It's that time again! Zack has returned! Anyway rated M for swearing, smoking, and possibly sex later on. Ah the 3 S's of a great story.

He walked casually into town. He was smoking a cigarette and wore a pair of dark sunglasses making it so you couldn't see his eyes which had grown considerably darker. He had a tan leather jacket and dark blue jeans on. He wore a cowboy hat, fingerless black gloves, and had a large revolver in a holster on his right thigh. It wasn't strange that nobody recognized him as he had changed greatly. He was much more muscular now. He now had much more blue on his spikes. Had he been a normal person he would have gone immediately somewhere to get something to eat, as he hadn't eaten in several days. But there was someone he needed to visit.

It was rather snowy today and he wasn't very well dressed for this sort of thing. He shivered a bit and took a large drag on his cigarette. He threw it into the snow and continued his walk. When he got to the house he knocked on the door and waited patiently for it to be opened. A young girl now at the age of 16 opened the door. "Can I help you sir?" She asked politely not remembering him. He chuckled a bit and removed his sunglasses and hat.

"I didn't think you'd remember me Rose." He said. She gasped.

"Za... Zack?" Zack smiled. Amy hugged him. "Oh Zack!" She began to cry tears of joy. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" They stood there for a moment before Zack motioned that they should go inside. They sat in Amy's living room on the couch. "So Zack..." She began.

"I know, you want to know where I've been for four years." He said. He inhaled deeply. "It all began with my battle with Xander..." He explained about it and she listened never moving from the spot. "So I grabbed the Zero Emerald, and absorbed it again. When I looked back, Xander's body had been disintegrated from the pressure of the dimension." He almost looked like he was going to cry and Amy rubbed his back. He regained his composure and continued. "I walked on for what seemed like an eternity. When I finally tried the one thing I could think of. I used the Zero Emerald's power to open a portal for a short time. I jumped through and found myself in Holoska. I wandered until I found a small village that took me in. I lived there for a short while and left. It turned out I had been in Dimension X for almost a year. Although to me it was only 6 hours. I wandered the world for another year so as not to attract attention to me or anyone else. After that I trained in several different martial arts and other fighting styles. And after that I came here." He finished his story and laid back on the couch. Amy took it all in and sat there with him, letting out a huge sigh.

"Well I'm just glad you're back." She said and hugged him again. After a while Amy called everyone and said to come over. She didn't tell them why but curiosity brought them all there. When they had all arrived Amy brought them into the living room and they saw Zack, smoking again.

"Who's the new guy Amy?" Sonic asked. She giggled a bit.

"Who disappeared four years ago?" She said. All of their eyes opened wide.

"You mean..." Sonic started. Amy nodded and they all began asking questions. Zack told his story again.

"Alright guys I've told you what happened these last few years, now it's your turn to tell me." They understood and explained what happened to Mobius.

"Well." Sonic began. "Silver and Blaze had went out on a few dates and became a couple." Blaze blushed and Silver rubbed the back of his head. "Shadow and Rouge refuse to admit it but they've hooked up too." Shadow rolled his eyes. "And I notice Tails and Cream are spending a bit more time together." He nudged Zack and Zack laughed.

"Ah to be young and in love." Zack said. Tails shot Sonic a dirty look but he ignored it.

"Anyways other then that not a lot has changed." Sonic finished up. Zack finished his cigarette and sighed.

"I gotta go home guys, I haven't slept in a while." Zack said yawning.

"See you tomorrow then." Amy said. They all waved goodbye and he walked out the door. When he went home he checked his calender. It was only 8 days away from Christmas! Zack slapped his forehead.

"God Dammit!" He yelled out loud. He didn't have a present for any of his friends. He thought about it and decided to take a nap before trying to think too hard about it. When he awoke it was 6:30 the next morning. He had just enough time to take a shower and eat before he had to go to the mall.

When he got there he was surrounded by last-minute shoppers. He quickly found the pinkest store in the mall knowing the perfect gift for Amy would be there. He found her a red dress with a rose pattern on it and a blue rose hair clip. For Sonic he went to a sports store and bought some weights for his speed training. For Shadow he got the newest CD for his favorite band. He got Knuckles a punching bag, Tails some new tools, Rouge a bottle of expensive perfume, Cream a sweater, Silver the newest book in his favorite series, and Blaze new bracelets. After he finished he bought some wrapping paper and went home. He wrapped up the presents and collapsed on his couch. He had spent $365 and 4 ½ hours at the mall. But he was finally done.

Well it's a little short but hey, it'll get better. Read and Review!

OR ELSE!!!!!
I'll do... Something....