#Bota Nui

[downtofragglerock]

The production bible's little lore drop of "originally there were going to be six gsrs that crashed landed and Mata Nui was just one of them" has really got me thinking

The text states that they were each going to be in different and varying environments, but Mata Nui alone already had six pretty distinct biomes that covered a lot of varied ground, so what environs would be left to give a distinct feel?

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

"Gee Bionicle, how come your lore allows you to have two fucked-up moons?"

[makutaservaela]

Makuta Servaela is a Makuta who specializes in intelligent Rahi, especially ones who can speak Matoran. It was she who created Keetongu's species, a species who could remove Hordika venom (whom she created for the sole purpose of getting vengeance on Chirox due to Chirox's relentless bullying Servaela).

She was also known for considering herself smarter than her brothers and repeatedly defying orders passive aggressively if she considered them illogical. When the Makuta were called to destroy her Hagah, she decided that ridding herself of guardians was a stupid idea, and instead trapped them in the crystals she wears around her neck, to be awoken at a later time. The other Makuta didn't realise her Hagah were still alive in the crystals, and presumed this was just dark humour on her part of wearing her guardians' corpses as an accessory as a threat to any future servants who dare disobey her. Teridax mostly just put up with her shit because her Rahi were useful enough to him, and because her defiance of him was never direct.

When the Plan was announced, her first course of action began to gain as much information about the Mata Nui from Mutran as she could (a feat not difficult, as he had a soft spot for her). She used this to create a plan of her own, and obeyed Teridax until the Great Cataclysm, in which she carried out her plan: She left the Mata Nui, residing on Aqua Magna as an aquatic creature with plans to wait out Teridax's "immature power-grab".

When the planets were reunited, she migrated to the Bota Magna portion and released her Hagah, who knew nothing except that they had gone to sleep in their Makuta's lab and woken up in a cave somewhere else. They are completely oblivious to even the concept that Makuta had turned evil.

She continues to this day ignoring/avoiding everyone and performing her research.

[ghost-mantis]

Headcanon that Skrall as a species are essentially doomed on Spherus Magna.

Even though they are warriors of the highest caliber, 100,000 years of war, starvation, and the loss of every female of their species leads to a slow, inevitable decline.

Ruthlessly culling any member of their species that wasn't a high-class warrior meant that there was no investment in education or skilled labor. The only way their society functioned was to rely on pillaging and slave labor to obtain food, medicine, and essentially everything that didn't involve stabbing.

Given their very rigid social system, it didn't seem like female Skrall had much say or power in their society. On Bara Manga, the second they did get mental powers they were considered a threat and banished to the wilds. Canonically, the male and female Skrall also separated into two societies on Bota Manga.

After that point, the population replacement rate was 0 and the male Skrall were in an endless war with the Agori for resources. While they never really lost fights, that didn't mean that they weren't losing people to disease, injury, and old age.

And then Mata Nui came along and curb-stomped the only leader-cast member of their species they had left. The remaining male Skrall dispersed into smaller groups led by named Skrall or high-tier casts.

And then Teridax came along.

A huge portion of their remaining population was atomized when Teridax blasted their home in the Black Spike Mountains. The remaining groups decided to join the free-for-all fight between the Agori, Toa, Rahkshi, and Skakdi.

And even as amazing warriors in a normal fight, there's no way the Skrall did anything but get their shit kicked in against armies of beings with ranged supernatural powers. A sword is great, but not much use when all your opponents can do things like suck the oxygen from your lungs, or summon a mountant to crush you without breaking a sweat.

Plus, every Agori and Glatorian hates their guts and wouldn't hesitate to gut any Skrull injured or trapped by the absolute free-for-all that was Bara Magna.

Anyone who survived the bloodbath and subsequent reformation of Spherus Magna, including adding Bota Magna Skrull to their ranks, is still looking at a very grim future.

The Skrall are now outclassed by almost every sentient species (and most wildlife) on the planet in terms of power and resources. Their home and leader cast are gone, and they have no slaves left (all killed or emancipated by Toa) to produce goods or labor. Their species is still split into two societies by gender and getting together long enough to have kids probably isn't in the cards.

A few Skrall are hired on by the Dark Hunters, but given their lack of powers, they would be best as cannon fodder, or as combat trainers to beings with greater powers.

Every other remaining male Skrall group is going to have their shit kicked in by every other group the second they try to cause trouble. And the Baterra are probably still picking off warriors whenever and wherever they find them.

Their population has plummeted over the last 100,000 years and the remaining members of the species are essentially the last generation.

The best hope their species has is that the female Skrall, being less militant and having no mental powers left, join with Agori or Glatorian society. They might be closely related enough that they can have children with the Glatorian or Agori.

If so, any future Skrall are at most 50-50 genetically split with another species. Subsequent generations will have thinner and thinner Skrall genetics, and they'll be extinct as an individual species.

Given that they were absolute bastards as a species and society in-canon, that might be for the best. Banishing every member of your society that can have children, and then going to endless war with every one of your neighbors forever is essentially biological suicide.

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Random small-scale Bionicle AU ideas; feel free to ask what your blorboes (or canon-set OCs, provided you explain what their Thing™ is) are doing in each:

Golf (Turaga-centric AU where they all play golf; side-stuff features the Toa Mahri working at a Crazy/Mini-Golf place.)

Bowling-alley (I think I already posted about this ages ago, but I'm bringing it up again to add some context; it's set in a pseudo-80s world, but everyone's still a biomechanical thing. The Metru and Hagah are the staff, Helryx is the manager, and everybody else are the regular bowlers.)

Age of Sail (technically-a-morality-swap pirate AU; the Makuta are further towards the "lawful" edge of the morality-grid, the (non-evil) Toa are more like Robin Hood figures, and the Dark Hunters and Piraka are more traditional pirates. The Red Star is a ghost-ship crewed by the dead, and Spherus Magna is basically Atlantis.)

Superhero (Human AU offshoot where all the regions are modern-day cities and everyone wears modern clothing; the Toa, Order Of Mata Nui etc. are superheroes, and the various antagonists are supervillains.)

Battle of the Bands (another Human AU offshoot, where the Toa Teams and other factions are bands in a mundane setting, and all the major conflicts are formatted as the eponymous style of contest; the main story is set contemporarily to the respective story-arc's out-of-universe storyline, with relevant musical genres (e.g the Inika are an indie-rock band in 2006, facing off against the Piraka, who are a rap-metal band), and the Metru Nui flashbacks take place in the mid-1980s (with the Toa Metru being a New wave act).)

Reversal (AU where the Magnans live in the GSR and the MU characters live on Bara Magna.)

Broken Mirror (basically just Transformers: Shattered Glass but Bonkle,)

Steam-Age (Bionicle, but in a world where the Magnan society was in the aesthetic and technological equivalent of the mid-to-late 1800s; Bota Magna is a large industrialised city, and Bara Magna is essentially the Wild West. Metus is a literal snake-oil salesman. Some areas of the Matoran Universe has progressed past this a bit, with Metru Nui being Art Deco and having Dieselpunk technology.)

MMORPG (yet another Human-AU spinoff, this time with the characters playing characters resembling their canon selves in a popular MMORPG.)

YA Dystopia ("what if Bionicle was an early-mid 2010s Young-Adult dystopian novel?")

Detective Takua (Takua but as a Poirot-meets-Columbo detective in an early-mid 20th century-flavoured world that coincidentally happens to be shaped like a jumbled-up version of the Matoran Universe; showing up unannounced/coincidentally happening to be at the Big Isolated Mansion™, Large Isolated Boat® or Vaguely-Mediterranean Island©, being very friendly to literally everyone there while also using his... Takua-ness(?) to disarm potential subjects and try to catch them out. Also Kapura is there sometimes.)

[cometsans67]

oh the stars line. it was an extreme downgrade in every way bc they were on a shoestring budget for the toys. they were smaller and swapped the gradient color pieces for single color pieces. but the lore for it was some omnipotent force changed their look (i dont remember what, prolly mata nui) for tahu, gresh, and takanuva. very confusing for 10 yr old me who only got into it during the bara magna saga

A theme I just noticed in Toa teams; their forms change at least once

Like-

Toa Metru became the Toa Hordika (even if it's not permanent I'm counting it?

Toa Mata became the Toa Nuva

Toa Ignika became the Toa Mahri

Is this a common occurrence for a Toa team or?

(slowly glances at Ackar, Kiina, Gresh (maybe) Berix, Tarix and Vastus to see if this was ever planned for them)

[outofgloom]

POWER

The jungle of Bota Magna was dense and twisted, but that was not a problem for Toa Tuyet. Aided by her Mask of Intangibility, she flickered wraith-like through trees, leaves, and vines. She had already outpaced the fire that had spread from the now-destroyed prison tower. There would be no trace of her passage now, nothing to track. And even if the perpetrator of the ambush intended to hunt them all down…well…

She shifted the Nui Stone in her hand, smiling as she ran. The explosive blast of energy which had dissolved the tower into flaming rubble had not even touched her. Her power over water was greater than ever.

Tuyet emerged into a clearing and paused to get her bearings. The sun was different here–a single sun, rather than two...or more. This did not worry her. In her journey across universes, she had seen many like it.

“Toa Tuyet?”

The voice came from behind, and she whirled. Blade unsheathed, ready for violence.

It was a Matoran. Just a Matoran. She frowned, confused.

“How do you know me?” she demanded after a moment, advancing on the small being. “And what are you doing here? Talk.”

The Matoran shrugged. “I know a lot. In fact, I’ve wanted to speak with you for some time. You’re more formidable in person, I must say.”

Tuyet froze. Recognition. That voice…

“...You.”

“Oh?” The Matoran’s eyes widened slightly. “Now that is an interesting development. This isn’t the first time we’ve met, am I right? In some universe at least.”

Her blade twitched in her hand.

“Well, you were…taller,” she said slowly.

“Fascinating. Did we speak?”

“We had words, yes.”

“And what happened then?”

An immense blast of elemental water ripped through the jungle and tore a wide channel in the earth where the Matoran had stood.

“That,” Tuyet said quietly. 

She turned away, sheathing her sword, but then stopped. The Matoran was still there. The image flickered, then stabilized. A projection?

“Disappointing,” the Matoran clucked, shaking his head.

Tuyet was already running.

======

The jungle melted into a green blur as she raced on, straight through the thick of it. She phased through a massive tree-trunk, vaulted a stream on the other side, kept going. It was dim under the canopy, lit by the occasional beam of light from above. She cleared a root-covered boulder and chanced a look back. Nothing. Turned back to her trail.

The Matoran was right in front of her again, arms wide. She swerved in surprise and momentarily lost focus, went spinning through a stand of bushes and crashed into a tree-trunk, solid once more.

“I wasn’t finished, you know,” the Matoran said. He was already standing over her.

“Die!” she yelled as she rose, and blades of pressurized water eviscerated the surrounding jungle. Trees and branches crashed down on all sides, and the blades formed into a liquid shield around her.

The image of the Matoran wavered beyond the barrier for a moment. Then it stepped forward, unphased, right through the rushing water. Her sword was out and ready again, eyes roving around the newly-created clearing.

“Where are you?!” she hissed, ignoring the projection.

“I’m wherever I need to be,” the Matoran said. “Are you ready to talk?”

“Say what you have to say then.”

“I see that you have my stone.”

“What?”

“In your hand. You seem quite attached to it. I think they call it the Nui Stone now. Very unimaginative.”

Tuyet’s eyes narrowed. “How do you…Is that it? You’re here to take the stone?”

“My stone,” the Matoran smiled. “You couldn’t have known, of course. I designed it so long ago…Anyways–”

Tuyet’s blade whizzed through the air, off to the left, and buried itself through the chest of the figure standing half-hidden behind a tree-root nearby. The projection in front of her winked out. She smirked, dissipating the water-sphere, and walked toward the target.

“No one takes what belongs to me,” she said. The Matoran looked up at her with wide eyes, then down at the blade that pinned his body to the tree-trunk.

“I was,” he said haltingly, “I was going to say…Keep the stone…But…” 

His voice quieted. Tuyet leaned in closer. 

“You should know,” he continued, "that I always have...contingencies.”

The Matoran flickered and vanished. Tuyet cursed and tore her blade from the tree, springing away, whirling to attack again–

Intense pain struck her. Pain in her hand, the one holding the stone. Her arm seized up and she stumbled to her knees, dazed. She tried to drop the stone, but her fingers were locked tight. With a shock, she saw that the normally red crystal had darkened to a deep black. 

The Matoran was right in front of her now, solid and real. Desperate, she summoned another blast of water to wipe away her foe…

Nothing happened.

She tried again, shuddering with pain. The Matoran stepped up to her, eye-level. Not a scratch on him. Her blade rose shakily, but he batted it away. Reaching down, he plucked the Nui Stone out of her hand, easy as anything.

“All our works return to us,” the Matoran said quietly, almost to himself. He tossed the stone from one hand to another.

“What…?” she gasped. The pain began to fade, but something was wrong. Something inside of her.

“Oh, it’s just a saying. About consequences. The Great Beings never thought of it that way, of course. If we had, maybe–”

“No…” she interjected, finding her voice. “What did you do…to me? Tell me what you did.”

“Like I said, it’s my stone,” the Matoran said. “Use it against me, and its power turns on you. Neat trick. The stone has drained you of all your power, Toa, and sealed it away. I’m afraid it’s permanent.”

A wave of nausea washed over Tuyet. She was going to pass out.

“No…You can’t. I was going to…to…”

“To conquer the world? I’m aware of your aspirations, Toa Tuyet. That’s why I wanted to speak with you. I think you can help me.”

“Me…help you?” She spat the words out.

“Yes. To bring order to this world.”

“Why should I? You’ve ended me. Without my powers, I’m…” She trailed off.

“You are nothing. That’s true. Power makes us real, makes us matter. Without it, you are of no consequence. But…”

The Matoran leaned in.

“You know…‘Permanent’ is such a strong word after all, and I’m not one to waste good potential.”

Tuyet looked into the eyes of the Matoran that had taken everything from her. He held out the Nui Stone. She understood.

“What must I do?”

======

Context: This story fragment is set within the unknown landscape of possible futures which branch from the end of the unfinished Bionicle serials; specifically, the serial The Powers That Be, which trails off at a moment when a group of powerful characters (including Toa Tuyet) are being targeted by a mysterious murderer (the Great Being Velika), to be either killed or recruited to his cause.

[rahiwatching]

The Matoran have always been fascinated by the sky above them, and on the Islands of Mata Nui and Voya Nui they had the full beauty of the natural universe to gaze upon.

Strange then, that they didn't seem to notice the desert and jungle worlds that were right next door. Why is that?

In this investigation, we look at the limits of Matoran Astronomy and try to figure out why they seemed to be completely unaware of Bara Magna and Bota Magna's existence.

New Bionicle Science investigations every month. What part of Bionicle lore do you want to see investigated next? If you want to support the Knowledge Tower you can donate on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/theknowledgetower

[crystaltoa]

If Bionicle continued, I would like them to continue the cancelled eras of G1.

That’s a tough one for me because if we’re talking literal continuation of G1, it seems the story kind of went in a direction that cut off a lot of those branches ( like the bit about Mata Nui being one of six giant robots, the arc of Mata Nui and co visiting Bota Magna, etc.)

A reboot that revisited some of those scrapped concepts could be interesting though.

[fang-feraligatr-blog]

My new Toa Team at long last!

You've all waited so long for these so I'm just gonna jump into it!

First up, Pyrus. Toa Pohalan of Fire!

First and Foremost, I will explain Pohalan later. Pyrus like most of his current team is actually a toa from another group that was brought to the accursed lands of Bota Magna by the whims of fate, and his experience might not be as deep as the other toa, but his Elemental Powers rival that of even the Great Tahu! In fact due to an encounter with a rather aggressive nui-rama, Pyrus burnt out all the organic material in his right arm and now has what we would equate to an entire motorcycle for a right arm, engine and all. His golden blade was a gift given to him from an old friend before he left for Bara Magna, only for the fusion of Bara Magna and Aqua Magna to throw him off completely and land on Bota Magna instead.

His kit features the Mask of Time-stop, which allows him to literally stop everything around him for exactly 30 seconds. He can also focus this power to pause one specific object or individual for 15 seconds. It takes a lot of concentration, or in some cases desperation, to activate it so he's not prone to use it much. He's also got his replacement arm that sports it's own ventilation system so he never burns himself out again, and the gear system in his hand allows him to hold onto anything, and never let go. His Golden Sword of Fire is powered by a stone containing a blue flame that allows him to wield the sword even when exerting an extreme amount of power.

He leads his current team in hopes of finding a way back to his original destination, unaware of what fate has in store not just for him, but for all the universe.

Next up: Moku, Toa Pohalan of Air

Not usually one to be concerned with things like "emotional responses" and preferring to use his head rather than his heart to decide things, Moku is a calculating and ingenious Air Toa that prefers to work alone for the most part. So why he's willingly working with the others is a mystery, until you ask him and he says, "They're the best odds of survival I have". He seems cold, but in reality he only works with his logical side because emotions and feelings are confusing to him. That said, he's a mechanical genius who, using his own methods, basically turned himself into a toa and even augmented his armor into a fashion that he found both practical and stylish. His biggest drawback is that he's rather sarcastic and constantly butts heads with the Toa of Water because of it.

His kit includes the Mask of Mechanisms, which allows him to understand how to use any mechanical object simply by looking at it. This is incredibly useful to him as he likes to tinker from time to time, leading to him being the brains of the team. Despite being a Wind Toa, he's no gust of wind to ignore as his armor is EXTREMELY HEAVY! So heavy that he NEEDS that rocket engine on his back just to get off the ground. His flight is slow at first but it builds up speed fast and eventually gets powerful enough to break at least Mach 9, pushing on ten. This of course would make him hard to steer and slow down normally, but that's where his wind powers impress along with his shield (which he built himself of course). Placing his shield in front of him at top speed and utilizing his wind powers, he creates a massive sonic boom in front of him that stops his speed entirely, and obliterates pretty much anything in front of him, something that took several attempts and many broken armor pieces including his old mask to perfect. His weapon of choice is an energized Axe with a hilt guard and a flail attached. The flail is usually there for show, but if pressed he can use it along with more wind power to turn it into a deadly accurate weapon!

Now onto: Kanaka, Toa Pohalan of Stone

Before you ask, yes his right arm looks like a Visorak, but no it is not a Visorak, it is simply his right arm. And yes he does drag it behind him when tired. Kanaka is what we would know as a Wild Man, being one of two natural residents of Bota Magna, he and the Toa of Earth have been friends and survival partners for a long long time. Slow and lumbering, he makes up for it by practically being invulnerable to anything, unyielding and unstoppable. You really can't stop the rock when Kanaka is is your foe. Not one to say much, he really only speaks when he has something important to say, and even then in as few words as possible. Stalwart and strong as the mountains themselves, Kanaka is also a gentle giant, often listening to the others complaints and offering helpful opinions on the mater, and he absolutly loves rahi of any kind.

His kit includes his Mask of the Wild, granting him the various abilities of any rahi he knows of. This allows him to not only be one of the few toa's of stone that can swim, but possibly the only Toa of Stone that can fly. He can communicate with all rahi and is often seen as the king of the beasts. His weapon is the mighty Gaia Mallet, a hammer that's heavy enough that lifting it feels like moving a mountain, something that another mountain wouldn't have much trouble with so naturally he's the only one who can wield it. He also has a tail which never stops surprising his team, and his right arm has claws that tear through anything. Beyond all that, he does tend to get ferocious in battle and is often seen going into a frenzy against his enemies, not only making him stronger but faster than he should be able to move at all! If you're going to take him out, take him out FAST, otherwise he'll unleash his rage and smash you into oblivion.

Next: Taniwa, Toa Pohalan of Earth

Most people say that in order to be a toa you have to be a matoran first. This is not true, and Toa Taniwa is proof of this. A former Rahi that was imbued with the power of stone and the intelligence of a toa from an accidental interaction with a toa stone. Taniwa is in a constant struggle between his more intelligent Toa half, and his instinctual beastly half, but it's a struggle he's gotten used to now. Possessing the strength of a beast and the intellect of a Toa puts him on par with a Toa Hordika, and like any Toa, he's only as mean as he looks if you're a threat. Sharp claws, gnashing teeth, night vision and toa armor to boot, Taniwa is a monster in battle, but a loyal friend to those he trusts.

He's a good doggy.

The only other thing that really needs mentioning is that he CAN talk...but while his head does most of the head things you think it would do, his tail is how he talks. A small mouth can be found on the end of his tail that only exists to speak and nothing else. Any other mouth function you can think of happens in the mouth in his head, the tail only talks. What's weirdest abut it is that he can talk to someone without facing them thanks to this, but it never stops being weird. Stealthy for sure, but weird.

He is still a toa though, and despite having no mask to speak of, he still has amazing control over his element of Earth. Kanaka and Taniwa have been friends for about as long as they can remember now, and you cannot have one without the other.

Now for: Kali, Toa Pohalan of Water.

Armored in bullet proof metal, and armed to the gills, Kali is not your usual Toa of Water. She has a million ways to kill you, and no mater what she's always planning how she can end as many people in any given room at any given time and get away with it. She's cold, she's calculating, she's meticulous and skilled. She's so talented in fact that it seems like the only thing she doesn't have is a sense of humor or a tolerance for sarcasm. Never without a weapon of some kind, no one is ever quite sure if they're safe around her. Not much is known about her personal life, and that's just how she likes it. In the end though she is a Toa for a reason, and if there's one thing she hates more than anything else, it's Evil. Turns out that deep down she has a heart of solid gold and a will to defend others, but she hides it well.

She's armed with a sniper rifle that fires shots of hyper compressed water that she supplies herself that can penetrate a 10 inch thick steal SLAB and has the precision to snipe a sand scarab from the other side of the desert. A shoulder mounted zamor launcher that fires special zamor spheres that explode on impact and cause a torrent of water to slam opponents into walls, flat onto the ground, or up into the air only to come crashing down hard. She ripped the head off a Vahki unit at one point and now uses it as a special disk launcher. Incredibly accurate and fast, this is a close quarters firing weapon when her enemies are too close for the rifle. Her mask is the Mask of Focus, allowing her to lock on to her enemies both physically and mentally. At range it negates drop off for shots fired and makes those shots unaffected by wind as well, and close up it allows her to single out priority targets and take them out with precision. And you'd better pray she doesn't run out of bullets, or she'll show you her own version of CQC, CQK. Close Quarters Killing. She'll unholster her blades from her ankle sheathes, and then focus a blade of pure water down them to cut and slice her opponents to death.

Now for a shocker: Matoro, Toa Pohalan of Ice

Yes, THAT Matoro, and he's just as confused as you are. After the death of Makuta, Hali found herself lamenting that it almost felt like Matoro's death was for nothing, as the Matoran universe was now essentially gone. These thoughts found they're way into the Mask of life and by it's own will, it spent it's own life to revive Matoro with a few additional gifts. Upon his revival, Matoro discovered he was not on his home planet, and in fact had somehow ended up on Bota Magna. He also soon discovered that his time as a Toa Ignika and a Toa Mahri had somehow been connected through the use of his masks from both times. After an untimely surprise from a Dinosaur Rahi near a cliff face, Matoro fell to his death only to wake up a moment later. He soon discovered his mask powers from the masks on his shoulders and the one on his head came together and he can now revive from deaths like nothing ever happend. A now more skeletal like build and the fact that death itself meant nothing to him as the mask power activated automatically upon death, Matoro started feeling like he shouldn't exist really, and like his very existence was some sort of sin. This lead to giving him a more macabre outlook on things but all in all, he's the same duty bound toa he was before.

His kit includes an enhanced version of his Mask of Astral Projection as well as his mask of Necromancy, both of which get activated at once whenever he dies giving him a combined "Mask" of Immortality. His Ignika sword is now a little weightier than before and he's made use of a recently discovered staff that allows him to share his power of Immortality with others if he needs to. His now bone-like armor makes him very light, but also surprisingly durable. Most long range weapon shots just pass right by him or right through him without causing damage, and despite looking like mostly bones, his powers of ice will chill you directly to the bone before he shatters you like glass with his mace like staff. For now that's all, but there is one more. Another 7th toa to look forward to, but I am exhausted and SPENT. So for now I tease you with the 7th along with the whole Toa Pohalan Team! Bye for now!

But what is a Pohalan??

It's the Matoran word for revival. This is the team fate has decided is going to revive the universe from it's massive collapse and revive the Great Spirit himself. They will soon learn however, that Mata Nui cannot exist without his other half...

[codylabs]

WAIT WAIT WAIT are you familiar with bionicle lore??? I need your help

Because when I was a kid I watched Bionicle: The Legend Reborn, and I fell in love with all the characters in it, and have been completely baffled in trying to find out what the hell the rest of bionicle lore is.

Can you help me understand?? Where did Mata Nui and his friends go after that movie??

Aight so first off, curse you.

Curse you and dang you and blast you and encase you in protodermis for all eternity, because this question is too difficult to answer. It's just too long. But since I love Bionicle lore more than any other lore (it is better than any other lore) and since you asked so earnestly, I will do my best.

I'm also not a real expert on this (there's a lot of tie-in novels for example that I haven't read), but I know enough that I can guarantee the rest of this will have only like 1 or 2 errors.

So.

The center and focal point of Bionicle lore (if you want the big picture and/or have already seen the big reveal (which I gather you have)) is that everything revolves around an enormous titanic robot.

This guy:

That guy.

In case THE OCEAN coming up to his ANKLES and the ATMOSPHERE ending at NIPPLE LEVEL wasn't enough of a giveaway, this lad is fairly large. Enough that he has entire civilizations and ecosystems of biomechanical people and animals living in chambers inside of him, to maintain and repair him, and fill him with life and beauty. All of the regular characters (the ones you read about in the comics and see in the movies and get toys of) are at this comparatively-microscopic scale. Most of the regular characters were actually part of this robot's original crew and passengers, and it's possible that most of them didn't even KNOW they were inside a robot. The robot was controlled by an AI called Mata Nui, aka The Great Spirit.

The robot had originally been constructed on the planet Spherus Magna. A cataclysm had split the planet apart into three pieces: the desert planet Bara Magna, and two moons, the oceanic Aqua Magna and forested Bota Magna. The robot's destiny was to remake the shattered world, but it first traveled the universe doing other tasks. Before it was able to accomplish its destiny, disaster struck:

One of the onboard crew, a Makuta named Terridax, was led astray by conceit and ambition, and sought to supplant the Great Spirit. He sabotaged his home, knocking the Great Spirit offline, and causing the robot to drift off-course and crash into Aqua Magna, where it remained dormant (though not broken) for thousands of years.

The majority of the Bionicle story (the first 8 of its 9 years) follows the adventures of the robot's inhabitants: the Matoran (workers), Turaga (elders), Rahi (drones), and especially the Toa (the warriors) as they worked to defeat the Makuta and his allies and reawaken the Great Spirit. The heart of the symbolism here is that Makuta is a brain cancer, and the Toa are the treatment.

After hundreds of years (8 IRL years) of struggle, the heroes finally accomplish their goal and reactivate Mata Nui, but Makuta Terridax had been ready for them, and managed to install himself into the mainframe instead of the rightful Great Spirit. The robot gets to its feet for the first time in thousands of years, but it's under Makuta's control. He begins to brutally oppress his body's inhabitants, and banishes Mata Nui's spirit to Bara Magna, trapped within the Mask of Life.

Since you saw the Legend Reborn movie I need not recount all the events of that story, but it follows the Great Spirit on an alien world, the same world where his body was first created, among the people descended from those who originally caused the disaster that necessitated his creation. During the events of the movie he joined the warrior caste of Glatorian, faced down a Skrall lord, and helped unify the planet's warring people.

From the moment he had reawakened, Mata Nui's priority had been to return to his body: to save his people and fulfill his destiny.

During and after the movie's end scene, he works with the planet's people to rebuild an second giant robot: the original prototype for his own body, which had been broken ages before. Mata Nui himself goes on a quest to retrieve an power source, and then uses that power source to reactive the prototype. Meanwhile Makuta, back up on the moon, senses this, looks down and sees him standing in defiance and challenge, and then COMES DOWN TO FACE HIM.

If you think you comprehend just how hype this image is, you do not. Comprehend again.

THEY THEN FIGHT

Makuta's minions swarm out of hatches in his feet, to make war with Bara Magna's people, while the titans duke it out above the cloud layer. When the land war seems to be turning against Makuta, he threatens to use a gravity beam to crush the whole planet to dust. Mata Nui grabs his arm and deflects it, forcing the gravity wave to hit the world's moons, and bring them drifting back toward the planet.

Mata Nui's prototype body is fast running out of power, and he knows he dares not harm Makuta, for Makuta's body is full of innocent lives, whom he loves.

But the story's main characters manage to win a sweeping victory on the ground, which distracts Makuta just long enough for Mata Nui to drive him back, right into one of the approaching moons AND WHAM

The cranial circuit that housed Makuta is smashed to bits, and the tyrant falls, never to rise. Mata Nui uses the prototype's last reserves of strength to finish remaking the world, and to fill it with life, before he too falls.

Mata Nui is very much the Jesus character in this whole saga. He had been a God, but defeating his enemy and bringing peace and happiness to the people he loved meant living among them a time, and sacrificing his power for their good. It's a really beautiful thing.

The series ends on a hopeful and open-ended note; the subjugation and annihilation that Makuta threatened will never come to pass, and all the other characters are free to make their own lives on a paradise planet: no longer warriors fighting blindly or refugees from disaster or cogwheel slaves in a grand design, but free people. To answer your original question about what happened to the specific characters of the movie, we get no answer. We know that Kina and Ackar and the others participated in the final battle, and we know that they lived, but of their lives and adventures after that, we do not.

If you want to get a more in-depth plunge into the lore, the Biomedia Project is pretty much your one-stop-shop. I'd recommend reading the comics. They don't give the entire story, but they're a good jumping-off point, and you can absolutely get enough of the story to make all but a few things make sense. In this explanation of mine I brushed over countless worldbuilding cornerstones and plot threads: the protodermis, the elemental powers, masks, the lost city Metru Nui with its eyelid suns, the jungle island which is confusingly but appropriately also called Mata Nui, the red star, the saga of Voya Nui, the masks of light and life, and Karda Nui, the center of the universe floating in the swamp beneath the thousand city pillars.

Bionicle is the greatest.

[fascinatedhelix]

Updating some headcanons about Arra's cat form:

So, the species she got turned into upon arrival to Mata Nui was indeed not an Earth cat. Lybix (lybik in singular form) are a species of semi-domesticated wildcat indigenous to the mountainous regions of Bota Magna.

Though they're smaller than much of the more aggressive wildlife of Spherus Magna, they're no less dangerous than the other beasts of their habitat. With their sharp, metallic claws and fangs, and their great speed and flexibility, they can be a deadly foe if they believe their territory or colony is being threatened. Though they typically hunt alone, they are not solitary animals, and often raise young collectively.

Despite the danger, it's because of these instincts that these creatures were highly prized in the pre-Core Wars era. Among the mountainous tribes, it was common practice for brave young warriors and cunning thieves to steal Lybik cubs from their nest, to be raised as guardians for the home or food stores. The Skrall in particular used them as wedding gifts, as a means of offering protection to the bride and future young in the absence of the husband.

Tamed Lybix are known to be gentle with children and loyal to their household, though the process of training the wildness out of them is a long and arduous one, and they're not exactly known for being friendly to strangers.

On average, they stand at about 56 centimeters in height, from paw to shoulder; roughly the size of a Canadian Lynx. Properly housecat size relative to a Glatorian or Skrall, but freaking huge compared to an Agori. So, her original artwork is maybe a little inaccurate. If she stood up on her back legs, she could easily put her paws on a Matoran's shoulders and touch her nose to their chin.

[northmarch]

I’ve had a thought. So in the Kingdom!AU, the Skrall probably won. Without Mata Nui, even if the Agori tribes had rallied against them it probably wouldn’t have been enough. The Skrall conquer southern Bara Magna and when the Battera make it pasts the mountains, well. This could be really angsty but The Kingdom always had sort of a ‘hopeful tragedy’ vibe to it. Like, no matter how bad things get ‘life finds a way’.

Maybe most of the main Glatorian survived. The Agori are enslaved but the Glatorian and a few others make it to the desert. They manage an alliance with Malum and the Vorox. Enemy of my enemy. And over the next 2000 years build a sizeable resistance. Probably get some discontent Skrall and Rock Agori on their side too.

The Battera may or may not be an issue? Tuma knows how to avoid them now but I don’t think he’d ever order his armies to just disarm themselves.

By the time the MU survivors make it to Bara Magna the two sides have probably been at a stalemate for a while. But it’s obvious that even if the fighting stopped immediately, the planet couldn’t sustain everyone for long.

Thankfully the Matoran are able to refuel their ships and make it to Bota Magna. Or something in the Valley of the Maze transports a team there. But they don’t stay, no.

In canon the Great Beings were supposed to build an additional giant robot to help Mata Nui repair the planet. It never showed so he had to reassemble the Prototype instead. My headcanon is that they did complete the Robit and have it buried somewhere under the Northern Frost. (That’s how I imagine the GBs would end up leaving Spherus Magna at the end of Greg’s GB Civil War arc). They commandeer the Rob3t and pick up all their friends before going off to find a new world to colonise away from the dying world and war mongers.

Sorta bringing the GSR concept back around to the abandoned colony ship idea.

[toa-kirhan]

While writing some notes for RoS, TPTB, and TYQ, I noticed an odd time discrepancy concerning a certain cliffhanger. So, I decided to comb over RoS, Sahmad’s Tale, TPTB, and TYQ to put together a more detailed timeline to help figure out when exactly everything occurs during those last two serials and where everyone is.

Helryx, Axonn, Brutaka, Artakha, Miserix, Tuyet, Lewa, Hafu, and Kapura all get cast out of the MU into space while Teridax is flying to Bara Magna. They’re then saved by Vezon who pulls them into the CGB’s fortress.

While they debate whether to free him, the BoBM occurs which takes several hours (the time it took Sahmad to travel north w/ Telluris and talk w/ Metus). Lewa gets bored and leaves after the BoBM ends, getting captured by naturalist Agori due to not receiving Mata Nui’s gift of how to understand their language.

Later that day (after the BoBM), Kopaka sees the GSB and Skakdi leave the MU w/ the Mahri and create a fortress on the coast of Aqua Magna while Sahmad, Telluris, and Metus (who travel to the Black Spike Mountains north of Roxtus) are captured by Annona. That night, the three of them are teleported w/ Anonna to outside the GSB’s fortress.

Annona feeding on the Skakdi causes the GSB to summon several nightmare creatures, breaking its hold on the Mahri. Sahmad and the GSB defeat her while Telluris dies and Metus escapes. Sahmad decides to return to the Iron Tribe homeland to pay his respects. The GSB promises they’ll meet again and that it and the Skakdi won’t be content w/ just their fortress.

At some point b/w the BoBM and the start of TYQ, Angonce observes the battle and its aftermath on his equipment. He goes to deactivate Marendar only to find that it has already escaped its vault.

After “many long nights”, Onua, Tahu, and Gali decide to send Gelu, Orde, Chiara, and Zaria north to Bota Magna to find the GBs and fulfill Mata Nui’s last wish while Tahu and Gali head w/ Ackar and Kiina to scout for a site for New Atero (Gali’s special mission that Onua mentions during TYQ and Gaaki during TPTB).

Days since the BoBM (Gaaki says that’s how long the evacuation of sea creatures from the MU has been taking, likely around the same time TYQ group leaves), Kopaka tells the Hagah to scout out the GSB’s fortress and find the Mahri before reporting back to him. If the Hagah run into the Mahri, it’ll be on their way there since they’ve already been freed.

Immediately after that, Lesovikk informs Kopaka and Pohatu about Karzahni’s breakout and goes after him. The two follow his tracks the next day and return Karzahni’s body to the camp as Tahu, Gali, Ackar, and Kiina return. They tell them they spotted Lesovikk heading north while on their way back.

Kopaka and Pohatu leave the next morning on mounts. After three days, they come across Tren Krom right after he is murdered, meet Gaardus, and are teleported to the Red Star.

Meanwhile, after “traveling for several days” on Sand Stalkers (also likely around the same time), TYQ group is captured by Kabrua. They are released outside the Vorox city the next day for them to be hunted. Gelu and Orde escape and find about the secret GB, while Chiara and Zaria are unaccounted for.

Some time after killing Tren Krom, Velika prepares a trap that’ll destroy the CGB’s fortress and kill everyone still inside, even though by this point, they were transported there around a week ago now (the only explanation I have is the CGB’s time manipulation power that he uses on Vezon in the Melding AU). Velika then starts carving a memorial for his victims.

Currently:

Helryx, Axonn, Brutaka, Artakha, Miserix, Tuyet, Hafu, Kapura, Vezon, and the CGB are at his fortress. Velika is outside the fortress. Lesovikk is 3-4 days north of the camp, likely near Tren Krom or the CGB’s fortress.

Gelu, Orde, Chiara, and Zaria are on Bota Magna outside the Vorox City trying to escape from Kabrua. Sahmad is likely on Bota Magna too (as is Lewa) or returning to the GSB.

Tahu, Gali, Onua, Ackar, and Kiina are still at the camp. The Hagah are likely 3-4 days away toward the GSB’s fortress, while the Mahri and Metus are likely nearby. The GSB is still at its fortress.

Kopaka and Pohatu are on the Red Star.

[quillreplies]

post mortem time!

thanks for everyone who voted, I hope that to some degree I made you think fondly of bionicle! and especially thanks to everyone who roasted my ass for this poll it was summarily deserved!

to contextualize where the answers came from: I've been a bionicle fan since 2001, and was super into the series from 2001-2006, but fell off for the 2007-8 period before getting back in in the final year 2009 with the release of the 4th movie.

as such my list pulls heavily from mostly the most accessible portions of the bionicle story, the comics and books not being so accessible to someone living remote in australia, so a lot of my knowledge on bionicle events and law comes from the fansite BZpower and the official website and movies.

that being said here's the explanation for the answers:

major series villain turns out to only hold title equilivant of regional manager: I can't remember which year exactly, but towards the middle end of the series it was revealed the big bad of the series 'makuta' wasn't actually a name, but a title held by many people who acted as overseers of the matoran universe.

major portion of story takes place on a giant robots face and crotch exclusively: everyone was pointing out that voya nui was actually part of the stomach region of mata nui, and I would give this to them as the correct answer except for two things, y'all don't know how to take a joke and also no voya nui WAS part of the stomach continent but actually broke off of it and floated to the surface of aqua magna where it actually wasn't stationary, so while I wasn't correct, none of you were correct either

everyone gets a mecha decide they are useless at the one task they were made for: this is from the transitory 2002 storyline that happened before bionicle as a marketing story found its footing, but instead of releasing a set of hero team characters the bohrok saga focused on modular play with toys you already owned, one of these was a set of power armour that in the story were meant to help defeat the bohrok brood queens, but like with every major villain defeat they decided the power of friendship was more powerful and sumerily ditched the exo-toa suits.

a planet of dinosaurs exists: this wasn't the correct answer but if you chose it I'm giving you a W. lotta people actually hit on this one being bota magna, which does actually exist in the great bionicle universe but we never see it textually only get hints at its existance. that being said it was home of 'lizard like' biomechanical beings that resemble dinosaurs, hence why this wasn't the intended answer

the equivalent of god moons himself to death: this is a reference to a youtube video "the whole bionicle story in under 2 minutes". more accurately it's describing how mata nui inside a secondary giant robot defeats makuta who is in his original giant robot body by smashing his head into a nearby moon. "prepare to get mooned"

the equivalent of satan is defeated in a game of sportsball: this one got no one and I wouldn't expect it to, but it's the climax to the first bionicle movie mask of light.

the worlds only reporter finds a mask encased in stone, promptly drops it in lav: surprised no one called me out on THIS one, takua actually isn't the bionicle worlds ONLY chronicler, but it's pretty obscure knowledge that hahli was also a chronicler for a time! still this one wasn't the correct answer and fooled no one.

god is run via little dudes in his head who act like brain cells: surprised this one also didn't get more votes since it's kind of a reductive way to explain the matoran universe! but I s'pose it was a pretty popular fandom fact for a long time! additional fun fact; in metru nui the city in mata nuis head there were 1000 matorans!

a lone hero defeats a series major villain for the first time using time powers: this is the correct answer. while vakama did obtain and even use the mask of time, in the movie vakama actually defeats makuta by you guessed it, teaming up and using the power of friendship, he didn't do it alone. I did say I was a bit of a bastard with this poll.

the same guy gets captured and brainwashed twice by completely unrelated threats: this one tripped up a couple people, but it's lewa in both the 2001 and 2002 storylines, he's the only hero to get captured and corrupted by both makuta's influence, and by the bohrok mind control.

[siren-darkocean]

Mata Kids AU Time!

The Soul Bounds

When Mata Nui made his children (or rather when he made Gali and Onua first) he had an idea for a soul type of bond for him to keep an eye on his children's well being while he was in his main GRS body and his children could keep an eye on the well being of each other

While this does have its downsides as well as when Mata Nui was on the brink of death the Toa Nuva and Takanuva were able to feel it horribly like their hearthstone mechanics were being manipulated with very painfully almost like a heart attack

This ties with Offering AU as well as Ackar is able to feel that while he is on Bara Magna

Though with this as well the siblings and Mata are able to "pull" their strings of the soul bond to let the others of it know they were alives

Mata Nui uses this while he is the hidden lab underneath Tajun to reassure his children he is alive and somewhat safe to the very much needed relief of his kids and found out that Lewa was on Bota Magna with it

Even while resting inside the Ignika after reforming Spherus Magna and returning life Mata Nui occasionally does so to reassure his children that he was still alive