A/N - My first of many one shots. Hope you enjoy.

For those wondering the true Turaga Dume's fate.

Set before the Toa leave with the Matoran Pods but after they're healed in chapter 4 of my story "Web of Deceit".

I don't own Bionicle, only my OC.

Pain was the first thing he felt upon awakening. A sharp, yet slowly dulling throb behind his eyes, like a migraine… yet not. He could hear an exclamation nearby, but the sounds were muffled, like someone had put cloth over his ears. Groaning, he tried to move, only to feel a weird, hide-like hand gently ease him back.

"Easy there… don't try to move yet." A voice said, but he could not tell if it was male or female.

He tried to open his eyes, but failed, and he let out a pained sound as he did. The muffling in his ears was slowly fading with each passing second.

"No! Turaga please, don't open your eyes!" The voice, less muffled, and sounding distinctly female, panicked. "Oh… where's Nokama when you need her…"

"Wh…wha…" The Turaga coughed harshly, pain spiking through his chest. His throat felt like the Po-Metru desert during the dry season.

"The stasis pod you're in malfunctioned, so you're a little banged up. Here," the rim of a canteen was brought to his lips "drink some water. Lord knows how long you've gone without it."

He did his best not to greedily drink the cool liquid, but his dry throat made that a little hard. After a bit, the canteen was pulled back. The Turaga let out a sigh of relief, feeling some of his energy return.

"How do you feel?" The female asked, and despite his eyes being closed he could imagine the concerned look she had.

"Better now," he coughed, "thank you."

There was sigh in the voice as she muttered something strange, before she asked "Do you remember your name?"

That was a strange question, as he knew it quite well. "Dume." The Turaga said after a moment. "Turaga Dume."

"That's good." The female - who he know noticed sounded rather young - said in relief.

"Why do you ask?" Dume wondered, trying to open his eyes and failing.

"Easy! You need some time to adjust!" She… scolded? That was new for him. "As for your question, you took a rather nasty hit to the head when you were jostled about during the quake."

Dume nodded slightly, before her earlier statements clicked in his head. "'Stasis pod'? 'Quake'?"

There was a sigh, before she spoke. "It would be best for one of my companions to explain when they get back. For now, let's get you out of this blasted thing."

The strange hands returned, and now that he was paying attention noticed that she had a strange ripped cloth covering her left palm, while the other had bandages. The hands gently wrapped under his arms and lifted him up, and he heard a small grunt of exertion. Turaga Dume did his best to help, but his legs felt weak, like he hadn't used them for a while, which was another odd thing. His staff was missing as well.

For a moment he was held in the air, before his back was laid upright against something soft. "You can rest here Turaga."

Letting out a small mumble of thanks, Dume attempted to again open his eyes, and was greeted with a blurry figure crouched before him. The figure was mostly shadowed, but he could see that she was coloured white and blue. She was larger than a Matoran, but he could also see that she was smaller than a Toa, and slimmer as well. A very young Vo-Toa perhaps?

The young one stepped back, and then let out a sharp curse as the faint light flickered, then vanished. "Arg! Stupid lightstone! I told Whenua that it was dying, but did he listen? Noooo…"

Despite the lack of light from the stone, Dume could see that the curved roof had a faint blue-green glowing, interweaving design to it. He knew of where he was, but it confused him a great deal. How in Mata Nui's name did he end up in an Onu-Metru tunnel?

There was a shuffling sound, like someone was rummaging through something. Then, the young Toa made a sound of triumph. "Aha!"

There was a bright burst of light, and the Turaga groaned as he shielded his eyes. The small Toa cursed, "Ah fraggit-!" Some more shuffling sounded, before the light dipped in brightness. Sighing, Dume rubbed his red-orange eyes, wincing at the flashing aura.

"Ah scrap! Sorry Turaga! Didn't think it would activate like that! Stupid stone…" She muttered something colourful under her breath.

He waved his free hand, dismissing her apology. "It's… alright. Accidents happen."

The young Vo-Toa sighed, and he could blearily make out her shaking her head, which drew his attention to the headdress attached to the back of her head. "Still, I shoulda made sure that your eyes weren't assaulted like that."

The young one then came over, kneeling before him and plunging the front of her form into shadow. A hand rested against the side of his mask. "How are they, by the way?"

"Better." He answered, blinking slowly, trying to focus on her form. Was it just him, or was she covered in cloth? "Yet still a little blurry."

The Toa seemed to wince, pulling back. This confused him even more. "Is everything alright?"

There was a deep sigh, before she answered. "Yes… but I'd rather you not panic. I'm not the… most acceptable being you'll see."

Now the Turaga was concerned. Why was this young Toa so upset over her appearance? "What do you mean young one?" He asked. His vision was much clearer now, with very little blurring.

He soon got his answer.

Dume drew in a sharp breath when she stepped back, allowing her form to be bathed in the light of the lightstone. Instead of the small Vo-Toa he had been expecting, he instead saw a bipedal organic draped in white and blue cloth. Her hide was a light tan in colour, and she had - instead of a headdress - what appeared to be very thin light gold-tan and light blue wires growing from her head. They were pulled back, and he could see a strange helmet sitting on her mask-less head. The girl's eyes were strange, non-glowing white with blue pupils and with a black dot in the center of each that seemed to shrink slightly in reaction to the light. "Wh-What are you?!" He mentally smacked himself as the words left his mouth. How could he be so rude?!

The not-Toa didn't seem too affected, instead bringing over the cloth-covered lightstone as she crouched down to be at his level. "I'm a human, from a world outside of this universe." She said softly. "My name is Emma."

Dume blinked, allowing the information to sink in. "Another world?" He muttered, taking note of the Translation Stone around her neck.

The girl - Emma - nodded. "Yes. As you can now see, I'm not something that you would find in this universe."

He nodded slowly. "I always wondered if there were worlds outside of this one."

Emma chuckled softly. "My kind have wondered that as well for centuries."

Dume found himself rather liking this young child. She was very kind, and had an air of peace around her. Yet even still, he could see in her strange eyes that the human had seen much in her short life. "And your companions?" The Turaga asked, wondering if there were more humans here as well.

The girl smiled down at him. "They're Toa, so you don't have to worry about an invasion." She grimaced at her poor attempt at a joke. "They should be back from dealing with the Ice-Bats soon."

Dume felt relief flood his veins. "So Lhikan and the Mangai should be back soon to explain."

Emma winced, averting her eyes. "Um… about that…"

He raised an eye ridge. "Yes?"

She sighed. Here goes nothing… "The Toa Mangia are gone." Emma said softly, looking down and away from his now horrified mask. "These Toa are called the 'Toa Metru', and are Lhikan's successors."

Dume felt like he had been slapped in the face. "H-How…?" He trailed off, too stunned to continue.

Emma looked up, and the Turaga noticed that her eyes were moist. "It's a long story, but I believe that it would be easier if you told me about what you last remember."

Dume took in a deep breath, searching in his memory for the last events that he remembered. "There was a meeting… with Toa Lhikan and the other Toa Mangai that afternoon. It was just the regular monthly meeting… a time where the six could express any concerns or tell of any announcements. There was… a report about some strange happenings in Ta-Metru, as well as a couple Matoran of different Metru's disappearing, but nothing conclusive, so the meeting ended early. The Toa left for their respective Metrus… and I went to rest. The last thing I remember was falling asleep in my personal chambers, then waking up here."

The girl frowned, nodding slowly as she took in the information. "Nothing overly strange?"

The Turaga shook his head. "Nothing that I can remember."

Emma sighed, sitting back and crossing her legs. "I'm guessing that you would rather I tell you what I know then wait who-knows-how-long for the Toa?" She asked dryly.

Dume nodded, a tiny bit curious. "Yes, that would be nice."

The human let out a gust of air, leaning back a bit and holding onto her knees. "I don't know the full story, so I'll start with how I arrived. You see, I was simply walking to my town's community centre when this lightning storm came outta nowhere…"

"…and after leaving Keetongu to watch the pods, we came to the Archives to retrieve the ships the Rahaga had found, and discovered that your pod was malfunctioning. Because of that, you were jostled about unsecured during the Cataclysm and not only received that nasty bump, but, from the vital sign readings Whenua picked up, you were also awakening. We had been alternating positions guarding you the last couple of days, but Vakama and the others had to leave to deal with the Ice-Bats in one of the ships before it was ruined - there are only seven working ships - so the six had go help the Rahaga. They left me to watch you, and not long after they left did your pod suddenly open, startling me and signalling that you were almost awake."

Dume, who had been listening quietly outside of the occasional question, nodded while lightly stroking his chin. "So, they should return soon?"

Emma nodded back. "Hopefully. I'm having trouble telling time down here, but it shouldn't be much longer. Still…" she looked to the side, towards where the ships were located down the tunnel, "I have a feeling that somethings happened, 'cause it's been a while…"

He frowned, pushing himself up off the girl's jacket - feeling rather thankful that she had laid that out for him - clutching the pole she had given him for balance as he retrieved the cloth to hand to her. "Then would it not be wise to locate them?"

Emma nodded, already standing up and packing up her satchel, placing the now empty container that once held jerky inside. "As much as I would prefer that you remain here Turaga, I was placed to guard you, so even though it's against my better judgement, you would be best to remain with me."

Dume agreed with her reasoning, watching as she pulled the outer blue layer back on, and secured the bag over her right shoulder so it rested against the opposite hip. She then stooped down to pick up her spear and the cloth-covered lightstone, flinching slightly as she adjusted the stone in her right hand. "Please follow me sir."

The girl walked down the tunnel, slowing her pace so she would not leave the Turaga behind like they were the accursed sphere. As they went, Dume allowed himself to process the new information that the girl had unloaded on him. Makuta had impersonated him, sent many of the Mangai off on 'missions' that they never returned from, cut off Metru Nui from the rest of the world, had an intelligent plant called the Morbuzakh infest the Great Furnace, let two Dark Hunters enter the city, and had trapped the Matoran into similar stasis pods, all using his face and name. And, worst of all, the dark one had cast the Great Spirit into a shadowy sleep, from which he may never awaken. It was almost too much to think of, and as such he found himself yelping when he walked into Emma's leg.

Shaking his head, the Fire Turaga looked up, only to freeze in shock at what lay before him. A large, open and semi-lit space laid before him, filled with ships in various states of ruin. Only six large ships were intact, with the seventh torn in many areas and tilted on its side.

A groan came from the girl. "Wonderful. There goes that extra ship." With that she began making her way over to the stairs, stepping over the rubble from the half-collapsed roof as she did. "Remain here Turaga. If the bats are still around, I'd rather you not become a target."

Dume nodded dumbly, before quickly shaking his head. "O-Of course."

Emma nodded, before making her way down. The Turaga watched as she approached the seventh ship, before entering via one of the upper doors. Sitting back, he waited against a large chunk to the ceiling, partially sheltered by a piece around his height. He closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"Dume?" A voice asked, before he felt a hand gently shake his shoulder. Opening his red-orange eyes, the Turaga blinked surprised at the girl crouched before him. "Yes..?"

Emma sighed. "You fell asleep." She answered, looking to her left before calling out "He's awake!"

A tall red form came over, and despite himself Dume's eyes widened at the sight of the Toa of Fire. "Vakama?"

The former mask-maker smiled in relief, crouching down next to the girl. "It is good to see that you're alright Turaga."

Dume took in the Toa before him, noticing the numerous scrapes and dents that covered his frame, along with some melting remains of frost. "I believe that the same can be said to you, young Vakama."

The Toa nodded, and the Turaga noticed that the larger was subconsciously tracing a scar on the side of his Huna. "I will admit that there have been some nasty bumps along the way, but now that the remaining ships are secured, we can begin the rescue."

Dume hummed, glancing over at the girl who was shifting slightly before him. "Yes, young Emma has told me some of the story, but I believe that there is more that I am not aware of."

Vakama nodded, and quickly informed the Turaga about some of the events that Emma had not been present for, or had accidentally missed. As he did, the other Toa gathered around, listening silently outside of adding in their own pieces.

"…so that's the basis of what Emma had not told you." Vakama said, wincing as he remembered his time working for Roodaka as a Hordika. Thankfully, Turaga Dume was not too upset. "And from what Emma had relayed to us of what you remember, it seems as though you had been held captive for over eighteen months."

"You mean to tell me that we'd been under the rule of Makuta for almost two years?!" The Stone Toa - Onewa - exclaimed, horrified. "And no one noticed?!"

"Lhikan did, remember." The Ice Toa - Nuju - replied, staring at the ground.

"So this whole long-time we've been bad-tricked?" The Air Toa - Matau - shuddered. "That's just scary-terrifying."

"At least the Matoran are safe now." The Water Toa - Nokama - said, pulling back from where she had been tending to the dent on Dume's head.

"And if everything goes to plan, they'll wake up on Mata Nui without issue." The Earth Toa - Whenua - added.

Vakama nodded. "Yes, and with you, Turaga Dume, they'll have a leader to look up to."

Much to everyones' surprise, the Turaga shook his head. "No, I believe that it would be best if I remain here in Metru Nui."

Emma blinked as the Toa Metru murmured in surprise. "Whatever for, Turaga?" She asked.

Dume shook his head, letting out a small sigh. "As you have said, your duty is to the Matoran, but mine is to this city. I cannot leave it while a bit of it still stands at least."

"But what about the Matoran? They need a Turaga." The Fire Toa protested softly, shocked that the imperial figure was choosing to stay here in this ruin.

The Turaga reminded himself that Vakama and the others were still young, and as such didn't understand. "They need a leader and you, Vakama, have proven yourself more than worthy. Besides…" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I… do not believe that I could face the Matoran again after all this. Your stories have awakened me to the fact that… the Matoran would not trust me, and perhaps it is best that they should not." He let out a long sigh, suddenly seeming thousands of years older in an instant. "It was my face that told the Matoran not to worry and to gather at the Coliseum to be put into those… pods. It was under my mask that the Makuta hid and sent the five Toa Mangai to their deaths." He shuddered softly, tears pricking his eyes. "I am no longer worthy of that position."

Much to Dume's surprise, Emma leaned forwards, wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug. "It's understandable," she murmured, "you were responsible for the city and feel as though you have failed it when you have not." The Turaga's eyes were wide with surprise, as were the Toa's. "If you feel it would be best to remain here, then who are we to stop you?"

Dume felt a small, grateful smile form on his mask. Gently, he hugged the human back. "Thank you, young Emma."

After a moment, he pulled back, and turned to face the Toa Metru. "Vakama, rise," Dume instructed, hoisting himself to his feet.

Vakama's eyes went wide and he threw a nervous glance at the other Toa, but still stood.

Turaga Dume cleared his throat and began. "Vakama, leader of the Toa Metru, I, Turaga Dume, leader of Metru Nui, hereby thank you on behalf of the Metro Nui Matoran population. You and your fellow Toa's - all seven of you -" he glanced at Emma, who looked stunned, "heroic deeds will be recorded and put up in the Coliseum to be remembered for all time." He looked at all seven of the tall forms before him, and continued with a louder voice. "So, by the power invested in me by the Great Spirit Mata Nui, I hereby proclaim you and your fellow Toa the protectors of the City of Legends." The Turaga proceeded to very lightly tap Vakama once on each shoulder with his staff, producing a small clink sound as his staff made contact with the bronze armour.

Usually, this ceremony would have taken place in the arena of the Coliseum, with the Matoran from the six Metru's gathered for the event. Their cheers would have shaken the very ground and the air would have been filled with streamers of almost every bright colour. The event would have been broadcasted on massive screens all over the island, with the proclamation then being sent out to the surrounding lands. However, in the present, the only light came from the cloth-covered lightstone on the floor, and the late day sunlight streaming in through the broken ceiling. Here, there was no audience, and the Toa's armour was dented and dirty from use, and the human's clothing ragged and dirty. The once grand metropolis lay in ruins around them, with it now populated by the escaped rahi and its Matoran asleep. But despite all this, there was still a sense of joy and pride that came from the young Toa - even the young girl - who stood before the much older Turaga.

"You seven are worthy successors of the Toa Mangai." Dume finished.

At this the newly proclaimed Toa Metru beamed. "Thank you," Vakama said. "You… you don't know what that means to us."

Dume chuckled. "I was once a Toa myself you know, so I have a pretty good feeling." Red-orange eyes twinkled in the faded light. "Now then, it would be best for me to meet these 'Rahaga' if I am to remain here."

The seven new Toa - human included - smiled, and they made their way down. Emma jumped when she felt a hand slide into her own, and she looked down surprised at the Turaga, who smiled at her.

"You may not be of this world, but I feel as though your destiny is tied to this world, Toa Emma." He said softly, and letting go of her hand, held out his fist. The girl blinked wide eyed at him for a moment, before smiling and tapping her fist against his in the symbolic, Toa way.

Looking up at the massive ships before them, and the six beings awaiting them, Dume smiled. Yes, this one's destiny is far more than even I can imagine. And she shall bring light to this dark world when the time comes.

A/N - And, done!

So, any thoughts? My first chapter in my One-Shot series.

I will say, that some of these chapters maaaaaay contain spoilers, so watch out! ;D

…Only three unique votes on my pole? Come on people! I know it's short notice, but I can't start writing the (main part) of the epilogue without it!

Until Next Time!