Chapter 9: Phantoka – Spirits of the Air

In the core of the BIONICLE universe, a battle rages…

Karda Nui, a massive cave with mists and a diminishing waterfall, is the scene of airborne chaos. Several winged Makuta, armed with pods containing shadow leeches, are infecting Matoran villagers to help them.

The Toa Nuva split into two teams, with Kopaka, Pohatu and Lewa remaining with the besieged Matoran. They rapidly discover that by flying with the Matoran, they benefit from a mental link that lets them learn about this new land while increasing the power of the villagers. The Brotherhood members, too, take to the sky with their evil Matoran. The villagers call both Toa Nuva and the bat-like Brotherhood of Makuta “Phantoka,” a Matoran term for “spirits of the air.”

The battle is furious and the sides evenly matched. Then a new ally appears to aid the Toa – the Mask of Life itself, which has created a body and joined the battle as “Toa Ignika.”

Even with his help, the fight is far from over, and now shifts from the skies above to the great swamp below…

The legendary Toa Nuva arrive in the massive cave of Karda Nui in the midst of a furious sky conflict between Matoran villagers and the evil, bat-like members of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Shadow leeches have turned some villagers evil, forcing Matoran to battle Matoran to determine who will rule.

The Toa Nuva find themselves in Karda Nui, the core of the universe, on a mission to achieve their destiny. Although the life of the Great Spirit Mata Nui has been saved, he remains trapped in an endless sleep. Only the Toa Nuva can awaken him and restore Light to the universe.

The Toa are now armed with adaptive armor, weapons and masks, which alter themselves to suit whatever environment the heroes find themselves in. And they need any advantage they can get, for powerful, bat-like members of the Brotherhood of Makuta have launched an attack on the Matoran of Karda Nui. Already, the villains’ shadow leeches have turned many Matoran evil.

Both the Toa and their enemies must ally with Matoran if they hope to win this fight. The Toa discover the ability to forge a mental link with the villagers, gaining their knowledge of Karda Nui and unlocking new powers for the Matoran. The Makuta, blinded by the energies unleashed when Mata Nui's life was restored, must rely on the evil Matoran to act as their “eyes.” Those Matoran too gain access to new powers.

Believing they must retrieve the Mask of Life to complete their mission, the Toa Nuva decide to split up. Lewa, Kopaka and Pohatu remain to help the Matoran while Tahu, Gali and Onua head to the swamp far below. Lewa’s team challenges the Brotherhood of Makuta, but finds its enemies cannot be easily defeated.

Then help comes from an unexpected new ally – the Mask of Life, which has made a body for itself so it can live the life of a hero as “Toa Ignika.” With his power added to theirs, the Toa renew the fight.

Karda Nui, the world that feeds the world

Winged Makuta drop Shadow Leeches

Lewa Nuva saves Tanma

Toa of the Air and their Matoran allies

Chapter 6: Web of Shadows

With only five pods transported to the newly discovered island of Mata Nui, the Toa Metru must journey back to Metru Nui to reclaim all their Matoran friends. But Metru Nui has changed. And so will the Toa.

Venomous Visorak spiders have infested the damaged city, turning it into a giant tangled web. The Toa, who fought past a shapeshifting Rahi to reach the city, fall victim to the stealthy Visorak and become encased in cocoons which transform them into Toa Hordika. These half beast, half Toa must not only overcome the threat of the Visorak and their rulers Roodaka and Sidorak, but also their own savage natures. Their loyalty to one another is stretched when Vakama allies with the Visorak horde.

But new friends, six Rahaga who once were mighty Toa themselves, help the Hordika in their quest to locate a legendary Rahi. Keetongu is rumoured to be able to change them back to Toa, and although some of the Hordika don’t believe he even exists, the group overcomes obstacles from within and without to reclaim their friend Vakama and win the trust of Keetongu. And incidentally free the city from the grip of the Visorak and their rulers.

Six Toa Metru return to the city of Metru Nui to recover sleeping Matoran, only to discover it taken over by spidery Visorak webs. Transformed into half-beast Toa Hordika, the Toa must defeat Sidorak and Roodaka with the help of friendly Rahaga. The fate of all sleeping Matoran rests with the Toa.

Their journey from Metru Nui had been difficult at best. But the Toa Metru had rescued five pods containing sleeping Matoran, and were determined to retrieve the rest of the sleepers back in Metru Nui. They named their new paradise island Mata Nui, in honor of the Great Spirit.

Returning to Metru Nui was a shock. Shipwrecked after the destruction of their Lhikan II craft, the Toa were astounded to see the great city in ruins and covered in tangles of web.

The Visorak horde had invaded Metru Nui.

Confident in their new Toa powers, the heroes did not fully estimate the strength of the Visorak numbers. It didn’t take long before they were captured and spun into cocoons high above the remaining city towers. Venom within the cocoons transformed the Toa into something something terrible: Toa Hordika – part Toa, part beast.

Their cocoons shredded and the Toa plunged toward the city far below. Before they reached it, however, they were grabbed by small flying figures: saved by the Rahaga!

These new friends were once powerful Toa themselves, but transformed into small Rahkshi-like forms as a mockery of their former stature. They told the Toa of a legendary Rahi named Keetongu who would be able to change the Toa Hordika back to Toa Metru. But despite a deadline when the change became permanent, the Toa were firm: the need to rescue their Matoran friends came first, saving themselves was second.

The Hordika began scrounging parts to build airships large enough to carry all the Matoran back to Mata Nui. During this time, evading the Visorak and other creatures set loose throughout the city, Vakama began taking long solitary walks. He was captured by the spiders and taken to Roodaka, Viceroy of the Visorak. She showed Vakama the unswerving loyalty of the Visorak, and convinced the Toa that his friends no longer cared for him. Shaken, he agreed to join Roodaka, but she had plans of her own: the overthrow of Sidorak, king of the Visorak horde. All Vakama had to do, she told him, was capture the Rahaga.

Vakama’s decision resulted in the capture of five Rahaga, and he was named Leader of the Horde. The Visorak would answer to him.

The other five Toa sought out and found Keetongu, who would heal them only after they proved their mastery over their beast natures. And they needed Vakama. The Toa Hordika of Fire resisted their pleas, but during a huge confrontation with Sidorak and Roodaka, Rahaga Norik released his fellow Rahaga as Keetongu climbed up a tower. The Visorak king and viceroy managed to strike down Keetongu, but he was not out, only down – as Sidorak discovered, to his doom. Roodaka, undaunted, mounted a huge Visorak intending to steal away the Hordika’s elemental powers.

But Vakama recognized who his true friends were, and rescued a falling Matau as he rejoined his Hordika friends once more to battle Roodaka. Before the Hordika were able to vanquish the Viceroy, however, a dark ghostly hand plucked Roodaka from her spider mount. Makuta had escaped his protodermis prison.

Vakama’s last act as Leader of the Horde was to free the Visorak. Only then did Keetongu change the Hordika back to Toa Metru.

The city was freed from the grip of the Visorak. The Toa were back to their hero selves. It was time to bring the Matoran to Mata Nui. The airships labored to bring the pods all to Mata Nui, until finally all the inhabitants of Metru Nui were on the island. There was only one problem left: the Matoran still slept.

Recognizing the necessity, each of the Toa spent some of their energy to awaken the Matoran, who had little to no memory of their lives in Metru Nui. Such an effort drained the Toa of their powers so like Lhikan before them, they were transformed into Turaga. They constructed six villages, modeled after districts in Metru Nui, and under the leadership of the Turaga they lived on the island for a thousand years.

There they lived until the coming of the Toa and the quest for the Mask of Light forced them to journey back to Metru Nui. But that’s another story.

Half Toa, half beast - Hordika!

Toa Hordika Nuju in Ko-Metru

The Hordika debate their future

Legendary rahi Keetongu

Chapter 5: Legends of Metru Nui

In the time before time, before the Matoran lived on the island of Mata Nui, the great city of Metru Nui was their home. Six Matoran were transformed into Toa heroes to save the metropolis from a false leader and his Dark Hunter servants.

A thousand years before the Toa defended the island of Mata Nui from Makuta and the Bohrok Swarms, the city island of Metru Nui was a bustling metropolis. Its six districts boasted tall towers, intricate transportation chutes, great furnaces to make nearly anything, halls of wisdom, and large fields filled with artwork by master carvers. The skilled Matoran inhabitants were happy and prosperous, but that was about to change.

Six Matoran, unaware their lives were about to change, worked in different regions of the great city. Whenua was an archivist in Onu-Metru; Nokama was a respected teacher in Ga-Metru; Matau rode fast-moving vehicles in Le-Metru’s test track; Nuju pondered great thoughts from towers in crystalline Ko-Metru; master carver Onewa called Po-Metru home; and mask-maker Vakama worked near the furnaces in hot Ta-Metru. Each received a mysterious visit from the city’s lone Toa, Lhikan, along with a stone and instructions to visit Ga-Koro’s Great Temple.
Their transformation to Toa startled them all, but it came none too soon. Toa Lhikan was kidnapped in front of Vakama by two Dark Hunters. And as the Toa soon discovered, a voracious plant called the Morbuzakh was invading Ta-Koro and destroying vital equipment. Nothing appeared to stop the creeping vines, and many of the forges and furnaces of Ta-Koro were abandoned or destroyed.

But Toa Vakama had a vision: the Morbuzakh nearly destroying Metru Nui, but being beaten by a Great Kanoka Disk. His vision also showed six Matoran who could help the Toa find the disks. So began their quest for these Matoran, and the six Great Disks.

In the course of their search, the Toa discovered one of the Matoran was a traitor. But despite this, they all managed to find their Great Disks and use them to defeat the Morbuzakh. Thinking their perils had ended, the victorious Toa brought them to Turaga Dume in the great Coliseum at the center of the city.

To their immense surprise, instead of being hailed as heroes, the six were ridiculed by the city’s leader. Summoning a whirlwind and his mechanical Vahki enforcers, Dume imprisoned Onewa, Nuju and Whenua – but Vakama, Nokama and Matau escaped.

While on the run, Vakama discovered the Great Disks could be fused together to form a single Disk of Time. This was the key to what Turaga Dume had ordered of Vakama as a Matoran: create a Mask of Time. He put it aside when another vision showed him that Matoran were being put into canisters in Po-Metru. They set out for that district to find Lhikan, fighting their way past two Dark Hunters, the burly yet stupid Krekka and four-legged, sneaky Nidhiki. Matau’s newly-discovered mask power of shapeshifting helped them escape, and Nokama’s mask of translation let them befriend a herd of Kikanalo beasts.

Meanwhile, Onewa, Nuju and Whenua met a mysterious Turaga while in prison. He told them they must learn powers of cooperation to find their mask powers and escape. After false starts, the three Toa stumbled into their powers and gained confidence in their own abilities. When they escaped, they brought the Turaga with them.

In dark tunnels under Po-Metru, the two groups reunited. All were shocked to find their mysterious Turaga companion was none other than Lhikan, transformed from Toa into Turaga!

The tunnels held many spherical pods like those Vakama had seen in his visions. Opening one, they discovered the real Turaga Dume imprisoned. But who was running the city behind Dume’s mask?

Chased from the tunnels by Vahki enforcers, the group escaped into a strangely empty city. Where were the Matoran? The obvious destination was to confront the false Turaga Dume in the coliseum, so the Toa and Lhikan arrived just in time to see Matoran being ordered into more pods. Vahki took the pods and stored them under the coliseum.

Indignant, the Toa confronted Dume. But it wasn’t Dume. Removing his mask, the figure revealed it was actually Makuta!

Darkness engulfed the city as it quaked. The time of shadows had arrived, and the Great Spirit Mata Nui fell into a deep slumber. Unable to beat Makuta at the center of his power, the heroes and Lhikan escaped in a Vahki transport, grabbing six pods containing sleeping Matoran as they went. The Dark Hunters attacked, but were plucked away by a whirling maelstrom that was Makuta, who used the Hunters to increase his own power. The Toa drove their Vahki transport into the protodermis ocean to escape, but Makuta sped ahead of them to a cliff top in the angry silver sea.

During the escape, Vakama had fashioned the Disk of Time into a mask, the Vahi Mask of Time. This powerful and dangerous Kanohi mask allowed Vakama to slow time around Makuta, but Vakama’s control was uncertain and he became entangled in its effects. Only Turaga Lhikan was able to save the Toa – but at the cost of his own life. Vakama had enough time to finally discovere his own mask power – invisibility.

Vakama couldn’t defeat Makuta on his own. The dark being was about to put on the Vahi when Vakama flung a disk and the mask of time dropped into the sea. Dodging blasts, the Toa was nearly overwhelmed when his five fellow Toa arrived. Working in unison, the six Toa emprisoned Makuta in a hardened prison of solid protodermis.

Although Makuta was no longer an immediate threat, their perils were not over. More quakes shook the sea, and the small boat with its few pods of Matoran aboard headed for a small crack in a great barrier. Their discovery of a pristine jungle island provided only a brief rest, for they still had Matoran to rescue.

Little did the group know of the cataclysms that occurred elsewhere – Metru Nui fallen to ruin and shrouded in webs, islands broken and villages sunk, a great waterfall streaming into a cave unknown to even the Turaga.

But those adventures would await them and other Toa.

The Morbuzakh attacks Ta-Metru

Toa Lhikan finds Onewa

The Toa Metru defend Metru Nui

Dark Hunters Krekka and Nidhiki