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

The Piraka were seven Skakdi who defected from the Dark Hunters who banded together in an attempt to acquire the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, on the island of Voya Nui.

History
The six Skakdi that comprise the Piraka were inducted into 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 term Ancient had called them, and set out to loot Mangaia and turn themselves into 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 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. Vezok and Avak destroyed a cavern filled with records after following Axonn, while Thok and Reidak got into a fight with Order member. Before Axonn could finish the two Piraka, Brutaka, a rouge Order member who had allied with Zaktan, arrived and defeated the warrior.

The Toa Nuva arrived on the island, also seeking the Ignika, but the Piraka managed to defeat them. Zaktan instructed the others to dump the Toa into the volcano. When it erupted, however, the five Piraka abandoned the Toa on the slope and fled 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. He fled, though the Inika did not bother to track him down. The other Piraka, after bouts of in-fighting 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 use the Zamor sphere on Brutaka. However, Thok caught up to him, and the two recieved equal shares of Brutaka's energy. They used their newfound power to defeat both the remaining Piraka and the Toa Inika, and forced the real location of the Kanohi Ignika out of Brutaka.

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. Hakann triggered an explosion that knocked the Toa Inika out, and also revealed the entrance to the 777 Stairs. Thok and Hakann teamed up with the Piraka once more, 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 soon encountered six stone cages, traps set by the Great Beings, and were informed that they could all flip switched simultaneously, freeing them all, or one of them could flip a switch, freeing that one. 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, though they managed to escape through an underwater tunnel. They emerged onto a plain of lava, and, with the advantage of time on their sides, 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 Vezon realized that he could not part with the Ignika even if he wanted to. After being reminded of the Spear of Fusion, Vezon used to 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. The Piraka, after seeing the Toa Inika reunite with the Toa Nuva, and Axonn, as well as Order member Botar carrying a defeated Brutaka, decided against attacking them.

Due to exposure to the mutagen in submerged tunnels during their chase to retrieve the Ignika, the Piraka were 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. They traveled down the Cord, where they encountered a tribe of Zyglak, promptly killing the creatures.

The mutated Piraka ambushed the Toa Mahri, the transformed Toa Inika, 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 am 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. Some time later, Zaktan was killed by Teridax after leading the Hagah to the Core Processor.

Teridax, after taking control of the Matoran Universe, destroyed the island of Daxia. The remaining Piraka were able to survive, and were taken to Zakaz, where they were thrown into a tank of Energized Protodermis and fused with members of other species. The newly fused being then offered the Skakdi who had created it the chance to join them and feed it in exchange for a gift.

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 eventually wound up on Bota Magna, in the cell of an imprisoned Great Being.

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.

Members
The members of the Piraka are of following:


 * Hakann
 * Vezok
 * Reidak
 * Avak
 * Thok

Former Members

 * Vezon (rogue)
 * Zaktan (deceased)

==Appearances ==


 * Comic 27: Fractures (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE Legends 1: Island of Doom
 * BIONICLE Legends 2: Dark Destiny
 * Comic 1: If a Universe Ends
 * Comic 2: Vengeance of Axonn
 * Comic 3: Showdown
 * BIONICLE Legends 3: Power Play
 * BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil
 * Comic 4: A Cold Light Dawns
 * Comic 5: In Final Battle
 * BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno
 * Comic 6: Web Comic
 * Dreams of Destruction (Mentioned Only)
 * Into the Darkness (Mentioned Only)
 * Comic 9: Battle in the Deep! (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall
 * Federation of Fear (Mentioned Only)
 * The Kingdom (Mentioned Only)
 * Destiny War
 * Dwellers In Darkness
 * Reign of Shadows
 * BIONICLE: Journey's End (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE: Dark Hunters
 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe
 * Island Investigation (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Voya Nui Adventure (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Piraka Online Animations (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Piraka Attack (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Matoran Escape (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Inika Island Assault (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * 2006 Playset Promo Animation (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * Voya Nui Online Game (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * BIONICLE Heroes (Non-canonical Appearance)
 * BIONICLE: The Quest Game (Non-canonical Appearance)