Protodites

Protodites are among the strangest 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. in the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., if only because they're barely visible. These microscopic creatures could fly and held a violent temperament, making them dangerous pests when they escaped the Archives. But Protodites are most significant because they comprise the entire body of ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact.. Not metaphorically. Billions of individual Protodites, each carrying a fragment of his consciousness, held together by sheer force of will and PirakaBionicle Piraka: the Six Skakdi Thieves Who Hunted the Mask of LifeThe Piraka were six Skakdi who quit the Dark Hunters, took over Voya Nui by posing as Toa and went after the Mask of Life in 2006. Here's who they were, how the Voya Nui story played out and what happened to them afterwards. ambition.

The ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact. Transformation#

In BIONICLEBIONICLE: Matoran AdventuresA 2002 GBA platformer where you play as one of six Matoran fighting Bohrok across Mata Nui's islands. Legends 4: Legacy of Evil, ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact.'s body was transformed into millions of microscopic Protodites. Each one retained a fragment of his consciousness, allowing ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact. to function as a coherent being despite being a literal swarm. He could send Protodites out to perform tasks and pull them back into his form. During a confrontation in Island of Doom, when AvakAvakA Skakdi thief whose perfect prisons made him invaluable to the Piraka's Mask of Life heist. tried to block ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact.'s movement, ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact. simply let some Protodites flow into AvakAvakA Skakdi thief whose perfect prisons made him invaluable to the Piraka's Mask of Life heist.'s mouth, then withdrew them seconds later.

This distributed existence came with a fatal weakness. During the battle with the Toa InikaToa Inika: six Matoran struck by lightningSix Matoran of Metru Nui chased the Toa Nuva to Voya Nui and were struck by lightning from the red star. That strike made them the Toa Inika. at the Piraka StrongholdPiraka StrongholdA fortress built by enslaved Matoran, it became the nexus of the Piraka's failed conquest of Voya Nui., NuparuNuparuAn Onu-Matoran engineer from Metru Nui who built the Boxor and rose to become a Toa of Earth despite no warrior destiny. exploited it. Using his mask power of flight, NuparuNuparuAn Onu-Matoran engineer from Metru Nui who built the Boxor and rose to become a Toa of Earth despite no warrior destiny. pursued ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact. directly, gathering up his Protodites as he flew out of the stronghold, then dragged him to a body of water and dropped him in. The ocean scattered the Protodites so thoroughly that they couldn't reassemble. ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact.'s consciousness fragmented across billions of separated bodies, trapping him in the Red StarRed StarThe Red Star was an orbiting facility that revived the dead and enabled the Great Spirit Robot's cosmic travels., unable to reform.

Swarm and Prey#

Free-roaming Protodites in the Archives proved destructive enough that Archives Moles specifically hunted them. The creatures' capacity for flight and aggressive nature made them more than mere vermin. In Web of the VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe., 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. humorously asks if the creatures watching the Toa MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. might be "really big protodites." That idea would later evolve into the ProtodaxProtodaxTrillions of times enlarged Protodites who served as the Ignika's unwilling sentinels on Voya Nui, armed with Zamor Launchers., suggesting protodites occupied an unsettling niche in the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. as microscopic threats worth scaling up as a design concept.

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Compiled from primary sources by Lore Fortress editorial. Reviewed by Joe Garratt, Editor-in-Chief.