The Return of Wizardmon

Wizardmon was hit dead on by the Grizzly Wing attack while protecting Hikari Kamiya and her digimon Gatomon from Myotismon. This attack so overwhelmed him that his body was torn and battered, and his energy was almost totally depleted. As his friend Gatomon looked on, Wizardmon shut his eyes and slowly faded into oblivion.

One green slanted eye opened, just a slit, into the bright sunshine that beamed down upon him. He blinked in amazement, too shocked to even move, as he realized that he was back in the Digiworld again! He stood after a moment, unused to the unfamiliar balance of his dedigivolved form, Magemon. The battle with Myotismon, it seemed, had not killed him, just drained all of his energy, and reverted him back to his Rookie form.

Magemon took a good look around himself for the first time and saw that he was standing in the middle of a small clearing in a large forest. It was quiet around him, unnaturally quiet, and he held his gnarled wooden staff ready as he started walking unsteadily into the trees. Not a single noise penetrated the thick foliage as Magemon trod swiftly through it.

The silence was broken with a crack as the digimon known as Tryannomon broke through the trees with an echoing roar! He lunged towards the still dizzy Magemon and opened his toothy maw wide. Mage man jumped back, desperately trying to remember his long forgotten attacks in this form. He thrust forward his staff and shouted the words that finally popped into his head.

"Lightning Smasher!" He shouted and a jagged bolt of electricity leapt from the end of his staff and crashed into Tyrannomon's nose. The giant digimon reared back in pain from the hit, and Magemon set off running through the forest, hoping Tyrannomon wouldnt follow so quickly. He was shocked to see behind him the digimon had already recovered and was closing the distance between them at an alarming rate. A particularly large tree stood in his way and Magemon ducked around it, hoping that Tyrannomon hadnt seen him through the thick foliage.

A hand suddenly thrust out from the inside of the tree and jerked Magemon inside its holographic side. Inside Magemon saw the one who had rescued him was none other than Gennai, the digimon who had often guided the seven Digidestined in their journey. He was about to greet Gennai and thank him when the elder digimon covered his mouth with his hand and motioned for silence. Outside Tyrannomon, enraged by his prey's dissapearance, growled and thrashed the bushes around the tree, looking for Magemon. After a few terrified moments, the great beast left and Gennai loosened his grip on Magemon.

"Well, Magemon, I see you've played your role in the Digidestineds' victory, now what are you going to do?"Gennai asked.

"They won?"Magemon asked incredulously. "But I only left them a few minutes ago!"

"It may have only been a few minutes ago to you, but you must remember that time flows differently when you are stuck between worlds," Gennai replied. "It has actually been several hours in the Real World and the battle for earth is over and decided. Your sacrifice to save the Eighth Child is what led to their victory, without you they would have been doomed.

"So Gatomon was able to Digivolve?" Magemon asked. "I hoped she had. The last thing I saw before I left was Tai getting the Digivice from Demidevimon, and then I woke up here."

"You almost didnt make it here, I was barely able to catch your power before it completely dissapeared," Gennai explained. " You see, your part is not yet over in this quest. The Digidestined will be returning here at any moment to fight an even greater evil that has arose while you were away. Four dark masters have gained power since the departure of Myotismon, each more powerful than he ever was. The eight will return and fight enemies greater than any they have faced before, and I am afraid they will not be able to keep up with the rising power levels. That is why I have saved you from the void."

"What am I supposed to do, Gennai?" My champion form was less powerful than even Angemon's, and now Im stuck back in this rookie form," Magemon replied.

"But you will not be in this form forever," Gennai reassured him. Already you move closer to Digivolving as your power returns. And it will not take long for you to reach Ultimate as you gain more experience fighting to save this world.

"So what am I to do to help them, just go find them and journey with them?" Magemon wondered.

"That is exactly what you must NOT do, at any costs," Gennai replied vehemently. "You must not let the children or anyone else know that you are still alive. You see, if the dark masters do not learn of you, you will have much greater freedom to help the Digidestined when they need you the most! You must follow the group closely, wait for an oppurtunity to help, and then strike, quickly and unseen! The element of suprise is all we have left to tip the scales further away from chaos and destruction.

"When will they return?" Magemon asked.

"Any second now they should be entering the portal between our worlds,"Gennai informed him. "The dark masters know this as well, so they are already ready for them. Pixiemon has already left to attempt a rescue, but you must follow in secret, in case he should fail. I have sent to all of our remaining allies, few as they have become, and Whamon also is hiding nearby. If they should fail to protect the Digidestined, you are our last hope to save them."

"But I can do little for them!" Magemon exclaimed after Gennai had told a bit more of the situation. "If you have the power to bring back the defeated as you did for me, why do you not call upon the allies who have already fallen to come to our aid?"

"I cannot," Gennai explained. "Only the fact that you were in the real world whebn you were destroyed and that you hung on to the thought of saving Gatomon even in death allowed me to find and restore you. You are our last hope. Go now and remember your pledge to save Gatomon, it will give you strength in the days ahead."

With this Magemon left, even though he thought there was very little to do against such strong enemies as the Dark Masters. Following the directions Gennai had given, Magemon ran as fast as he could to the site where the Digidestined were already facing the Dark Masters. He arrived just in time to see the end of Chuumon.

Just before Magemon could rush out in a desparate attempt to save the Digidestined, he noticed an odd shimmering of the air coming at great speed towards the scene. A Pixie bomb suddenly appeared from nowhere and explaoded in the Dark Master's faces, allowing Pixiemon time to grab the Digidextined and run.

Magemon followed at a distance, remembering Gennai's words about suprise. He saw the Dark Masters catch up to the group and Pixiemon leave them to delay the evil digimon, and then the Digidestined were too far away for him to catch up, propelled by Pixiemon's desparate strike. Magemon stopped trying to keep up and turned around, ready to aid the small digimon, but already he could see it was to late. A great blast of energy poured onto Pixiemon from all four, and before Magemon could even ready a spell, the battle was over. He crept away, seeing he could do no more, and began his stealthy pursuit of the digidestined.