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Sometimes, no matter what the heroes do, destiny (i.e. the writer) just has it in for some characters. Save the princess? You come back later and find out she's suffered a [[Fate Worse Than Death]]. Rescue the village? The [[Big Bad]] burns it later. Recover the legendary artifact? Too bad; there's a mole among the good guys and he smashes it right before the heroes have the chance to use it. This is a very specific and special flavor of [[Diabolus Ex Machina]] that only happens when after the protagonists ''think'' they've won, a prolonged [[Hope Spot]] capped off with a [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] moment.
Compare [[Pyrrhic Victory]]. Can rely on [[Cutscene Incompetence]]. If this applies to an entire setting as opposed to a single character, it becomes [[Happy Ending Override]]. See also [[All for Nothing]] and [[Yank the Dog's Chain|Yank The Dog's Chain]].
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== Anime & Manga ==
* Nia Teppelin from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' dies in the ending as a direct result of destroying the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Anti-Spiral]], even though Simon had spent the entire second half of the series trying to save her. A truly irritating example, since it destroys the entire [[Screw Destiny]] theme of the series.
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