The Po-Metru and Le-Metru Recoveries: In the Grip of the Morbuzakh

BIONICLEBIONICLE: Matoran AdventuresA 2002 GBA platformer where you play as one of six Matoran fighting Bohrok across Mata Nui's islands. 17, also titled "In the Grip of the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear.!", is the comic that carried the Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. through the hunt for the six Great DisksThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six.. Packaged with the March/April 2004 issue of LEGO Magazine, it showed each disk being won in turn, with the most dramatic recovery, MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran.'s ride through the NotchThe NotchThe Le-Metru chute section that housed the Le-Metru Great Disk, was entered by Matau through an active Force Sphere, and was destroyed by the same sphere's implosion immediately afterward. in an imploding Force SphereForce SphereThe Metru Nui chute-system hazard in which a broken piece of a chute's magnetic field wrapped around itself, swept up loose objects, and imploded inside the transport network., at its centre. The novel BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire tells the same story at greater length, adding episodes such as a rogue TunnelerTunnelerA Rahi that absorbs any power directed at it, but becomes fragile when turned to glass. in Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it.. Throughout, the Dark HunterThe Dark HuntersA band of mercenaries and thieves founded on Odina by the Shadowed One and Ancient, hired out across the Matoran Universe, and left a battered ruin by the time Teridax ruled the universe. NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. and a traitor among the Matoran were working against the new Toa. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The state of the campaign#

The Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. had only recently been created, and the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. vines were spreading across Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. A carving showed the six Great DisksThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six. and the six MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who knew where they were: NuhriiNuhriiNuhrii was a Ta-Matoran mask-maker of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, who later served in the Ta-Koro Guard on Mata Nui. of Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years., VhisolaVhisolaVhisola was a Ga-Matoran student of Nokama, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose research deduced the location of the Morbuzakh King Root. of Ga-MetruGa-MetruGa-Metru is a district of Metru Nui, home to the Ga-Matoran and the Bordakh., TehuttiTehuttiTehutti was an Onu-Matoran archivist of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose Archives research produced the Matoran Nui technique. of Onu-MetruOnu-MetruThe deep archive-city that made mining and historical records preservation the beating heart of Metru Nui., OrkahmOrkahmOrkahm was a Le-Matoran Ussal rider of Le-Metru, Matau's chief rival, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, and later a Gukko Force member on Mata Nui. of Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships., AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who betrayed his fellow Matoran to the Dark Hunters, served Makuta Teridax, and became a false Turaga during Teridax's reign. of Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it., and EhryeEhryeEhrye was a Ko-Matoran errand-runner of the Knowledge Towers who tried to sell the location of a Great Disk, thought better of it in front of a Dark Hunter, and helped the Toa Metru find it. of Ko-MetruKo-MetruKo-Metru was Metru Nui's frozen intellectual quarter, home to the scholarly Ko-Matoran race.. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The comic opens with OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. threatening to abandon the Matoran if Nuhrii or Ahkmou ran off again. Onewa, VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years., Ahkmou, and Nuhrii searched the Fire Pits of Ta-Metru for its disk. While Onewa lured the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. away, Vakama and Nuhrii went down into a pit whose fires had died down and found the disk, but Morbuzakh vines seized them on the way out. Nuhrii used a KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. with the power of Reconstitute at Random on the vines, and the shock of the change made them let go; the pair escaped, chased by the monstrously changed vine, just before the fires erupted again. In the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface., WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. and NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. blundered into a giant mutant Ussal crab and drove it off with the high-pitched sound of Whenua's earthshock drills. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The danger to the Toa had a source. NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. had struck a deal with a Matoran who wanted the six Great Disks, promising him he would be paid well. Nidhiki and his partner KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui. were working for TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., who was posing as Turaga DumeTuraga DumeThe Turaga of Metru Nui for sixteen thousand years, a former Toa of Fire who saved Lhikan's life and was abducted and impersonated by Teridax.. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui)

Orkahm's information and the Le-Metru run#

OrkahmOrkahmOrkahm was a Le-Matoran Ussal rider of Le-Metru, Matau's chief rival, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, and later a Gukko Force member on Mata Nui. was MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran.'s chief rival from their days as UssalUssalSix-legged crustacean Rahi domesticated across Metru Nui and Mata Nui for cargo, mining, and sport. Backbone of Matoran labor. riders. He had been forced into the chute-wrecked Moto-Hub Sector Three by a threat against his Ussal crab, Puku, and was caught in a trap there when Matau tracked him down and freed him. Orkahm told Matau that only he would be foolish and reckless enough to come after him, and thanked him. He then told Matau where the Le-MetruLe-MetruThe teal district where Le-Matoran managed everything that moved through Metru Nui, from chutes to airships. Great DiskThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six. was. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The disk was inside a Force SphereForce SphereThe Metru Nui chute-system hazard in which a broken piece of a chute's magnetic field wrapped around itself, swept up loose objects, and imploded inside the transport network.. A force sphere formed when a flaw in the chute system made a piece of a chute's field break away and wrap around itself into a sphere of magnetic energy. Such spheres raced through the chutes sucking in tools, junk, and Kanoka disks, growing stronger until they brought down the chute they were in and imploded under the wreckage, destroying everything inside. This one was travelling through the NotchThe NotchThe Le-Metru chute section that housed the Le-Metru Great Disk, was entered by Matau through an active Force Sphere, and was destroyed by the same sphere's implosion immediately afterward.. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger)

MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran. went in after it. As he put it inside the sphere, it was a race to see whether the sphere would tear him apart or implode first. Using his air powers, he escaped with the disk only just before the sphere imploded, NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. had already found the Ga-Metru disk, and Whenua and Nuju went on to find the Ko-Metru disk while pursued by Vahki. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The Sculpture Fields and the rogue TunnelerTunnelerA Rahi that absorbs any power directed at it, but becomes fragile when turned to glass.#

The Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it. recovery is covered only briefly in the comic, which shows OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. retrieving his disk. The novel gives it a full episode: VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years. and Onewa went looking for the Po-Metru disk in the Sculpture Fields and ran into trouble. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The trouble was a maddened TunnelerTunnelerA Rahi that absorbs any power directed at it, but becomes fragile when turned to glass., a lizard-like RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. that absorbs the powers used against it. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Vakama and Onewa turned that trait against it, combining their elemental powers to form glass. The Tunneler absorbed it and became a creature of glass, beginning to crack under its own weight, so it stopped moving until the Vahki arrived to take it away. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The statue and OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro.'s descent#

With the TunnelerTunnelerA Rahi that absorbs any power directed at it, but becomes fragile when turned to glass. out of the way, OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. turned to the disk, which sat at the top of an unstable statue. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. climbed up and took the Great DiskThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six., narrowly avoiding being crushed when the statue came down. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who betrayed his fellow Matoran to the Dark Hunters, served Makuta Teridax, and became a false Turaga during Teridax's reign. exposed#

The traitor was unmasked soon after. On the way to the King Root, AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who betrayed his fellow Matoran to the Dark Hunters, served Makuta Teridax, and became a false Turaga during Teridax's reign. tried to run, and OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro. realised he was definitely the traitor and confronted him. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

With the sixth disk in hand, the hunt for the Great DisksThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six. was over. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger)

The convergence#

The Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. met up to plan their attack on the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear.. VhisolaVhisolaVhisola was a Ga-Matoran student of Nokama, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, whose research deduced the location of the Morbuzakh King Root.'s research showed that they had to find the plant's King RootThe King RootThe sentient central core of the Morbuzakh plant, grown in the Great Furnace of Ta-Metru and destroyed by the Toa Metru using the fused Great Disks., and the group worked out that it must be in the Great FurnaceThe Great FurnaceThe largest furnace in Ta-Metru, site of the Morbuzakh King Root's nest and the recovery of the fused Great Disks that became the Kanohi Vahi. of Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years.. The twelve, six Toa and six Matoran, set out for Ta-Metru, while Vhisola worriedly predicted danger. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

The comic closes on the threshold of the battle in the Great Furnace, told in Trial by Fire, where the disks were used to cut the King Root off from its vines and every MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. vine in the city disintegrated. Even in victory, NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. wondered who had commanded the Morbuzakh, and whether that entity would strike again. (BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)