Toa Inika/Toa Mahri

"Perhaps living so long in this night-black water has made us see only darkness in others. If you are truly about to face great trouble-danger on behalf of Mahri Nui... then we would be honored to call you Toa Mahri."

- Defilak bestowing the Toa Mahri their title as they prepared to battle the Barraki

Toa Inika were a team of Matoran from Metru Nui (Jaller, Kongu, Hahli, Nuparu, Matoro, and Hewkii) that were transformed into Toa by lightning that descended from the Red Star on their way to Voya Nui. While traveling by Toa Canisters, the Red Star shot out a bolt of lightning, which caused the Matoran to become the way that they were.

Toa Inika
Shortly after the Matoran returned to Metru Nui, Jaller became upset that the Turaga were once again keeping secrets from the Matoran. Turaga Nokama came to him in secret and explains that Mata Nui was in danger of dying; this was kept from the Matoran to keep them from worrying about something they could do little about. Refusing to wait helplessly while the Toa Nuva went after the Ignika Mask of Life that could save the Great Spirit, Jaller decided to gather a group of strong Matoran with Toa Takanuva and travel to Voya Nui to aid the Toa Nuva.

On the way, the group traveled through a dark tunnel, and Matoro helped what he assumed to be one of his friends, only to be disturbed that not only was the person not part of his group, but it seemed there was nobody there at all. Unfortunately, Takanuva was soon forced to turn back when the group encountered a gateway that no light (or Toa of Light) was allowed through. The rest soon found themselves in the realm ruled by Karzahni, which legends stated was a land of the dead - and while the Matoran living there weren't dead, they were so physically and spiritually broken they might as well been. Karzahni tried to make Jaller's group abandon their old identities, just as he had with the other Matoran in his realm, by taking their masks and making those who rebel see horrific alternate futures. While Hahli, as a Chronicler, told Karzahni of the world outside his kingdom, the other five searched for an escape route. What they found was the realm's true purpose; it wasn't to be a place of punishment for Matoran who worked poorly, but a place of repair. The group encounter a Matoran who built the Toa Canisters and convince him to let them use the canisters. When Karzahni tried to stop their escape, Matoro challenged him to show them the worst future they could think of, and therefore all witnessed the death of the universe that would occur at Mata Nui's passing. While Karzahni recovers from the shock of what he saw, the Matoran entered the set of Toa canisters and took off. When the canisters arrived on Voya Nui, they were struck by lightning from the mysterious Red Star, turning them into strange Toa.

In examining their new bodies and tools (including brightly glowing faces), each of the new Toa began to instinctively activate their mask powers - which cause some chaos, as Nuparu was airborne, Kongu couldn't turn his telepathy off, Matoro seemed to be dead and Hahli was talking to thin air; but eventually they got things under control.

They soon meet a band of Matoran - Balta, Dalu, Piruk, Velika, Garan, and Kazi - and learn of the situation: six beings calling themselves Piraka had invaded and enslaved most of the Matoran in their quest to claim the Mask of Life for themselves. The Piraka also had an ally, a giant named Brutaka, that had beaten the Toa Nuva and taken them captive. While Jaller, Hahli, Dalu, and Piruk went to free some of the slaves with Zamor Launchers provided by Velika; Balta and Kazi brought Hewkii and Matoro to another giant being named Axonn, only to find him badly beaten; Axonn told them to stop Brutaka before it is too late. Meanwhile, Kongu, Nuparu, Velika, and Garan raid the Piraka's stronghold looking for the Toa Nuva, but were unable to find them before they were caught. The other Toa Inika arrived just in time to help them fight, but while the Matoran continued to search for the Toa Nuva, two of the Piraka (Hakann and Thok) were able to steal Brutaka's power and they soundly defeated everyone else.

In order to stop them, the Toa form an uneasy alliance with the remaining Piraka to try and return Brutaka's power to him. The Piraka were able to form a Zamor sphere to reverse the effects. Axonn also appeared and gave Jaller a Zamor Sphere, stating that the Mask of Life needed protection; but he elected to stay behind and watch over the near-unconscious Brutaka. Meanwhile, Hakann and Thok had started fighting each other, and a massive explosion makes the two easy to find. In the ensuing fight, the Inika and Piraka had the upper hand when Hakann and Thok finally agreed to work together, but even as they attacked, Hewkii uses a specially-prepared Zamor Sphere to take their power and return it to Brutaka. In the end, Zaktan was the only one still standing; Hakann and Thok fainted from the power loss and the rest had been knocked out by their attack.

The Toa Inika woke up to find the six Piraka already gone, and a long underground staircase exposed from the earlier explosion. Figuring that the stairs lead to the Mask of Life and that the Piraka had gone ahead of them, they decided to follow after them immediately, preparing to fight the guardians of the Mask of Life.

To their surprise, inside the tunnel they meet the long-dead legendary hero Toa Lhikan, who warned them to turn back before disappearing. They then encounter a number of enemies they had fought in their lives as Matoran, including a Bohrok, a Bohrok-Kal, a Rahkshi Turahk, a Muaka cat, a Nui-Rama, and even Makuta. In trying to subdue these enemies, the Toa's powers spiral out of control and accidentally kill them. Adding to their guilt, the dead bodies turn into those of their friends, the Toa Nuva. Despite their fears of losing control again, they press on, though they soon realize that the enemies they fought were merely illusions.

For their next trial, a mysterious voice told the Toa that they had entered the Chamber of Death, and to proceed to the Chamber of Life they must sacrifice one of their own. The Toa realize they have no other options, and Jaller is about to volunteer himself when he remembered how he had died once before at the hands of a Turahk. The memory causes him to hesitate just long enough for Matoro to volunteer himself; reasoning that he was only a translator, not a warrior or athlete or anything as suited to a Toa as the others were. The voice accepts Matoro's sacrifice and his body dissolved - only to re-form seconds later, as the voice says that the cold reality of death itself was not important, only the willingness to sacrifice oneself to do so for the greater cause.

The Toa next encounter a group of creatures that Kongu identifies as giant Protodites (called Protodax), but the creatures are wiped out by a guardian named Umbra, who wanted to slay the Inika himself. Though Umbra's amazing speed posed a challenge, Matoro used it against him by covering the cave with ice, causing him to slip and crash. Unfortunately, Umbra then changed into an even faster laser-like beam of light; but Matoro created more mirror-like ice and Nuparu lured Umbra into running into it, causing him to reflect wildly until he reverted to his normal form, stunned.

Emerging into a large cavern, the Toa Inika found the Piraka setting an ambush on a bridge over the lava flow. The Inika confronted them and gained the upper hand, but Kongu's and Nuparu's use of their powers caused the bridge to collapse on top of them, allowing the Piraka to reach the Chamber of Life first.

By the time the Inika arrive in the Chamber of Life, the Piraka have been beaten by the mask's guardians, Vezon and Fenrakk. Unfortunately, their ability to absorb kinetic energy was almost too much to handle; even when the Inika learned to weaken the two without using physical attacks, Fenrakk just pounded his leg to regain his full strength. Even so, Jaller was able to drive Vezon and Fenrakk towards the lava; and surprisingly Vezon urged Fenrakk to dive in.

Just as Jaller was about to follow them to get the Ignika (which was fused to Vezon's head), they reemerged, with Fenrakk evolved into a new dragon-like form that Vezon called Kardas. Kardas quickly started overpowering the Toa, but Jaller asked Kongu to use his mask's telepathy in a new way - read the mind of the Mask of Life itself. Surprisingly, it worked; Kongu found that the Ignika hated Vezon, and wanted to leave him in favor of Matoro, who had proven himself a compassionate, self-sacrificing person - the being that Matoro had helped on the way to Karzahni was none other than a manifestation of the Mask of Life itself.

Learning of the Ignika's opinion of him, Vezon became furious, and Jaller took the opportunity to fire Axonn's Zamor Sphere at him. The sphere froze Vezon and Kardas in space and time and allowing Matoro to remove the mask safely. Unfortunately, the Piraka were lying in wait for them wishing to take the mask, but Kardas got one last shot in; causing Matoro to lose his grip on the Ignika. It began to fly away, seeming to lead the Inika somewhere. The Toa followed it back to the surface and saw it dive into the bay; Hahli tried to swim after it but the water pressure soon became too much for her. As she was about to drown, a Matoran swam up from below and returned her to the others, begging for help for an underwater city before he died.

Reuniting with the Toa Nuva, the Inika were worried that they would be sent home while the Nuva continued the mission. But the Nuva recognized destiny's hand in what had happened and acknowledged that before they can complete their mission and awaken Mata Nui from his endless sleep, it was the Inika's job to save his life. Axonn then opened a secret passage that lead under the sea so that the Toa Inika could continue their journey.

Toa Mahri
During their trip through the stone cord that leads to the Pit, the Toa Inika were confronted by a tribe of Zyglak, and proceeded to fight with them. Teridax then possessed Matoro while the Toa was using his Iden. He then stole Hahli's Elda, and Hewkii discovered who he was. He was later forced out by the other Toa Inika who threatened to kill Matoro's body. However, they were unaware that a giant Venom Eel was constricting the cord. After the Zyglak ran in terror of the flood rushing into the tunnel the Toa dove into the water, only to meet the gigantic eel. Suddenly, a great burst of light slammed into the Toa (a call for help from the Ignika), who were transformed into water breathing forms. Soon after, they managed to defeat the giant Venom Eel.

After some exploration, they discovered an undersea city called Mahri Nui; but before the city's Matoran would trust them completely they would have to free the city's supply of air bubbles from attackers(Carapar's Keras Crabs). While Matoro stayed at the city, the other five Toa soon found themselves at the mercy of the Barraki, warlords who were sieging the fields of air and who had claimed possession of the mask. But the Barraki assumed that the Toa were banished for heinous crimes, as they were, and Hahli played along on behalf of the group to get in their good graces. Unfortunately, the Matoran noticed this and assumed the Toa really were as bad as the Barraki, forcing Matoro to flee.

Unfortunately, Matoro was soon caught and jailed by a being called Hydraxon (a transformed version of the Po-Matoran Dekar), who had assumed he had previously escaped prison. Hydraxon placed Matoro under the guard of a robot called Maxilos and his Energy Hound Spinax, but Maxilos was soon possessed by none other than Makuta, the evil being who had attacked Mata Nui in the first place and had been assumed dead for the last few months. Makuta freed Matoro and insisted that he help in the Toa's quest, but warned not to reveal "Maxilos'" true identity.



Meanwhile, the others escaped the Barraki's guard and made their way back to Mahri Nui, picking up some Cordak Blasters and a Hahnah Crab tag along along the way. The Matoran weren't happy to see them, but the Toa convinced them that "if we wanted you dead, you would be dead." The two groups agree to work together to stop the Barraki, and soon afterward the Toa are reunited with Matoro and his new "ally" Maxilos. The Matoran, impressed by these strangers' willingness to help, honor them with the title of "Toa Mahri".

On Maxilos' advice, the group splits up. Jaller and Kongu encounter two Barraki, Kalmah and Carapar, and offer to make a deal; but are told that they have to kill the Barraki leader, Pridak, before any deals could be made. Hahli, off on her own, runs into another Barraki, Mantax, and feeds his doubts about his allies. Matoro and Makuta get into a battle with Pridak, Takadox, and the Barraki leader's Takea shark army. Most of all, Hewkii and Nuparu provoke a war between Pridak's sharks and the eels of Barraki Ehlek, turning the entire ocean into a war zone.

The Toa Mahri regroup at Mahri Nui, but Hahli was missing. The Matoran were upset at all the fighting engulfing the ocean, and were even less happy to report that Hahli was seen leading Mantax's army towards the city. As the Toa went out to look for her, Makuta revealed to Matoro that before all was said and done, the Toa Mahri would have to destroy the stone cord connecting Voya Nui and Mahri Nui. If Voya Nui was dissconected from its anchor, it would go to its original location - chrushing Mahri Nui in the process.

To stop this, the Toa Mahri led the Matoran to the cord to greet Axonn and the Voya Nui Matoran, when they were attacked by their old enemies, the Piraka. The Piraka were now just heads with spines, so they represented sea snakes. However, Axonn came sent a wave of energy through the Toa Mahri and the Piraka. He later told them that the matoran had gotten up safely, and the Piraka had been 'dealt with'. It is currently unknown what their fate is. Axonn then led the Toa Mahri to a giant Rahi called a Toa Terrain Crawler, which had lots of machinery placed on it so the Toa Mahri could travel back to Mahri Nui, though Hahli was not particularly happy about all the mechanics. When the Toa Mahri got out of the Rahi later, they saw the Barraki scattering from an avalanche. They made a battle plan, and after the huge fight was over, all of the Toa Mahri had learned about Maxilos being Makuta, Matoro had the Ignika, and the Barraki were still fighting Maxilos. However, the Barraki mounted an attack against them, and Matoro went to save Mata Nui while Jaller and the rest defended. Matoro ended up in the world that feeds the world, and put on the Ignika to save Mata Nui, actually dying from it, and was remembered in history as the "Toa that saved the universe." However, as part of his dying wish, he wished for Jaller, Kongu, Hahli, Hewkii and Nuparu to teleport to Metru Nui before the Barraki could kill them. Meanwhile, Jaller was about to unleash a Nova Blast when him and the rest of the Toa Mahri(not including the now dead Matoro) were transported to Metru Nui by the power of the Ignika. They were greeted by Vakama, who told them about Matoro's deed. Hahli was the most shaken about it, and told the chronicler about what happened in Mahri Nui, and went on to the memorial with the rest of the Toa Mahri and the Turaga.

Masks and Tools
The Toa Inika's Kanohi Masks were organic, as well as alive. Their masks communicated to them usually through pain, which is why Hahli had headaches whenever she was near the Ignika. This is also the reason why it did not take very long for the Inika to learn how to use their masks: Their masks helped them discover the powers. The reason why their masks were organic is because of their origin. Inika literally means energy from a star.

Their Toa Tools were originally in their Toa canisters.

These Toa also had multi-shot Zamor Launchers and Zamor Spheres, constructed by Velika. The Toa Inika armed themselves with Zamor Spheres filled with Energized Protodermis (Which was only used to counter-attack the effects of Antidermis.)

In addition to new weapons, the Toa Mahri also replaced their Zamor Launchers with new sidearms, six-barreled cannons called Cordak Blasters. These cannons fire explosive rounds, and the Toa are following the same no-kill rule that they practiced with the Zamor Spheres. Their organic masks were changed by the power of the Ignika into different, non-organic masks.

Powers and Abilities
The Toa Inika's Elemental powers were all permanently entwined with lightning. When the Inika masks were removed, a bright light shined from their faces, making their facial features indistinguishable.

The Toa Inika were impervious to Antidermis. The lightning they are charged with counteracts the Zamor Sphere.

When the Toa Inika became the Toa Mahri, their powers were, for the most part, returned to normal Toa levels. All electrical aspects of the Inika's powers were gone, including their glowing faces, energized weapons, and their electric powers. Their living masks were also replaced with normal, inanimate ones. In fact, the only real variation from normal Toa abilities is that the Toa Mahri breathed water instead of air (what appeared to be air hoses were actually gills). They can now breath both air and water. Becoming Mahri was a big powerdown and all of the Toa want the chance to be Inika again.

Members

 * Jaller
 * Kongu
 * Hahli
 * Nuparu
 * Matoro (formerly)
 * Hewkii

Trivia
There were many clues that told us about the Toa Inika:
 * "He carries a heavy burden. To know so many secrets and be forbidden to share with his friends, even when that knowledge might benefit them (A clue to the Inika). In that way, Matoro has the strength of a Toa."

- Turaga Nuju speaking about Matoro in Bionicle Adventures 6


 * "Six heroes (at first thought to be the Toa Nuva) will one day be called upon to make a perilous journey into the darkest place you can imagine (Voya Nui, or possibly The Pit). They will brave the lightning (With lightning referring to the Toa Inika)... they will walk through the fire (posisbly Mt. Valmai's)... they will stare into the eyes of evil (surely the Piraka or Makuta posing as Antidermis), and if they waver even once, they will die."

- Toa Krakua talking to Toa Vakama in a vision.


 * "As past, present and possibly even future Toa..."

- . Talking about when the Toa Nuva the Turaga and the Matoran arrived at Metru Nui. Possibly referring to the six Matoran.


 * The only possible way for the Toa Mahri to turn back into the Toa Inika was the Ignika.
 * Before he died, Matoro was slowly taking charge of the team, due to Matoro's role as the guardian of the Mask of Life.