Infected Kanohi

"The great Toa is the same in body, in strength, and in speed. But his mind is gone. He has been attacked by the Makuta and enslaved by evil. His Great Mask of Power has been replaced with an infected mask, and the only way to bring him back is to take it off."
— Turaga Matau, Mata Nui Online Game

Infected Kanohi
Kanohi
Title	Infected Kanohi
Powers	Grants a Makuta control over wearer Bearer gains Mask Power
Component disks	None
Bearers	Toa Lewa (formerly) Many Rahi (formerly) Some Matoran (formerly)
Pronunciation	kah-NO-hee

Infected Kanohi are Kanohi that have been tainted and corrupted by Kraata.

History

A Kraata infecting a Kanohi

The first infected masks on Mata Nui appeared shortly after the arrival of Matoran on the island. During the Great War, Teridax created the infected Kanohi using Kraata. He fitted many Rahi with infected masks and had them guard the Kanohi and harass the Matoran. Matoran or Rahi that succumbed to the infection were said to have been claimed by the Madness. Over time, Vakama realized the infected masks were responsible for the suddenly violent behavior of the Rahi, and the six Turaga learned that Kraata were responsible for spreading the plague. Measures were taken to trap as many Kraata as possible in a cave in Po-Wahi. However, the Toa Mata succeeded in liberating most of them. When Teridax first confronted the Toa Mata in his Matoran form, his Kanohi Kraahkan took the form of an infected Kanohi Hau.

Following the arrival of the Toa Mata, the Infected Masks were buried underground by a team of Onu-Matoran until they could be cleansed. The Turaga could not figure out how to cleanse such masks, but the Toa realized that in combining their elemental powers, they could cure an Infected Kanohi.

When the Rahkshi assaulted Mata Nui, Shadow Kraata were responsible for the infection of several Matoran.

Properties

An Infected Kanohi appears rusted and pitted. Even Legendary Masks are vulnerable to this infection. However, Makuta are unable to infect the masks of other Makuta. Although Makuta can infect masks themselves, While regular Kraata must come into contact with masks in order to infect them, both Makuta and Shadow Kraata can infect masks from a distance.

An infected Kanohi wearer is placed under the control of the Makuta who infected the mask. They remain under the Makuta's control, even if the Makuta is not actively influencing them. When a mask is infected, the Makuta immediately becomes aware of it. The Makuta are able to see through the eyes of those under their power. While infected, the user is still able to access their mask's power. For an Infected Kanohi to be cleansed, it requires the combined Elemental Powers of six Toa. However this takes a great deal of energy, so Toa do not do this often.

Example Usage

An Infected Kanohi in set form

Lewa's Kanohi Miru was taken from him and replaced with an infected version, forcing him to serve Teridax alongside a group of Nui-Rama and a Nui-Kopen.

Bearers

• Toa Mata Lewa - Formerly; since removed
• Many different types of Rahi - Formerly; since uninfected
• Some Matoran of Mata Nui - Formerly; since uninfected

Set Information

The infected Kanohi are notable for being the only BIONICLE masks that were hand-painted, and were only molded in the shape of a Hau. Two of these masks were available in the Muaka & Kane-Ra set, and sometimes (but very rarely) appeared in the randomly selected Kanohi packs of 2001.

Trivia

• In the Toa Empire Alternate Universe, Teridax wears a Kanohi Hau that appears infected since his Kanohi Kraahkan was taken from him.