History Main / InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn

'''Buffy:''' ''[blocks blade with bare hands]'' '''''Me.'''''

* In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', as tensions rose, Captain America called out Tony Stark as talking a big game, but being nothing without his Iron Man armor, and not being a team player besides.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Portal2'': Before you can confront [=GLaDOS=], poor Wheatley gets whisked in the wrong direction by the Pneumatic Diversity vents, but before the actual fight begins, [=GLaDOS=] tries to kill you with deadly neurotoxin [[spoiler:which she has actually run out of thanks to you,]] and the only thing that comes out of the tubes is your Wheatley.

* Somewhat justified in ''Manga/ZettaiKarenChildren''... while Za Children generally work as a team, Kaoru is always their heavy hitter, possessing the most in-your-face offensive power - Telekinesis. When fighting Mooks or generally low-level foes, the other two will join in with creative use of their 'utility' powers ({{Teleportation}} and {{Psychometry}}, respectively). But when the big hitters show up and it's time for a boss-fight, they know that it's better to stand back and let Kaoru do what she does best - sometimes providing intel or a quick escape to aid. In the later season, it's taken to its natural conclusion, with a special device that basically saps Aoi and Shiho of their PsychicPowers to pool it all in Kaoru, giving her access to her badass, PowerGivesYouWings [[RedBaron Queen Of Catastrophe]] form, which makes her basically unstoppable, and able to do several things that are otherwise considered theoretically impossible...

* Anime/{{Slayers}} NEXT ends with Lina's friends knocked out one by one, after each plan fails. Plus, she has to use her [[FinishingMove Giga Slave]] to defeat the baddie.

[[folder:FanFiction]]
* In the ''FanFic/TriptychContinuum'':

** Similarly, In ''VideoGame/{{Sonic 3|AndKnuckles}}'', Tails will disappear after the first of the [[SequentialBoss three final bosses]] is defeated, leaving Sonic to fight the last two on his own. Tails actually falls into water when you take Eggman's vehicle and DIES. He doesn't come back after this, so if you didn't know there was a sequel, it would seem like he was KilledOffForReal. Sorry, Tails, the hovercar only seats one!

** In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' Shadow is forced to fight Devil Doom on his own, due to the poison gas the latter released into the atmosphere paralyzing everyone else, Shadow being immune because he was created from the villain's blood.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'': Before you can confront [=GLaDOS=], poor Wheatley gets whisked in the wrong direction by the Pneumatic Diversity vents, but before the actual fight begins, [=GLaDOS=] tries to kill you with deadly neurotoxin [[spoiler:which she has actually run out of thanks to you,]] and the only thing that comes out of the tubes is your Wheatley.

Some stories work this into a narrative organically. The BigBad may cleverly isolate the hero from his friends via [[ClearMyName framing him]] or capturing them (and [[ForcedToWatch force them to watch]] him kill their {{leader}}). Sometimes the villain is not involved and ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself. In these cases the value of friends isn't in their tangible help fighting but by placing their trust in the hero's success and motivating them to do their best. [[ThePowerOfTrust Trust is a powerful force]] like that.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' basically slowly killed the cast (again) throughout the approach to each BigBad (Frieza, Cell and Buu). By the time Goku fought Frieza and ([[spoiler:almost]]) killed him, they were the only two people on Namek, the rest being dead or on Earth. A larger cast lived until Gohan beat Cell, but they were just on the sidelines by then. For Buu, literally everyone that wasn't a Kai, Goku, Fat Buu or Mr. Satan (or the puppy) was dead. Including one of the combatants (Vegeta). ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' didn't kill the cast as much, but the Big Bads were so powerful by then that nobody that wasn't Goku or [=SS4=] Gogeta was pretty much helpless (besides for Trunks during the Black Star Dragon Balls part and Pan every once in a while).

* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier''. By the end of the series only the lead and lancer could fight the BigBad since their ultimate {{Super Mode}}s required all the other members of the band to give them their spirits (ability to transform). Though this may have later become a subversion considering that the actual final battle was Big Bad v. [[spoiler: all five of the (surviving) heroes combined into a single god-like digital entity.]]

** Not that any of them had much choice, with Cloud chasing Kadaj across half the continent trying to stop him from using the Jenova cells no one else really had any hope of keeping up. And of course by the time any one else might have been able to finally track them down, Kadaj had ''already'' used the Jenova cells and taken on the Memory of Sephiroth. Anyone in their right mind takes one look at that brawl and promptly says '''fuuuuuck''' that.

** It also happens again in Part Six, but in a twist [[spoiler:it's not the protagonist who faces the BigBad, but rather one of her sidekicks]].

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', after a huge war of everyone fighting the Ten Tails, Obito, Madara and Kaguya, the final battle ends up being a one on one between Naruto and Sasuke. Makes sense as it's a personal fight settling the score between long time rivals.

* In ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'' series, at one point Tim is caught in a pattern based off old fairytales and is reminded that common element of many folk stories and fairytales is that while the hero gains companions and tools that help him reach the BigBad, in the end it comes down to just his own courage, after companions and tools are stripped away - WhatYouAreInTheDark is what must win the day.

** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book one]], Ron is incapacitated by a chess piece and Harry sends Hermione to summon Dumbledore, reasoning that the two of them don't stand a chance of winning--the only hope is to hold them off long enough for reinforcements.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets book two]], Hermione is petrified, while Ron is unarmed (his wand is broken) and on the wrong side of a massive cave in.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Yuusuke/Red Falcon from ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'' is the only human left unaffected by [[BigBad Bias']] MassHypnosis, leaving him to defeat Bias alone, in a sense. Though someone comes to give him last minute help: [[spoiler: Kemp, reduced to a Brain in A Jar, who strips Bias of his youth.]]

* Seems to be a reoccurring theme with ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', where many of the characters seem to believe this. However it also seems to show these characters time and time again that there is always someone to help. A variant of the phrase, 'Everyone Dies Alone', also serves as the [[ArcWords Arc Words]] for the [[GrandFinale series finale]].
* The endgame of ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 9 is all about this for the Doctor after he is captured by his enemies and separated from his companion Clara in "Face the Raven". The revival has long established that the Doctor risks becoming a case of BewareTheSuperman if he doesn't have travelling companions; Clara admits that he isn't good at being alone, but orders him not to give up his principles before [[spoiler: she is Killed Off For Real]]. Unfortunately, he spends the entirety of "Heaven Sent" being tormented by unseen enemies, with no one in his giant torture chamber but a deadly monster. This fans the flames of anguish and rage, he fights his way out of the chamber, and in the finale "Hell Bent" he becomes TheUnfettered WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds -- obsessed with a TragicDream of [[spoiler: bringing Clara back from the grave]] and almost destroying the universe in the process of trying to achieve it. When [[spoiler: a now-Only Mostly Dead Clara]] causes him to have a HeelRealization, he ends up losing [[spoiler: not only her but his most important emotional memories of her]], but accepts these losses as a way of atoning for his selfishness. He thus ends Series 9 alone, a sadder and wiser man for his experiences.

* Both ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' and ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' allow you to have your party fighting alongside yourself for most of the game, then render them unable to join your for the final boss. The second game is particularly cruel, since it abruptly drops you on Malachor V. Your character wakes up and has to spend the entire level on their own, even though it is made perfectly clear that the rest of your crew survived and got out. At least in the first game you could have two party members with you for most of the Star Forge until your fight with [[spoiler: Bastilla]]. This might be due to early plans for the game, in which a few scenes on Malachor V focused on the other characters, depending on the choices made by the player over the course of the game, such as a fight between Atton and Darth Sion which could end either with him surviving and reuniting with the Exile, or losing and dying in her arms, or if the player was a dark side female and fell in love with the Disciple [[spoiler: Atton was supposed to kill him]].

** In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' Shadow is forced to fight Devil Doom on his own, due the poison gas the latter released into the atmosphere paralyzing everyone else, Shadow being immune because he was created from the villain's blood.

* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' Neku attempts to invoke this by leaving Shiki and Beat behind unconcious and confronting the final boss but it becomes {{subverted}} when they catch up with him and tell him off for running off on his own just before the fight starts.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' handles this is a different way for the [[FinalBoss end]] DuelBoss battle, in that the Masked Man uses a lightning attack that will always knock out anyone on your team still standing besides Lucas, who's carrying a DeflectorShield. Most notably, he will execute such an attack immediately as soon as Lucas attempts to bring them back to consciousness, and they won't even get the usual grace period until their HP counter reaches zero, ensuring they never get to act.

* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' lets you have a teammate with you during most of the game, but forces you to take on [[PhysicalGod Sun Hai]] and [[spoiler:[[ManBehindTheMan Sun Li]]]] on your own. In the later case, though, [[spoiler:the spirits of your party members can help you overcome your Doubt, assuming they're still alive to do so]].
* ''Age of Pirates 2: The City of Abandoned Ships'' plays this one extremely jarringly. The game allows the player to have up to three hired blades follow them around, but in scripted quest-related fights they are often inexplicably absent, leaving the player to face often overwhelming odds on their own, even though that's precisely why he or she hired the thugs in the first place.
* In the end of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' when you get to the Emperor's Fou-Lu Throne room he simply knock off every party member leaving only Ryu to face him in a DuelBoss. [[spoiler:They ultimately recover, eventually, for the real FinalBoss, [[TheDragon the literal dragon Tyrant]] and, obviously, Fou-Lu himself as Astral.]]

* ''VideoGame/WildArms3'' has the demon Siegfried removing all of Maya Schrodinger's magic powered personas (that she gains by reading books) by forcing her to read a book called "The True Self". Her "true self" is a {{nerd}} girl happens to know how his technology works and shuts it down.

* It is [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged]] in ''VideoGame/TheNightOfTheRabbit''. The hero Jerry Hazelnut states this trope verbatim right before entering the portal to BigBad's place, but some of his friends appears to lend him a hand. After entering the portal they disappear, but they are found some time later. Then they help the Jerry to rescue the people imprisoned by the BigBad, however Jerry has to fight him alone.

** In ''Twilight's Kingdom Part Two'', she had to hide the other three princesses' alicorn magic from not only Tirek, but also her friends as well, right up until she solo'd the giant centaur to avenge the destruction of her library. However, in the end, she trades her alicorn magic to save her friends, even Discord, and received her final key that allowed her and her friends to unlock the Rainbow Power. Then, they use the Rainbow Power to defeat Tirek, restore everypony's magic, and even build themselves a new castle to replace Twilight's library.
* The fifth-season finale ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has pretty much every single major ally of Steven show up to help him reach White Diamond. Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis Lazuli are separated from the main party [[TheCavalryArrivesLate until after that climax]], while Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are taken over by White Diamond's power. Connie makes it to the final confrontation, but isn't a great help TalkingTheMonsterToDeath when White Diamond [[HumansAreInsects entirely refuses to acknowledge her]].

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry, especially in the beginning of the series. As Dresden gains friends and allies, and [[CharacterDevelopment learns to]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship trust them]] [[LonersAreFreaks more]], more and more often he has someone fighting alongside him at the climax.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' basically slowly killed the cast (again) throughout the approach to each BigBad (Frieza, Cell and Buu). By the time Goku fought Frieza and (almost) killed him, they were the only two people on Namek, the rest being dead or on Earth. A larger cast lived until Gohan beat Cell, but they were just on the sidelines by then. For Buu, literally everyone that wasn't a Kai, Goku, Fat Buu or Mr. Satan (or the puppy) was dead. Including one of the combatants (Vegeta). ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' didn't kill the cast as much, but the Big Bads were so powerful by then that nobody that wasn't Goku or [=SS4=] Gogeta was pretty much helpless (besides for Trunks during the Black Star Dragon Balls part and Pan every once in a while).

* Discussed and deconstructed in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': When a young boy called [[MeaningfulName Bernie]] asks an old man [[OneSteveLimit also called Bernie]] for help, he denies it claiming that young Bernie needs to learn that "in a final analysis, we are all alone". Then Old Bernie sees a paper and it’s eager to help young Bernie. [[TheEighties The paper said that the Russians have invaded Afghanistan and that means]] WorldWarIII. After young Bernie leaves, Old Bernie [[IronicEcho monologues that]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship "we are here to help each other…]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in a final analysis"]].

* The final battle of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' is the main character against [[spoiler:Nyx]]. Nobody can come with him. In a moderate subversion, however, his weapon against the final opponent is the hopes of everyone he met on the way to the confrontation.
** It gets repeated in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' right down to the letter [[spoiler: excepting that there isn't a HeroicSacrifice. Hey! TropesAreNotBad!]]

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* {{Subverted}} in the first ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' game. Ansem starts the first part of [[OneWingedAngel his final boss fight]] by separating Sora from Donald and Goofy. However, as Ansem takes damage, portals start opening up to where Donald and Goofy are being held, giving Sora the opportunity to break them out and have them rejoin the fight. Sora pretty much runs on ThePowerOfFriendship, after all, and the [[CoolKey Keyblade]] [[MundaneUtility isn't just meant for fighting]].

** The fifth-season finale of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' gets downright ridiculous with this trope, as pretty much every single major ally of Steven shows up to help and gets taken out in one way or the other so that Steven has to face White Diamond himself. Crosses over into TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter territory since the episode introduces ''three'' new fusions, all of whom end up as little more than brief cameos.
[[/folder]]

** The fifth-season finale of ''WestwernAnimation/StevenUniverse''gets downright ridiculous with this trope, as pretty much every single major ally of Steven shows up to help and gets taken out in one way or the other so that Steven has to face White Diamond himself. Crosses over into TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter territory since the episode introduces ''three'' new fusions, all of whom end up as little more than brief cameos.

* This is practically [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Tiffany Aching's]] motto, but she ''chooses'' to be fiercely self-reliant. As she puts it, "A witch deals with things."

* In Manga/{{Naruto}}, after a huge war of everyone fighting the Ten Tails, Obito, Madara and Kaguya, the final battle ends up being a one on one between Naruto and Sasuke. Makes sense as it's a personal fight settling the score between long time rivals.

* Discussed and deconstructed in ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'': When a young boy called [[MeaningfulName Bernie]] asks an old man [[OneSteveLimit also called Bernie]] for help, he denies it claiming that young Bernie needs to learn that "in a final analysis, we are all alone". Then Old Bernie sees a paper and it’s eager to help young Bernie. [[TheEighties The paper said that the Russians have invaded Afghanistan and that means]] WorldWarIII. After young Bernie leaves, Old Bernie [[IronicEcho monologues that]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship "we are here to help each other…]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in a final analysis"]].

* Unsurprisingly, MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfiction plays with this trope fairly frequently, given that the show's central theme is the PowerOfFriendship.
** In the FanFic/TriptychContinuum, the story [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/367177/tricks-of-the-trade-show Tricks of the Trade Show]] has Rarity try to do her first trade show on her own, rather than depend on others for help. She spends most of the trip into Canterlot being annoyed by her father, a [[HoldYourHippogriffs hoofball]] player (and, one year later, coach) who keeps giving her seemingly contradictory advice:
--> He would tell her that she had to rely on her friends, her team, and that nopony got through without the entire group backing them. Then he would say that ultimately, you were out there on your own.
** In the end, Rarity comes to understand his advice: that your friends will plan on doing whatever they can to help you -- but plans are what fall apart. She has to know she can count on the ponies she cares about, and she also has to be ready for the moment when she's isolated and has to get through by herself.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', as tensions rose, Captain America called out Tony Stark as talking a big game, but being nothing without his Iron Man armor, and not being a team player besides.
* Villainous example. In the ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie, Kingpin sends his guards home so he can face Daredevil alone.

* At the climax of ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', where despite having all her friends with her, Sarah chooses to face Jareth alone, "because that is the way it is done."
* At the climax of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' Luke deliberately goes without the aid of his [[TrueCompanions comrades]] to confront Darth Vader and the Emperor. Though as the Emperor disdainfully pointed out, Luke had faith that his friends would succeed.
* In ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', Mal must fight the Operative alone because the crew is buying him time by holding the line against the Reavers. And at the end of ''that'' fight, River has to fight against the Reavers by herself.

--> '''Morgan:''' What about me? Is there anything I'm supposed to do besides watch?
--> '''Duncan (''shakes his head''):''' No. And whatever happens, you mustn't touch him or attempt to aid him in any way until the reaction has run its course. We're dealing with fantastic amounts of power here, and if you interfere, it could kill him.

* In {{Naruto}} after a huge war of everyone fighting the Ten Tails, Obito, Madara and Kaguya, the final battle ends up being a one on one between Naruto and Sasuke. Makes sense as it's a personal fight settling the score between long time rivals.

** Double subverted: [[spoiler: The final form can only be fought with Neku.]]

* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' lets you have a teammate with you during most of the game, but forces you to take on [[PhysicalGod Sun Hai]] and [[spoiler:[[ManBehindTheMan Sun Li]]]] on your own.

Many shows will switch gears abruptly to have the hero fight the last battle on their own. Be it due to a ClimacticBattleResurrection waylaying all their allies, [[DwindlingParty killing them all]], or because the enemy is so strong anyone trying to help the hero would become a [[TakingTheBullet meat shield]] at best and a dangerous distraction at worst. This limits the rest of the cast to cheering from the bleachers (maybe [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slapping some sense into a hero]] woozy from a BreakingSpeech) or acting as fuel a CombinedEnergyAttack or SuperMode.

* Seems to be a reoccurring theme with ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', where many of the characters seem to believe this. However it also seems to show these characters time and time again that [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming there is always someone to help]]. A variant of the phrase, 'Everyone Dies Alone', also serves as the [[ArcWords Arc Words]] for the [[GrandFinale series finale]].

* After fighting the final boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' for several stages, Cloud engages in a final one-on-one clash of wills with Sephiroth. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome He destroys him with a single strike.]]

* The final missions of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2'' become this, [[spoiler:especially in the GoldenEnding]]. For most of the game, David Mason has a reliable squad of [=SEALs=] under his command and is commanded by [[AFatherToHisMen Admiral Briggs]] from the ''[[CoolBoat USS Obama]]''. [[spoiler:Then [[WhamEpisode Odysseus]] happens. The ''Obama'' is suddenly stormed by Menendez's mercs and severely damaged, if not outright destroyed. Farid, if he survived "Achilles' Veil", is killed, Crosby is W.I.A., Salazar turns out to be Menendez's [[TheMole mole]], and Briggs is critically wounded, if not outright killed. By the final mission, the only one of your supporting team that you can possibly still have with you is Harper - and even then, that's only if Farid didn't kill him to keep his cover in an earlier mission, which is a requirement for the best ending.]]

--> -- ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', "[[BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E22BecomingPart2 Becoming, Part 2]]"

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' handles this is a different way for the [[FinalBoss end]] DuelBoss battle, in that the Masked Man uses a lightning attack that will always knock out anyone on your team still standing besides Lucas, who's carrying a DeflectorShield.

'''Buffy:''' ''(blocks blade with bare hands)'' '''''Me.'''''

* The endgame of ''LiveActionTV/DoctorWho'' Series 9 is all about this for the Doctor after he is captured by his enemies and separated from his companion Clara in "Face the Raven". The revival has long established that the Doctor risks becoming a case of BewareTheSuperman if he doesn't have travelling companions; Clara admits that he isn't good at being alone, but orders him not to give up his principles before [[spoiler: she is Killed Off For Real]]. Unfortunately, he spends the entirety of "Heaven Sent" being tormented by unseen enemies, with no one in his giant torture chamber but a deadly monster. This fans the flames of anguish and rage, he fights his way out of the chamber, and in the finale "Hell Bent" he becomes TheUnfettered WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds -- obsessed with a TragicDream of [[spoiler: bringing Clara back from the grave]] and almost destroying the universe in the process of trying to achieve it. When [[spoiler: a now-Only Mostly Dead Clara]] causes him to have a HeelRealization, he ends up losing [[spoiler: not only her but his most important emotional memories of her]], but accepts these losses as a way of atoning for his selfishness. He thus ends Series 9 alone, a sadder and wiser man for his experiences.