History Main / IfIDoNotReturn

* In ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke has a brief conversation with Leia before going off to face Vader. One of the things he tells her is, "If I don't make it back, you're the only hope for the Rebel Alliance." Luckily, thanks to a certain HeelFaceTurn, it doesn't come to that.

* Baam from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' and the 2nd Floor Guardian had agreed upon a special condition for the test the team should take. If he were to die, [[spoiler: the rest would pass if Rachel still made it]]. [[spoiler: And then Rachel goes and kills him when nobody's looking.]]

The hero is about to undertake something that [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself he must do on his own]], leaving his {{Sidekick}} or support team behind. He plans to return in a certain period of time, but the contingency instructions are given to those left behind in case [[AnyoneCanDie the unthinkable]] happens and he cannot come back to them. Usually he'll tell them to go on without him, or go for help. Occasionally, the hero will say "Tell my {{Love Interest|s}} I love him/her" and the {{Sidekick}} will reply "Tell them yourself."

The hero is about to undertake something that [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself he must do on his own]], leaving his {{Sidekick}} or support team behind. He plans to return in a certain period of time, but the contingency instructions are given to those left behind in case [[AnyoneCanDie the unthinkable]] happens and he cannot come back to them. Usually he'll tell them to go on without him, or go for help. Occasionally, the hero will say "Tell my {{Love Interest|s}} I love him/her" and the {{Sidekick}} will reply "Tell him/her yourself."

** In "Snooze You Lose:, Patrick asks [=SpongeBob=] to tell his parents he loves them when he's about to let out a [[ItMakesSenseInContext huge burp]].

** Parodied in the ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS27E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXVI Treehouse of Horror XXVI]]'' segment "Wanted: Dead, then Alive": After Bart is ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by Sideshow Bob's HarpoonGun and [[AndShowItToYou gets his heart yanked out of his chest]], he knows that he's dying and won't come back home, so he tells his ArchEnemy his FamousLastWords: "Tell my father... he's... fat..."

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':

** In 'Snooze You Lose', Patrick asks Spongebob to tell his parents he loves them when he's about to let out a [[ItMakesSenseInContext huge burp]].

* From one episode of the original ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'':

--> Bessie: (about to use a taffy puller [ItMakesSenseInContext]) Happy, if anything happens to me, I bequeath to you the hive. (Beat; to her brother) You can have my shoes.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MightyB'':
--> Bessie: (about to use a Taffy puller (ItMakesSenseInContext)) Happy, if anything happens to me, I bequeath to you the hive. (Beat; to her brother) You can have my shoes.

** Not only does she refuse to get herself out - [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments she refuses to even let him go until he promises that he]] ''[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments will]]'' [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments come back alive.]]

-->'''Vila:''' Cally, I owe Avon... at least 1000 credits. Tell him... ''(long pause)'' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments tough]].

** In the episode when Homer starts bootlegging beer during Prohibition he starts telling Marge "If we're not back, avenge our deaths" when he and Bart go out to deliver their brew. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Marge agrees to do so.]]

** In one episode Timmy tells Cosmo and Wanda, "If I don't make it...tell my dad...he's weird."
** In "The Gland Plan", Cosmo and Anti-Cosmo needed each other's fa giggly gland. Cosmo said that, if he doesn't survive, Anti-Cosmo must stay away from Cosmo's wife. Anti-Cosmo said that if he survives, Cosmo can keep ''his''.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': "Chip, if I don't come back...take care of Gary." ("Chip" is a potato chip he befriended when a severe injury left him afraid to go outside. When he left, Gary ate Chip.)

* In ''Film/StarWarsReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke has a brief conversation with Leia before going off to face Vader. One of the things he tells her is, "If I don't make it back, you're the only hope for the Rebel Alliance." Luckily, it doesn't come to that.

* The ninth episode of ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog'' revolves around the characters rescuing Princess Romy from the funeral pyre on which she is to be burned along with the body of her late husband. Rigodon, unwilling to let Fog risk his life and fortune, resolves to carry out the rescue himself and, knowing he may be killed in the attempt, asks Tico to look after Fog "if anything happens to me".

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'' episode "Audie and Tweak", Flash, Mandrake, the Phantom and Lothar attempt to infiltrate the underground base from which rogue computer Tycos (designed by Ming's eight-legged robot, Octon) is operating. But there's only one way into the base and that's protected by a [[KnockoutGas powerful nerve gas which paralyses any human who attempts to enter]]. After the Phantom and Mandrake have both fallen victim to the gas, Flash tries (unsuccessfully) to evade it by wearing an oxygen helmet. Before entering the base, Flash, knowing his plan to avoid getting gassed may not work, tells Lothar to, should anything happen to Flash, go back to Monitor for explosives and blow up the base. When Lothar attempts to object, Flash tells him that Tycos has to be stopped, implying that this must happen even if it means [[PyrrhicVictory sacrificing three lives]].

** ''Film/StarTrek''

-->'''Robau:''' If I don't report in 15 minutes, evacuate the crew.
-->'''Kirk:''' Sir, we could issue...

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. While her crew sometimes take this trope [[LeaveNoManBehind with a grain of salt]], in "The Omega Molecule", Captain Janeway has to go on a solo mission to destroy the eponymous molecule which could create a NoWarpingZone if detonated. So when she orders Chakotay to do an immediate HyperspeedEscape if her plan doesn't work, she really means it because he'll only have ten seconds before Voyager is stranded in space for the rest of their lives.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. While her crew sometimes take this trope [[LeaveNoManBehind with a grain of salt]], in "The Omega Molecule", Captain Janeway has to go on a solo mission to destroy the eponymous molecule which could create a NoWarpingZone if detonated. So when she orders Chakotay to do an immediate HyperspeedEscape if her plan doesn't work, she really means it because he'll only have ten seconds before Voyager is stranded in space forever.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. While her crew sometimes take this trope [[LeaveNoManBehind with a grain of salt]], in "The Omega Molecule", Captain Janeway has to go on a solo mission to destroy the titular molecule, which could create a NoWarpingZone that would strand Voyager in space forever. So when she orders Chakotay to do an immediate HyperspeedEscape if her plan doesn't work, she really means it because he'll only have ten seconds to do so.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''
** From the episode "[[EvilTwin The Enemy]] [[ShirtlessScene Within]]":
-->'''Kirk:''' "Spock, if this doesn't work..." [beat]\\
'''Spock:''' [nods once, his eyes downcast] "Understood."
** In "The Tholian Web", Spock and [=McCoy=] view the [[VideoWill message]] Kirk left behind for this contingency when Kirk is lost and presumed dead.

->'''Totalegit Productions Guy''': Thanks for watching! come again!.\\
-->-- '''[=Totalegit=]''' "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP2NnHkisDc MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY]]"

** When Buccaneer and a squad of Briggs soldiers are investigating the tunnel built by Sloth, they arrange for the tunnel to be sealed off after a set time, whether they come back or not (if they don't come back by then, they most likely got killed). They do manage to return to the tunnel entrance after an encounter with Pride, but after the agreed time, and are certain that [[IceQueen Oliver]] has sealed off the tunnel. To their surprise, the entrance is still open. When they question the guard at the entrance after exiting, he tells them that their time hasn't expired, and shows them the broken watch Olivier gave him to prove it.

-->'''Vila:''' Cally, I owe Avon... at least 1000 credits. Tell him... ''(long pause)'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny tough]].

* In the ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' comic/game "=[[https://xkcd.com/1608/ "Hoverboard,"]] a flagging mountaineer says "If I don't make it back ... tell my wife ... where I am ... and why you left me there..."

* In the ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' comic/game "[[https://xkcd.com/1608/ Hoverboard]]", a flagging mountaineer says "If I don't make it back ... tell my wife ... where I am ... and why you left me there..."

May also lead to a VideoWill firing off if the hero does not return. See also WaitHere and DeadManWriting. Occasionally this line follows or leads into MoreHeroThanThou or MoreExpendableThanYou (particularly if the sidekick or anti-villain ally feels the call of RedemptionEqualsDeath)

** Played for drama when the RagtagBunchOfMisfits first team up. Blake has to do a high-risk teleport (it's the first time they used the thing) down to a prison planet, and tells the others they can leave with the Liberator if he's not back in four hours. Avon and Jenna then discover there's a [[PirateBooty fortune in jewelry]] stashed on the Liberator, and [[AntiHero Avon]] seriously tries to convince Jenna to abandon Blake without waiting.