History Main / TheBusCameBack

* In ''FanFic/Flashpoint2AdventSolaris'', many characters and concepts from the ''WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse'' that were mentioned but never appeared, were inexplicably absent or just never followed up on show up in full force. Examples being Blackfire (who was implied to exist but never made a formal appearance), Green Arrow (whose sidekick appeared, though he himself didn't), New Genesis (who was confirmed to have existed and given a reason for their absence), and many others.
* In ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfTotalDramaIsland'', an eliminated contestant makes a guest appearance to help with a later challenge.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', [[SixthRanger Trixie]] leaves Ponyville at the end of the Gaia Arc, and (minus an appearance in the "Retcon-Struction Blues" special episode) doesn't properly return until the Wedding Arc.
* Ciel, from ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' disappeared for five stories after one scene. She has since returned in "Atlas", and it's possible she'll be a part of the main cast.
* Inverted in ''Fanfic/TheUniverseDoesntCheat'', since it's a {{prequel}}. Lieutenant T'Var, Eleya's operations officer prior to Reshek Gaarra, only made a brief appearance in ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch|STO}}'' before leaving the USS ''Bajor'' to take her first command, but is a supporting character here.
* A total of ''one'' "disappeared" character from ''Fanfic/{{Fractured|SovereignGFC}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'']] [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] reappears in its sequel ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}''. Anna Erickson, a [[TheBattlestar Star Destroyer]] captain, pops in for a few chapters but isn't seen again after that. Given that there's a whole cruiser load of characters to begin with...

* ''Fanfic/TheUltimateEvil'':
** [[HunterOfMonsters Nataline "Nat" Homato]] leaves the story at the end of the Demon Portal arc. Aside from a cameo as [[spoiler:a [[DeadPersonOnDisplay displayed corpse]]]] in the [[VillainWorld Demon World]] arc, she doesn't reappear until the end of the seventh chapter of the sequel, ''The Stronger Evil''.
** The [[MacGuffinGuardian Guardian of the Book of Ages]], who was last seen at the end of the Demon World arc, is eventually contacted in the 16th chapter of ''The Stronger Evil'' for information about [[spoiler: Tiamat]]'s whereabouts.
** Following the Demon World arc, Hsi Wu enters ''The Stronger Evil'' a couple of times in Jade's dreams before he returns in flesh and blood in the eleventh chapter. The rest of the Demon Sorcerers return as well when Shendu contacts them in the 21st chapter.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11803928/20/Challenger Challenger]]'', Jessie, James, and Meowth first appear in the second chapter and don't show up again until the twentieth, six months later in-universe. They explain to Ash that their attempt to rob the Viridian City Pokémon Center was their very first mission as Team Rocket members and that they went legit after being arrested. They now work as news reporters.
* A recurring thing in ''Fanfic/PokemonNovaAndAntica''. The story is bringing back old friends and rivals.
* The ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1745270/1/Always-A-Ranger-Series Always a Ranger]]'' makes great use of this, as not only does Kim return to Tommy's life, but most of Tommy's old Ranger friends drop in to visit him at some point (the only members of Tommy's old teams who never show up are Trini and Justin, and that's for the justifiable reason that Trini died a few years ago and Justin is doing top-secret work for the government).
* The ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''/''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' crossover "[[http://www.paladar.com/fanware/room13/brand70.htm Lost and Found]]" opens with the Astro Megaship crashing into the energy worm that apparently killed Canard and managing to rescue him. The Rangers eventually find the rest of Canard's team when Dragaunus tries to release the rest of his fleet from dimensional limbo and creates a rift that the Astro Megaship can use to enter the Ducks' version of Earth, the two groups banding together to defeat Dragaunus's latest plan before the Rangers return to their world.
* Used to great extent in ''Fanfic/AAMLDiamondAndPearlVersion''; starting with Ash deciding to visit Misty after realising how he feels about her, he immediately arranges to get Charizard back on his team so that he can fly straight to Cerulean, and later chapters include developments such as [[spoiler:Haunter permanently joining Ash's team, Ash bringing Sceptile and Snorlax back to his party to fight Paul, and Anabel appearing to face Ash during the Twinleaf Festival]].
* In Chapter 52 of ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'', Professor Max, who had been bussed off to Azkaban ''forty'' installments earlier (in Chapter 15), finally makes a return.
* ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'':
** Phil Coulson returns to officially reveal his survival to the Avengers (although they admit they've known he was alive for a while now).
** While en route back to Earth, Stark and Nebula encountered and rescued Valkyrie and Sif.
** Jane Foster comes to the Avengers compound to provide scientific insight.
** The Red Skull returns to Earth, and Thanos also brings back Malekith and Hela.
** Technically Snart's cold gun, considering that we last saw it being disassembled by Ray to use its components to disable a bomb; also applies to Mjolnir, which is restored by Thanos on Hela's request (even if it's subsequently picked up by Jane because Hela didn't know about the worthiness enchantment).
** Barry and Wally are able to bring Pietro Maximoff back to life after finding him in the Speed Force.

** The moment when everyone killed by the Gauntlet returns (as well as Constantine working with Nebula to perform a ritual that restores Gamora to her body), leaving the heroes to tear through Thanos's forces.
** Shuri and Cyborg are able to use the Mother Box and the Mind Stone to repair and reactivate the Vision.
** Back on Earth-38, Lucy Lane and Cat Grant have returned to the DEO and Cat Co respectively; after being 'dusted' by "The Snap", they each decided that National City was the best place for them to make the kind of difference they wanted to make.
** In ''Different Strokes'', Slade returns to help the team and the Huntress is now an operative for Argus.
** Darcy Lewis becomes part of the Avengers' primary support staff in ''Taking Flight (and Fights)''.
** In ''Powers and Marvels'', Jason, Trini and Zack are brought back into the fold to help the Avengers and the active Rangers after the Power Coins are stolen.
* ''Fanfic/{{Ancienverse}}'':
** Numerous past friends of Ash return in the Team Tournament, including Brock, Gary, May, Dawn, and Conway.
** Squishy and Z-2 also make a return appearance in Alola.
** Harry Kalas returns in ''Tenacity'' to commentate on the Hope Leilani and Alola League.
** Several prominent Team Rocket agents reappear in ''Tomorrow'', including Butch and Cassidy, Domino, Pierce, and Dr. Zager.
** In the same story, the Team Rocket trio retrieves their Sinnoh Pokémon, left at HQ at the end of DP. Even their Unova Pokémon appear.
* In ''FanFic/CandyForYourThoughts'', Noah is brought back for the Niagara falls challenge instead of Blaineley. After that, he's eliminated, along with Owen. However, he proved to be vital for the chapter, as he sang a musical number with Owen that eventually got Cody to confess his love for Courtney.
* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes and [[EvilTwin Satan]] [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Girl]]'s child are put on a bus after the first arc wraps up, are conspicuously absent during the second arc, and return at the beginning of the final storyline, thirty-five chapters later.
* ''FanFic/WeightOfTheWorld'': After not being seen since ''The Depths of Deception'', Roman returns in ''The Charlatan of Choice'' and takes [[spoiler:the Relic of Creation]] from Nora and Romano to give it to Salem.
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' story ''Fanfic/EverybodysGottaLeaveSometime'', several characters who hadn't been seen in years or even decades return to say their goodbyes to Charlie Brown: Shermy (who made his last appearance in 1969), Patty (1997), Violet (1997) and Pig-Pen (1999).
* ''Fanfic/{{Guiding Light|AuroraRose2081}}'' is about Mirabel returning to the Encanto ten years after she was (allegedly) kidnapped and left to fend for herself out in yonder.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11803928/20/Challenger Challenger]]'' Jessie, James, and Meowth first appear in the second chapter and don't show up again until the twentieth, six months later in-universe. They explain to Ash that their attempt to rob the Viridian City pokemon center was their very first mission as Team Rocket members and that they went legit after being arrested. They now work as news reporters.

* The ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1745270/1/Always-A-Ranger-Series Always a Ranger]]" makes great use of this, as not only does Kim return to Tommy's life, but most of Tommy's old Ranger friends drop in to visit him at some point (the only members of Tommy's old teams who never show up are Trini and Justin, and that's for the justifiable reason that Trini died a few years ago and Justin is doing top-secret work for the government).

** Phil Coulson returns to officially reveal his survival to the Avengers (although they admit they've known he was alive for a while now)
** While en route back to Earth, Stark and Nebula encountered and rescued Valkyrie and Sif
** Jane Foster comes to the Avengers compound to provide scientific insight

** Barry and Wally are able to bring Pietro Maximoff back to life after finding him in the Speed Force

** In the same story, the Team Rocket trio retrieves their Sinnoh Pokemon, left at HQ at the end of DP. Even their Unova Pokemon appear.

** Volume 11: [[spoiler:Diane Whitehall and Jarrod Redner, minor characters who have not been seen since Volumes 2 and 4 respectively, end up becoming a case of BackForTheDead as they get killed when the Wraiths attack the refugee caravan they were accompanying. Claire Bladeheart, like her uncle Kaspian before her, makes a second reappearance where it is revealed she is participating in Gideon and Wren's secret project. Her reappearance is accompanied by Jasmine's older sister Senyir Flamesworth, a CanonImmigrant from the ''Jasmine: Wind-Borne'' side story in the {{Webcomic}} which chronologically takes place long before Arthur was born]].

* In ''[[LetsPlay/{{Dream}} Dream's]]'' Minecraft Manhunts: For a while, George was the one and only hunter. Dream did special one-off Manhunt episodes with Sapnap and Bad, [[PutOnABus but they hadn't appeared for a while.]] Eventually, however, Sapnap was brought back as a second hunter alongside George, and when they decided a third was needed Bad came back as well. Just like Dream and George, [[AscendedExtra Sapnap and Bad are now mainstays in the Manhunt series.]]

** Volume 11: [[spoiler:Diane Whitehall and Jarrod Redner, minor characters who have not been seen since Volumes 2 and 4 respectively, end up becoming a case of BackForTheDead as they get killed when the Wraiths attack the refugee caravan they were accompanying]].

** Volume 9: [[spoiler:Taci, the young Asura whom Arthur sparred with during his time in Epheotus, makes a return. His return is significant as he is not only chosen to be the inheritor of the [[FantasticNuke World Eater]] technique that destroyed Elenoir, but as a RiteOfPassage to prove he is worthy of inheriting said technique, he gets sent to slaughter the Dicathian resistance at the end of the volume when Kezess deems that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they have outlived their usefulness to him]]. He ends up being killed by Arthur once he returns from the Victoriad. In addition, Feyrith Ivsaar III, who has not been seen since the attack on Xyrus, makes a return. He unfortunately ends up being a case of BackForTheDead as the following volume reveals he was one of the casualties of Taci's rampage. On a more minor note, Draneeve, the leader of the Radicals, is revealed to have been ReassignedToAntarctica as Nico's attendant since the attack on Xyrus as punishment for inadvertently endangering Agrona's plans with the Legacy]].

** Volume 6: At the start of the volume, Arthur is brought face to face with Uto, the Retainer who killed Alea Triscan in Widow's Crypt at the end of Volume 3. Sebastian, the former Court Conjurer of the Glayders who coveted Arthur's bond Sylvie during the 10th Annual Helstea Auctions in Volume 2, makes a reappearance in Arthur's birthplace of Ashber where he is shown to have become a slave trader since being stripped of his position. He ends up being a case of BackForTheDead as he gets killed not long afterwards. Claire Bladeheart is revealed to have survived her injuries from the attack on Xyrus Academy two volumes ago, though at the cost of losing her mana core which has been why she has been living in seclusion away from the war.

** Volume 10: Quite a few characters return to the story in this volume. [[spoiler:After having not been seen since Volume 5, both Kordri and Wren reappear in a scene in Epheotus covering the fallout from Taci's death, with the latter joining Aldir in his exile. Following up on this, Avier, the late Cynthia Goodsky's bond who had not been seen since the attack on Xyrus, makes a sudden reappearance near the end of the novel to establish contact between Arthur and the Hearth, the [[HiddenElfVillage hidden enclave]] of the Lost Prince Mordain wherein Aldir and Wren have found refuge in since leaving Epheotus. This culminates in Arthur finally being able to bring back Sylvie after her HeroicSacrifice at the very end of Volume 7. Kaspian Bladeheart, who had not been seen since Volume 2, makes a reappearance when Arthur retakes Blackbend. His reappearance is followed by that of Vincent and Lilia Helstea and Vanesy Glory when Arthur retakes Xyrus. Lastly, Lyra, the Retainer who paraded the corpses of Dicathen's kings and queens at the end of Volume 7 to mark the end of Agrona's conquest, makes a reappearance when Arthur retakes Etisin as she surrenders herself and the remaining Alacryan forces on Dicathen to him]].

** Volume 9: [[spoiler:Taci, the young Asura whom Arthur sparred with during his time in Epheotus, makes a return. His return is significant as he is not only chosen to be the inheritor of the [[FantasticNuke World Eater]] technique that destroyed Elenoir, but as a RiteOfPassage to prove he is worthy of inheriting said technique, he gets sent to slaughter the Dicathian resistance at the end of the volume when Kezess deems that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they have outlived their usefulness to him]]. He ends up being killed by Arthur once he returns from the Victoriad. In addition, Feyrith Ivsaar III, who has not been seen since the attack on Xyrus, makes a return. He unfortunately ends up being a case of BackForTheDead as the following volume reveals he was one of the casualties of Taci's rampage]].
** Volume 10: Quite a few characters return to the story in this volume. [[spoiler:After having not been seen since Volume 5, both Kordri and Wren reappear in a scene in Epheotus covering the fallout from Taci's death, with the latter joining Aldir in his exile. Following up on this, Avier, the late Cynthia Goodsky's bond who had not been seen since the attack on Xyrus, makes a sudden reappearance near the end of the novel to establish contact between Arthur and the Hearth, the [[HiddenElfVillage hidden enclave]] of the Lost Prince Mordain wherein Aldir and Wren have found refuge in since leaving Epheotus. This culminates in Arthur finally being able to bring back Sylvie after her HeroicSacrifice at the very end of Volume 7. Kaspian Bladeheart, who had not been seen since Volume 2, makes a reappearance when Arthur retakes Blackbend. His reappearance is followed by that of Vincent and Lilia Helstea and Vanesy Glory when Arthur retakes Xyrus. Lastly, Lyra, the Retainer who paraded the corpses of Dicathen's kings and queens at the end of Volume 7 to mark the end of Agrona's conquest, makes a reappearance when Arthur retakes Etisin as she surrenders herself and the remaining Alacryan forces on Dicathen to him. On a more minor note, Draneeve, the leader of the Radicals, is revealed to have been ReassignedToAntarctica since the attack on Xyrus as punishment for inadvertently endangering Agrona's plans with the Legacy]].