Antidermis

History

When the Piraka mysteriously learned of the Ignika Mask of Life, their leader Zaktan also gained knowledge of the mysterious Antidermis virus and how to collect and use it.

When the Piraka first came to Voya Nui, they gained the Matoran’s trust by pretending to be Toa. When suspicions arose, they decided to bring in a test-subject, a Ta-Matoran named Dezalk, to test an antidermis-filled Zamor on. Immediately after he was hit with the Zamor Sphere, the Matoran became completely dependent upon the Piraka’s orders. The Piraka then told Dezalk to tell his fellow Matoran to gather in the Matoran village, which Dezalk carried out unquestioningly. The Piraka attacked the Matoran village in the middle of the night and fired Zamor Spheres filled with antidermis at all of the Matoran there. Only the six Matoran of the resistance escaped this fate, as they decided not to trust the new "Toa". All of the other Matoran, however, became slaves of the Piraka, losing their own will and becoming entirely dependent on the orders that the Piraka gave them, even to the point of death. This allowed the Piraka to have the Matoran laboring ceaselessly and without question, digging at the sides of Mount Valmai.

Since the Toa Inika arrived on Voya Nui, they have hit a number of the Matoran with Zamor spheres of their own which were filled with energized protodermis, thereby freeing them from the Piraka's control. After a fight between the Piraka and the Toa Inika at the Piraka Stronghold, Toa Kongu probed into the vat with his Kanohi Suletu Mask of Telepathy, and discovered that the substance is alive and actually has an evil mind of its own.

Description

Antidermis is a greenish-black glowing viral substance that the Piraka have used to enslave most of the Matoran population of Voya Nui. The Piraka have obtained this virus on Voya Nui by placing a huge crystal vat in the Piraka Stronghold, which has collected the Antidermis from the air. The Piraka's leader, Zaktan, is the only one of the group able to approach the vat without feeling nauseated or weak, he is also the only Piraka who knows the true secret of the virus. Zaktan is thus the only one able to fill Zamor Spheres with Antidermis, which he gives to the other Piraka to use at their liking. The other Piraka have noticed that Zaktan sometimes "talks" to the vat quietly when he is alone, and does not enjoy being disturbed when doing so. If this substance is loaded into a Zamor Sphere and fired at a Matoran, the Matoran then becomes a mindless slave willing to obey any command given by the individual who enslaved him.

Effects

Antidermis seems to have different effects on different beings. Matoran infected with the virus become mindless slaves, blindly obeying any command given to them, it can be assumed that the same effect applies to Toa and Turaga as well, as the three kinds of beings are essentially a single species. The Toa Inika, however, are exceptions to this, as their lightning-charged bodies counteract the virus. The cure for Antidermis in this case is Energized Protodermis. Energized Protodermis transforms those destined to transform and destroys everything else; when an infected Matoran is hit then the virus is destroyed, the Antidermis infected Matoran is not destroyed because the virus blocks him/her from acheving there destiney.

Brutaka reacts quite differently to Antidermis, when his body absorbs the virus he becomes stronger, but also meaner and more aggressive.

Ancient Evil

This Ancient Evil is very familiar to all, its name is Antidermis, otherwise known as...Makuta of Metru Nui. (Yes, the Makuta who fought the Toa Hagah, Toa Metru, Toa Mata, Takanuva and influenced the Piraka to go to Voya Nui).

He is currently in a state of hibernation. It was Makuta who inspired the Piraka to go hunting for the Kanohi Ignika - Mask of Life. The voices that Zaktan hears in his head are Makuta's telepathic communication to him, it was once manifested in a "guttural" voice that none of the other Piraka had ever heard before. Makuta has evolved beyond needing a physical body, but he sure wants one. Antidermis is the name that the Piraka gave to the greenish-black energy that is Makuta.

Most of Makuta's essence is in the Antidermis vat in the middle of the Piraka Stronghold. Makuta deliberately lost to Takanuva, getting his armor shattered by the door forced him to rearrange things, so his current plan is a revision of the original. Makuta is the leader of his Brotherhood, by virtue of the fact that they all fell in line behind his plot against Mata Nui.

Makuta first got the idea of overthrowing Mata Nui 80,000 years ago. His actual attack came a little under 1,300 years ago. If he had not been able to find something to contain his energy, Makuta may very well have died. Makuta is trying to get the Ignika Mask of Life to save himself...

Zaktan has "a strong suspicion" of the real identity of Antidermis. Makuta's duty is to the Kraahkan - Mask of Shadows.