History Main / WeWereYourTeam

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': Griffith's Band of the Hawk has just won a decades-long war for their employer the king of Midland, who gives Griffith a knighthood while the Band celebrates. Guts, seeing as there's nothing left for him to do in peacetime, decides to leave, but Griffith forbids it, willing to kill him before he'll let him go. Guts easily beats Griffith, causing a mental breakdown that leads to him sleeping with the Midland princess, who had a crush on him. He is found out and arrested, while the Hawks barely escape a massacre by the army: many of them dessert, while Griffith’s deputy Casca takes over those who remain. About a year later, Guts hears about the Hawks' plight and shows up to join their mission to rescue Griffith. They succeed, but it turns out that Griffith has been crippled and tortured to the point where he can't speak, walk, or move his arms, let alone lead a mercenary company to victory. Casca is too worn out from the past year’s ordeals to continue leading them, and everyone including her was only able to make it that far because they thought Griffith was going to return to lead. The Band of the Hawk ceases to exist, and its members start splitting up into different groups to go their separate ways, until all that’s rendered moot by the horror of the Eclipse.

* A particularly horrifying version in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}''. Griffith's Band of the Hawk has just won a decades-long war for their employer the king of Midland, who gives Griffith a knighthood while the Band celebrates. Guts, seeing as there's nothing left for him to do in peacetime, decides to leave, but Griffith forbids it, willing to kill him before he'll let him go. Guts easily beats Griffith, causing a mental breakdown that leads to him sleeping with the Midland princess, who had a crush on him. He is found out and arrested, while the Hawks barely escape a massacre by the army, some splitting up and going their separate ways. A while later, Guts hears about the Hawks' troubles and shows up as they're about to rescue Griffith. They succeed, but Griffith has been crippled and tortured to the point where he can't speak, walk, or move his arms, let alone lead a mercenary company to victory. This, coupled with Griffith's jealousy, leads him to summon the Godhand, sacrificing the Hawks to his ambition.

A team falls apart after {{the heart}} or their {{magnetic hero}} [[TheHeroDies dies]], [[TheBandMinusTheFace leaves]], or [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends to a higher plane of existence]]. Without his or her unifying influence, there isn't much holding them together anymore, so they drift apart to pursue their own endeavors.

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* In ''Fanfic/PanopticonQuest'', Reina was popular and respected across the Order/Union and her death was the catalyst for many changes in the Technocracy, including the Electrodyne Engineers' disagreement turning into outright defection and the Invisible College's reformation as Control.

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[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]

[[folder:RealLife]]

** This also happens in the movie: After a long period of peace, the crew eventually just breaks apart with each member going their own ways. Tai and Izzy are the only ones who remain close and, for much of the battle against Diaboromon, are fighting the threat by themselves. Most of the rest of them remain completely unaware of the entire struggle, leading normal lives unrelated to Digimon.
** Although they were still friends that met and hung out regularly, just not as a group that had to remain together all the time. It's more that everyone was busy that particular day (Matt and TK were at their grandparents, Joe had a school exam, Kari was a party etc..) and wasn't expect a sudden Digimon problem again.

* This is what happens to the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' in the episode "How Long Is Forever" after Starfire [[GoneToTheFuture disappears]] (while not the leader, she was the [[TheHeart most good-natured and optimistic]]). The rest of the team are actually in disbelief that their friendships were so weak to allow that to happen, resolving to become closer as a result.

''Be warned, this is often a {{death trope}}.''

WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou is a {{video game}}-specific subtrope, where the protagonist's death ends the game even if companions are still alive. Presumably they drift apart ''immediately'', without even stopping to use a [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Phoenix Down]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}: [[ExpansionPack FES]]'', the SEES members admit they've fallen apart, despite being dorm mates, after the events of the main campaign [[spoiler:in which the main character died, though this doesn't stop them all from forming the Shadow Operatives in the future, suggesting they all grew fond of each other to some degree]].

* In the "Breakdowns" arc of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', it was the ultimately unsuccessful assassination attempt on Maxwell Lord, which nevertheless left him in a coma, that broke up the team. The apparent[[note]]he was actually just sent to the distant past[[/note]] death of ComicBook/CaptainAtom, the field commander of the JLE, probably didn't help either. An interesting case, because neither man was particularly beloved by the team, but they were the ones who could impose some discipline and organization on a gang super-powered egomaniacs.

* The titular organisation from ''VideoGame/Overwatch'' had this happen hugely after Reinhardt Wilhelm was forced to retire. His influence both kept the individual members together and gave the organisation a moral compass; without him there to object, Blackwatch started doing questionable stuff that the public wasn't happy about when it came to light. Once Jack Morrison (the actual leader of Overwatch) and Gabriel Reyes (leader of Blackwatch) had their scrap and were both presumed dead, Overwatch was disbanded and without any real leader figure left, the team split up to go their own ways.

* This is what happens to the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' in the episode "How Long Is Forever" after Starfire [[GoneToTheFuture disappears]] (while not the leader, she was the [[TheHeart most good-natured and optimistic]]).

* In the [[Literature/TheBible New Testament]], after {{Jesus}} is arrested and crucified, his disciples are scattered across Jerusalem, not knowing what to do next. Peter even denies ever knowing him (three times). However, then Jesus comes back and rounds them all up again. After his ascension, [[LetsSplitUpGang they once again split up]] to carry out his will and convert other countries.

** Happens again in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', albeit for different reasons. After the events of the ''Arrival'', Shepard turned themselves and the ''Normandy'' over to the Alliance and spent the next six months under house-arrest on Earth awaiting trial for [[spoiler: causing the [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun destruction of the Bahak System]]]]. The survivors of the Suicide Mission have again been scattered across the galaxy, with only Garrus, the Virmire Survivor, Liara and Tali able to rejoin your squad, while everyone else appears [[HeroOfAnotherStory during side-quests]] or as playing important roles in the conflict at large.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', after the events at the Gallows, Hawke and their companions are forced to flee Kirkwall and go their separate ways, with the exception of Hawke's LoveInterest who joins them on the run. By the time of ''Inquisition'', Hawke is revealed to have also parted ways with their love interest in order to [[spoiler:focus on their investigation of the false Calling without interfering with whatever personal business their lover had to take care of. However, Varric is still maintaining contact with all the old gang and if Hawke survives the Fade, they are reunited with their family (what's left of it)... at least [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed until the next crisis]]]].
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' technically averts this, since the title organization is there to stay, so while the party members have their lives and businesses to return to, several decide to stick around working for the Inquisitor.