History Main / MacGuffinDeliveryService

** In the Namek arc, Vegeta leads Gohan and Kuririn leads to his stash of Dragon Balls so they can use the wish before Freeza gets a chance to- only for the Ginyu Force to show up and take them all in one swoop.

** When after the final dark crystal in the sealed cave, and after fighting the incredibly annoying evil wall, Kain reaffirms his status of hypnosis and makes off with the crystal, bringing it back to Golbez. Keep in mind that the Sealed Cave is riddled with instant death dealing Trapdoors, powerful monsters, and ThatOneBoss, so maybe Golbez [[spoiler:and Zemus, who's controlling him]] had it in his best interest to let Cecil do the dirty work for him rather than pour in minions or do it himself.

** This is pulled off even earlier in ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', where Kirby is happily collecting the pieces of the Star Rod which King [=DeDeDe=] has broken apart. [[spoiler: Marx, the lord of Nightmares, had been attempting to take over the Dream Land with the power of the Fountain of Dreams, and breaking up the Star Rod was the only way to seal its power. Whoops.]]

** And of course, the giant SoulJar you've been carrying around to devour the hordes demons you slaughtered is stolen by [spoiler:Adria], which is then injected into a new host, causing all the trapped demons to fuse into [[TitleDrop the third incarnation of Diablo]].

** Veran's MDS in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfAges Oracle of Ages]]'' backfires badly. Learning that the Western Woods hide [[KryptonicFactor Mystery Seeds that can harm her]], she has the Queen Ambi offer a reward for the one who will find them. She somehow [[VillainBall fails to realize]] that a) there's another Mystery Seeds tree in Labrynna b) seeds regrow on the same tree after a while. Instead, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Link gets bombs that allow him to enter the second dungeon]].

* ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry 2013'' actually [[InvertedTrope inverts]] this. When Kat gets kidnapped, Dante goes on a mission to kidnap Mundus's mistress (who is pregnant with his child.) Once that's overwith, they agree to a hostage exchange. In the middle of the exchange, Vergil shoots and kills the mistress and the child while saving Kat, and gets clean away with Dante's help. To top it off, the time that Kat spent kidnapped proves instrumental to finding Mundus's security systems and overriding them.

* Lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie'', in which the planeload of bombs the Joker plans to divert to crashing into the Gotham City power plant is being carried by "MacGuffin Airlines."

* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', Leeloo fights off a squad of Mangalores to retrieve a case of AppliedPhlebotinum stones, only for Zorg to take it from her at gunpoint. [[spoiler:Subverted when the case turns out to be empty -- the stones are actually in the body of the Diva Plavalaguna, who takes a bullet during the shootout and reveals their location to Korben as she's dying]].

* In ''Film/TheFifthElement'', Leeloo fights off a squad of Mangalores to retrieve a case of AppliedPhlebotinum stones, only for Zorg to take it from her at gunpoint. [[spoiler:Subverted when the case turns out to be empty.]]
* In ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Film/JamesBond and Melina salvage the ATAC after being attacked by some of Kristato's mooks, only to surface and find Kristatos and his other mooks, having killed their crew.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has a few examples:
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has a rare justified example, as the player brings the Wraithguard, a magical gauntlet required to handle the tools of Kagrenac, to [[BigBad Dagoth Ur's]] lair in order to destroy the Heart of Lorkhan which is housed there. If the player were to be slain, Dagoth Ur would then have all the tools necessary to tap into the heart once again. Justified, since the tools are needed to destroy the heart and actually kill the PhysicalGod Dagoth Ur.
** One of the side quests in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' is based around this trope. (It's even ''called'' "Nothing You Can Possess," in reference to the ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' quote.) A wealthy collector hires you to retrieve a particular carving from a [[TempleOfDoom ruin]]. Upon exiting the ruin, you're immediately accosted by a rival treasure hunter and his hired goons, demanding that you turn over the carving.
*** Something similar happens in the Mages' Guild quest where you must retrieve a replacement amulet since the original was stolen. As soon as you grab it, you are confronted by the [[{{Gonk}} butt-ugly]] Nord whom [[ScoobyDoo you knew did it all along]].
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has an example in the ''Dawnguard'' expansion. When storming Castle Volkihar you bring with you the key pieces of Harkon's plan, [[spoiler: Auriel's Bow and Serana.]] If the [[PlayerCharacter Dovahkiin]] were to be killed, Harkon would presumably enact his plan right then and there.
*** The page quote is from a {{subversion}} that happens during the College of Winterhold storyline. Estormo ambushes you right after completing the Labyrinthian and obtaining the Staff of Magnus. In what might otherwise be a scripted cutscene, the game allows you to [[TalkToTheFist attack him at any time,]] even during his introductory speech. And the best part is that the very staff he's trying to take from you is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard almost tailor-made to bring him down]]: it inflicts ManaDrain, and he's a [[SquishyWizard squishy]] [[TheFairFolk Altmer mage]] who both relies on and is vulnerable to magic. [[CurbstompBattle You can guess the result.]]

* ''FanFic/ShadowsAwakening'': Daolon Wong, in a moment of his newly acquired GenreSavvy, considers letting the heroes gather all the [[ArtifactOfDoom Dark Treasures]] and then stealing them all together from Section 13. [[spoiler: Ultimately, it's his partner [[OurGhostsAreDifferent The Phantom]] who does this.]]

** The page quote is from a glorious {{subversion}} that happens during the College of Winterhold storyline. Estormo ambushes you right after completing the Labyrinthian and obtaining the Staff of Magnus. In what might otherwise be a scripted cutscene, the game allows you to [[TalkToTheFist attack him at any time,]] even during his introductory speech. And the best part is that the very staff he's trying to take from you is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard almost tailor-made to bring him down]]: it inflicts ManaDrain, and he's a [[SquishyWizard squishy]] [[TheFairFolk Altmer mage]] who both relies on and is vulnerable to magic. [[CurbstompBattle You can guess the result.]]

* The basic '''plot''' of '''all three''' ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' games.

*** One vital document was actually hidden ''in the bad guys' secret lair''. It had presumably been there for decades without them noticing and yet Drake found it within a minute or two .

This is a SubTrope of UnwittingPawn, because is the characters knew the villain was waiting for them to bring the MacGuffin, it wouldn't be moved in the first place. Also SubTrope to NiceJobBreakingItHero, because the hero was convinced their actions would benefit the world instead of making things worse.

** In ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'', the goal of the game is to gather Crystals for Cortex so he can shield the planet from a planetary alignment ([[spoiler:Cortex's actual plans for them, of course, aren't as heroic as Crash's: Instead he wants to use the crystals to power a massive mind control device]]).

--->'''Uka Uka''': Yes, it is true! The bandicoot has brought all of the crystals, and all of the gems. Ultimate power is mine! The world as we know it is about to end.

* Happens to Indy again ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheFateOfAtlantis''. After failing to steal a bead of Orichalchum from Indy in the prologue, ThoseWackyNazis wait around for Indy to collect the three stone disks needed to enter Atlantis, then stick him up in Crete.

* In ''Dead Beat'' of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the villains are all looking for both the Word of Kemmler, and a book to summon TheErlking. Harry is the first to find both, and ends up summoning the Erlking himself to keep the villains from using him...at which point said villains show up, club him over the head, and take both. Notably, Harry at least has the foresight to speed read and memorize the Word of Kemmler as soon as he gets it just in case.