait…we're actually going through with this, mate?"

"Well, the MiM did choose him," Tooth said. "And who are we to go against his orders?"

Bunny huffed. "We may not be in place to make these decisions, but that doesn't mean I have to like 'em. I say we find someone else."

North smirked. "Like the groundhog?"

Bunny shot him a look that would have killed a flower at first sight.

"Come on, you guys," Tooth consoled, fluttering between the two before they could get into another scuffle. "We should give him a chance. The Man in the Moon would've chosen him if he wouldn't be able to help us."

"That bloke also is the one who screwed up Easter of '68," Bunny snapped. "Do you know how many months of work I lost that day? Or how many believers were at stake?"

"Past is in past," North said. Bunny gawked at him. "We need to focus on what is happening now. Pitch is coming. We do not have time to mull over grudges."

Bunny crossed his arms and scowled. "Alright, mate. Then how do you suppose we bring 'im in? 'Some celestial body chose you to become something that you're clearly not worthy of?'"

"Bunny!" Tooth chided.

North knocked Bunny against his ears and the Pooka glared at him.

"No. That won't make a good impression," North scolded.

"Maybe we should start by complimenting him?" Tooth chirped. "Jack's always had such wonderful teeth!"

Her mini fairies nodded in unanimous agreement.

Bunny stared at her. "I thought we were trying to make a good impression. Not scare him away."

Sandy raised a hand and produced the image of the Guardians sitting in a room with Jack and talking to each other. It was clear what the Sandman was saying.

"Why don't we just talk to him?"

Tooth, Bunny, and North stared at him, thinking over the option.

"Meh, I doubt that'll work," Bunny said.

"Too boring," North added.

"What's so weird about appreciating someone's teeth?" Tooth asked.

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Bunny asked, appalled.

Sandy frowned—and they wondered why he didn't talk much.

"We're getting too ahead of ourselves," Bunny said, pinching his nosebridge. "We still haven't figured out how to bring Jack here. Or even better—where the bloody heck he is."

"My fairies said there was a snow day in Burgess, Pennsylvania earlier today," Tooth reported. She quirked a smile. "And it's April."

Bunny's ears twitched. "Blizzard of '68 2.0?"

North guffawed. "Anywho, that is clear marker for where Jack is. Now we can tie back to original question—what do we say?"

"We?" Bunny snorted. "Who said I was coming?"

North was about to retort but Tooth poked in.

"He has a point," Tooth mused. "Don't you think it would be a little intimidating if we all showed up at once?"

North hummed and ran a hand through his beard. "That is true. Good catch, Toothy."

Tooth grinned. "Happy to help!"

"It'd be better to send someone who Jack is already familiar with," North explained, his fingers twirling through his beard. "Someone he has encountered once before."

North's blue eyes slipped to Bunny, an impish smile crawling onto his face.

Bunny objected. Instantaneously.

"Are you kiddin' me?!" the Pooka shouted. "There ain't no way I'm going out to fetch that bloody bastard!"

"But you're the only other spirit who's ever even seen him," pressed Tooth. "Jack knows you."

"So?! That doesn't mean he'll listen to what I say!" Bunny shot back. "I want nothin' to do with 'im!"

"Bunny, think," North cut in. Bunny whirled around to face him. "We have no other choice. Pitch is on the rise, and we need all the help we can get. If Manny says that Jack can help us, we get Jack to help us."

Bunny was about to retort, but North added, "You don't want another Dark Age, do you?"

Silence hung like a shadow over the room. A cold discomfort took hold at the mention of the time of seemingly endless turmoil. Sandy's glow dimmed. Tooth's feathers stood on end. Her fairies twittered anxiously. A shadow had crossed North's usually jolly face.

Bunny closed his mouth. He stared at North for a few moments before turning away. He sighed.

"No," he replied quietly. "I don't."

North nodded. "Then you will go fetch Jack, yes?"

Through gritted teeth, Bunny growled, "Yes."

North's smile returned. "Good. And how will you approach him?"

"Boomerang him first and answer questions later."

North frowned. Sandy clapped a hand on his forehead.

Tooth crossed her arms. "I thought we were trying to make a good impression. Not scare him away."

Bunny looked at the Guardian of Memories and chuckled.

"Touché," he said, albeit irked.

Tooth smirked, and North continued.

"How about this: to ensure no…drastic measures are taken, I will send two yetis with you to help you collect Jack."

Bunny crossed his arms. "I don't think I'll need the help, but if sending them makes you feel better, so be it."

"Just go to Jack and tell him that he's been chosen by MiM and we'll discuss more details when you bring him to the Pole," Tooth said. "That should suffice."

"It 'should?'" Bunny repeated.

Tooth's feathers twitched and she rubbed her arms. "Well, we don't know for sure if Jack will come…or believe us."

Sandy nodded in agreement.

"We need to make sure that Jack not only comes with us but stays with us," the Sandman voiced using his sand.

"Then talking probably isn't gonna cut it," said Bunny. "He might dart off at the sight of me."

North thought for a moment and his eyes lit up.

"Then why don't we bring him here first?" he proposed. "Then Jack won't be able to leave. He'll be trapped."

"Trapped?" Bunny repeated. "North, you sound like a kidnapper."

"I am just saying as is," North said. His eyes widened again. "BUNNY! You are a genius!"

Bunny blinked. "Uhh…what did I do?"

"We don't know if Jack will come with us by just asking him—especially with the blizzard business between you two," North explained. "So to ensure he does not leave, we trap and bring him here."

North spread his hands out after his explanation, awaiting the others' responses. Sandy, Tooth, and Bunny stared at him.

"North," Bunny said. "You sound like a kidnapper."

"A smart kidnapper," North corrected. Bunny clapped a hand against his forehead.

"Um…while I hate—like, really, really hate—to admit it, but…North kinda, sorta, has a point," Tooth squeaked. When met with shocked stares from Bunny and Sandy, Tooth threw up her hands and quickly added, "We have no idea if Jack will willingly come with us, and we don't have time for a goose chase around the globe if he darts off. We need to ensure he comes with us and gets the message."

"See? Even Toothy agrees," North said. Sandy shook his head and Bunny sighed heavily.

"You know what? I don't even care how we get him as long as he cooperates," Bunny said. He looked at the others. "That's what we all want, right?"

Each of the Guardians nodded slowly.

"Good. Glad we're on the same page," Bunny said. He pulled out a boomerang and twirled it between his fingers. "North? How fast can you send those yetis over?"

"How about now?" North said.

Bunny nodded and slammed his foot against the ground. The hard floor of the globe room caved into itself until a dirt tunnel had formed.

"W-wait, you're going now?" Tooth blubbered.

"Might as well get this done and over with," Bunny said. He turned to North. " Tell them to meet me in Burgess. I'll be back in half an hour tops."

With that, the Pooka was gone. Sandy and Tooth turned to North, whose smile had not left his face.

Tooth hooked her fingers together and pulled nervously. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course," said North with not a lick of doubt. "Bunny has excellent tracking skills, and yetis are excellent trappers. Jack will be here in no time."

North walked over to the balcony and bent down toward the workshop. "NOAH! BERNARD! GET SACK AND SNOW GLOBES AND MEET BUNNY IN BURGESS! STAT!"

Distant yeti garbles could be heard in the distance. Tooth smiled awkwardly.

"Do you think this will work, Sandy?" she asked. When he didn't receive a reply, she looked down at her side, finding that the Sandman had fallen asleep midair.

Tooth sighed, and she turned to her fairies. "Alrighty, girls. Let's get what we can done before Bunny gets back."

Her mini fairies chirped enthusiastically, and Tooth began assigning their locations.

Author's Note:

My favorite part: "I thought we were trying to make a good impression. Not scare him away."

Bunny looked at the Guardian of Memories and chuckled.

"Touché."

We don't get a lot of Tooth and Bunny banter in the movie, so I like incorporating their sister-brother relationship into my stories, ehehe. X)

Oh, and I'm aware that it's not explicitly discussed that the Guardians would use a sack and magic portal to trap Jack...I thought it would be funnier if North just blurted this out at the end, even though it wasn't discussed. I'm not sure if that works, but it was funny in my mind (I also couldn't think of any other title for this fanfiction, so I had to somehow integrate sack into the story so it'd make sense). XD

The ending is also a little rushed/scuffed, but I couldn't think of any way else to end this. XD

Anyway, circling back to the topic from the author's note above: I am not sure when I will start posting fanfiction again. I wasn't planning for this "semi-hiatus" to last so long, but a lot of stuff has happened while I've been gone, and I'm struggling a little when it comes to motivating myself to write (and when I say write, I mean stories and one-shots and stuff...I'm still working on plans, brain dumps, and outlines for original work and a few fanfics but haven't done anything truly finished apart from that...which I don't like).

I thought about posting again after I return from our trip to California, but I obviously won't have anything completely written before then, so I'm shooting for some time in late July (if all goes well). ='D

If not by the end of July, then latest I can think of returning is probably sometime in late August. Even later would be early September. But this will only be if I am unable to construct a buffer in time, or personal stuff happens suddenly. My goal is to be back and ready by at least mid-July but we'll see how things go. ='D

I feel really bad that I've been losing consistency with my posts (frick, thirteen-year-old me would make posts almost every few hours-how the heck did I manage that? QwQ), but I'm also trying to take better care of myself with all that's happened in these past few months.

I probably show it more than I've ever said it but...I actually struggle a lot with my self-esteem. I'm a serious overthinker, and it's starting to prevent me from doing things that I want/need to do. Then add on my reluctance to open up with my feelings, the family stuff that I've had going on, and the upcoming 11th grade year and dear Moon... It really sucks. =/

I'm not sure if it's anxiety or something else (because I don't want to be that person who self-diagnoses), but I really want to take the time to figure myself out more over the summer (and maybe get a few things checked out just in case).

I don't want to end things on a sad note, so I'll just say this: I will return...eventually. ='D

Once I have things figured out and hopefully settled, I'll go back to posting to a schedule and you guys won't have to eat up whatever little crumbs I sporadically leave behind.

...Okay, that sounds a little weird. But I hope you guys understand. XD

Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope to see you all once I come back. =)

Until the next story,

~BeyondTheMoon1203