Piraka
"In place of honor, you have greed; in place of duty, you have treachery; and in place of a heart, you have an empty black pit."
— Toa Inika Jaller, Power Play
| Piraka | |
 Five of the seven Piraka | |
| Organization | |
| Headquarters | Piraka Stronghold (formerly) |
| Leader | Zaktan |
| Goals | Obtain the Ignika (formerly) |
| Allies | Brutaka (formerly) |
| Enemies | Matoran Resistance Toa Nuva Toa Inika Dark Hunters Brotherhood of Makuta Order of Mata Nui |
| Status | Defunct |
| Pronunciation | PIE-rock-ah[1] |
The Piraka were seven Skakdi who defected from the Dark Hunters and banded together in an attempt to acquire the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, on the island of Voya Nui.
History
The six original Skakdi that comprised the Piraka were inducted into the Dark Hunters at the same time; two of them, Hakann and Vezok, were thieves that inadvertently competed with the Dark Hunters to acquire the Makoki Stone, while the rest were gathered from various places in the universe. Prior to their joining, Ancient called Vezok a "Piraka"—a Matoran obscenity meaning "thief and murderer". The Skakdi were often paired on missions together, such as releasing the Kanohi Dragon. At one point, five of them executed a rebellion, but were quickly disciplined by the Shadowed One.
Acting upon rumors of Makuta Teridax's defeat, the Skakdi eventually left the Dark Hunters, taking on the moniker "Piraka" and setting out to loot Mangaia in order to become a powerful organization. Finding Teridax's lair, they began searching through it, first coming across Teridax's crushed armor. While searching the armory, Hakann discovered the Spear of Fusion and accidentally shot Vezok with it, splitting Vezok into two beings: Vezok and Vezon. Teridax, still present in the chamber as energy, telepathically influenced the seven Skakdi, implanting the idea of finding the Kanohi Ignika within their minds. Vezon escaped with the Spear, while the others were attacked by two Mana Ko, and fled. Vezon departed the island using an Order of Mata Nui member's canister. Emerging onto the island of Mata Nui, the remaining Piraka used the Toa Mata's Canisters to travel to Voya Nui, the land where the Ignika was located.
Upon arriving, they successfully tricked the native Matoran into believing they were Toa, and set them to work making a stronghold, as well as draining the lava out of Mount Valmai, where they believed the Ignika to be located. After several charades of pretending to help the Matoran, the Piraka eventually figured out how to weaponize Teridax's essence, which they referred to as Antidermis, and used it to enslave the Matoran population.
While the Matoran continued their tasks, the Piraka explored the island, though they met resistance in Order of Mata Nui member Axonn, as well as a group of Matoran who had managed to escape being infected with Antidermis. After following Axonn, Vezok and Avak destroyed a cavern filled with records. Meanwhile, Thok and Reidak got into a fight with the Order member; however, before Axonn could finish off the two Piraka, Brutaka, a rogue Order member who had allied with Zaktan, arrived and defeated the warrior.
The Toa Nuva arrived on the island, also seeking the Ignika, but with the help of Brutaka, the Piraka managed to defeat them. Zaktan instructed the others to dump the Toa into the volcano. However, while on their way to carry out Zaktan's orders, the volcano erupted, frightening the five Piraka into abandoning the Toa on the slope and fleeing the disaster site. The Toa Nuva recovered in time to escape the lava, and allied with the Voya Nui resistance. They assaulted the Piraka's fortress, but were incapacitated by Brutaka.
Soon after interrogating the Matoran resisters, Vezok met with the newly formed Toa Inika and lost a fight with them, causing him to flee. The Inika did not bother to track him down. After bouts of in-fighting, the Piraka began openly resisting Zaktan's regime, and plotted ways to incapacitate Brutaka. They used some of Vezok's power, placing it within a Zamor sphere, and planned to use it to steal Brutaka's energy. The Toa Inika soon infiltrated the fortress, and began fighting with the Piraka. During the battle, Hakann abandoned his teammates and used the Zamor sphere on Brutaka. However, Thok realized what Hakann was up to and touched him, making it so that the two received equal shares of Brutaka's energy. Using their newfound power, they defeated both the remaining Piraka and the Toa Inika and forced Brutaka to reveal the location of the Kanohi Ignika.
Axonn helped the Toa Inika prepare for their upcoming conflicts to acquire the Ignika, and the Inika teamed up with the Piraka to go after Thok and Hakann. The Piraka constructed a Zamor to reverse the process of the first one, and gave it to the Inika. In the ensuing battle, Hewkii managed to strike Thok and Hakann with the Zamor, returning Brutaka's power to him. Just before the Zamor hit them, Thok and Hakann triggered an explosion that knocked the Toa Inika out, and also revealed the entrance to the 777 Stairs. Thok and Hakann reteamed with the Piraka, and journeyed down the stairs. Along the way, passing through the Zone of Nightmares, they encountered Irnakk, a fearsome creature from the mythology of their species. Zaktan successfully defeated the illusion, and the group continued on. They were quickly trapped in six stone cages with switches in them that were set by the Great Beings. A disembodied voice informed them that all of them could flip their switches simultaneously, thereby freeing the whole group, or one of them could flip a switch before the others and be the only one to escape. The Piraka agreed to flip the switches at the same time, but Reidak betrayed the group, which sent them all down tubes into a pool of water. The pool was filled with mutagenic water, which began making minute changes to their physiology. Bars of flame slowly began descending, heating the water, but the Piraka managed to escape through an underwater tunnel. They emerged onto a plain of lava and set traps on the Lava Chamber Gate. The Toa Inika followed them, but Kongu accidentally caused the bridge to collapse with his wind powers.
Entering the Chamber of Life, they discovered Vezon, who had been made a guardian of the Ignika, and had it fused to his head. Vezon offered the Ignika in exchange for Vezok's life, but revealed that he could not part with the Ignika even if he wanted to. After being reminded that he wielded the Spear of Fusion, Vezon used it to merge Vezok and Reidak and ordered the resulting creature to attack the Piraka. Once the remaining Piraka were defeated, Vezon defused the creature.
The Piraka later awoke to find the Ignika flying up out of the chamber and attempted to follow it and the Toa Inika. The Mask entered the waters around Voya Nui and descended into the depths below. After seeing the Toa Inika reunite with the Toa Nuva, Axonn, and Order member Botar, who was carrying a defeated Brutaka, the Piraka decided against attacking them.
Due to their exposure to the mutagen in submerged tunnels, the Piraka gradually mutated into water-breathers and lost their bodies, retaining only their spines and heads. The transformation occurred while they were still on land, forcing them to seek water before they suffocated. As they traveled down the Cord, the Piraka encountered a tribe of Zyglak and killed the creatures.
The mutated Piraka ambushed the Toa Inika, now transformed into the Toa Mahri, as they made their way back up the Cord with the Matoran of Mahri Nui. Zaktan took a Matoran hostage as the other Piraka dealt with the Toa. However, they and the Toa were knocked unconscious by an electrical blast from Axonn. The Piraka were later taken away by the Order of Mata Nui for questioning and imprisoned in a water tank on Daxia, with the tyrant Karzahni residing in a neighboring tank and their former ally Vezon briefly occupying a cell nearby. The Order interrogated them for information, and left them imprisoned on Daxia, their crimes not mandating a sentence in the Pit. Zaktan eventually made a deal with the Order; he would guide the Toa Hagah to Teridax in exchange for his freedom. After entering the Core Processor along with the Toa Hagah and Makuta Miserix, Zaktan was apparently killed by Teridax with a sonic hum, but survived.
Teridax, after taking control of the Matoran Universe, destroyed the island of Daxia. The remaining Piraka survived and were taken to Zakaz, where they were thrown into a tank of Energized Protodermis and fused with members of other species; Zaktan secretly emerged from a nearby lake and dove into the tank. The Golden Being arose and began to grant the dreams of the Skakdi around it, including the enslavement of the nearby Toa Mahri.
Vezon, performing missions of his own for the Order, was eventually fused to a Kanohi Olmak and began hopping dimensions with the new power. He was eventually contacted by a cursed Great Being and made to bring several powerful beings to the Great Being's cell on Bota Magna.
The Kingdom Alternate Universe
After Mata Nui's death in this alternate universe, the mutated Piraka were brought to the island of Mata Nui, where they dwelled in a fountain. They were occasionally fed by Matoran.
Spherus Magna Alternate Universe
In an alternate universe where Mata Nui had completed his mission, the Piraka were conscripted into an army led by Makuta Miserix and attacked a village where the prime reality Vezon had just arrived.
Infrastructure
Due to the treacherous nature of the Skakdi species, the members of the Piraka were severely prone to infighting, hampering the collective efficacy of the group; they would continually make deals with one another in an attempt to have the upper hand and remove competition. However, their shared goal of finding the Ignika, as well as their sadistic proclivities, would repeatedly cause them to set aside their differences and work with one another. They were also forced to team up in order to wield Elemental Powers, a limitation of their species.
Members
Former Members
- Vezon (rogue)
Set Information
The six original members of the Piraka were released as sets in early 2006. They featured a new "skull" piece with glow-in-the-dark painted teeth and a new orange eyepiece that lit up with a red LED when one pressed on the top of the head, symbolizing the vision powers of the Piraka. Each also featured a unique rubber piece designed to serve as both the spine and face. The tools of the Piraka were double-sided and could be switched from one function to another by pivoting the right hand of the Piraka. Every Piraka canister set contained a Zamor sphere launcher and four Zamor spheres.
Vezon was released in late 2006 in two separate sets, a titan set featuring Vezon atop Fenrakk and a titan combiner set featuring Vezon atop the Kardas.
In 2010, a set labeled "Piraka" was released as part of the BIONICLE Stars line. The set represents the Skakdi Nektann, who, within the storyline, is not associated with the Piraka. This name was chosen to represent the set as it was deemed more recognizable to consumers.[2]
Appearances
| Books | Comics | Online | Multimedia |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Legends
Super Chapter Books Guides |
BIONICLE
Ignition |
Story
Animations |
Commercials
Online Games
Video Games
Board Games |
Trivia
- Prototype images refer to the Toa Inika and Piraka as the "Igniters."[3][4]
- The mutated forms of the Piraka were based on an idea from the set design team, who had at one point discussed releasing mutated Piraka as sets.[5]
- Early in the development of the 2006 story, the villains who would become the Piraka where known as the Halagak.[note 1]
References
Notes
See also
| Skakdi | |
| Piraka | Hakann | Vezok | Zaktan | Avak | Reidak | Thok | Vezon (formerly) |
| Other | Nektann |
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