A minor character has an important MacGuffin or other Plot Device , but has been fatally wounded, or is otherwise about to die. This character then hands the object over to the main character s before dying. The main character s continue the dead person's mission to get the thing to wherever it's supposed to get to before the bad guys get it.
A good way to keep the true story a mystery and to keep the audience interested is to have the main character be an Unlikely Hero that has NO idea what's going on or who to trust. The old bearer may double as a Sacrificial Lamb , and is quite often a Pursued Protagonist. Despite the trope name, the object handed over might or might not be a MacGuffin.
See also Almost Dead Guy , who passes on information instead of plot coupons, and Bequeathed Power , when the thing being passed on is some kind of superpower rather than an item. For when the transaction involves human beings, see Take Care of the Kids.
May be a Harbinger of Impending Doom. Compare The Chooser of The One. Community Showcase More. When the Other Father is sinking, he gives Coraline the Eye. Follow TV Tropes. You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account. Regrettably, I have failed in my mission But perhaps you can keep the torch lit There is an old saying in my family Thou who art Undead, art chosen In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know Well, now you know And I can die with hope in my heart Oh, one more thing Here, take this An Estus Flask, an Undead favourite I would hate to harm you after death So, go now And thank you The man with the data card in the first episode of Dirty Pair Flash.
The new incarnation of the Lovely Angels spend the episode arguing over which of them has to get the card back to Heroes "R" Us headquarters โ and demolishing everything that gets in their way. The file in question was a list of people who had received a vaccine for an otherwise incurable illness the vaccine was rejected due to pressure from certain individuals and organizations who wanted to prevent their products from being rendered useless.
