Comic 27: Fractures

"This are getting much worse in the city...the Visorak are speeding up their conquest...capturing Rahi in their cocoons...and turning them into monsters. Worse, when they run out of Rahi...who's to stop them from starting on the sleeping Matoran?"

- Toa Hordika Matau

Fractures was the twenty-seventh and final issue of the original BIONICLE comic series, as well as the twelfth and final comic of the Metru Nui sub-series. It was originally shipped with the November/December 2005 edition of the LEGO Club Magazine, and was later collected in BIONICLE 4: Trial by Fire. The finale saw the Toa Hordika gear up for their final assault on the Coliseum.

Opening
''The Toa Hordika are preparing to mount an attack on the Coliseum, now headquarters for the Visorak horde and site of the Matoran captivity. Sent to scout ahead, Toa Hordika Nokama and Toa Hordika Matau have managed to infiltrate a Visorak guard tower by sneaking in under a battle ram. But Roodaka has ordered that particular ram to be burnt in the furnaces ...''

''Meanwhile, the other Toa Hordika launch a plan to capture the tower, the sole guard post on the way to the Coliseum. Little do the heroes know that before all is done, one of their number will have betrayed them.''

The final battle begins now.

Plot
As they travel, Whenua berets Vakama for sending Nokama and Matau alone into enemy territory. Vakama eventually snaps and begins to strangle his fellow Toa. Nuju breaks up the situation, and wonders alone what's gotten into the Toa Hordika of Fire. Norik reminds the group of their animal side's rage and cautions them against giving into it. Elsewhere, Nokama and Matau frantically try to think of a way out of their situation: hidden inside a gigantic Visorak Battle Ram that is about to be plunged into a furnace. Matau unleashes an Air Rhotuka, which generates an enormous cyclone. The newborn tornado flings the Toa, battle ram, and Visorak alike into the air with enough force to blast them through a wall and into the wrecked city. Even as Nuju reminds his friends of their mission to meet up with the other Toa, Onewa points out a problem: the other Toa are coming to them! Thanks to Matau's quick thinking, the heroes survive the crash-landing and the group presses onward to the Coliseum.

As they travel, Whenua warns the group that the horde will be ready for them. Norik responds with a tale from his time as a Toa, many years ago. At one point, he lured a squad of Visorak guards away from their post and crushed them underneath a giant slab of stone. While the Rahaga waxes nostalgic, Vakama brushes him off, irritated at having to listen to old stories. Meanwhile, within the Coliseum itself, Sidorak grumbles over the freedom of the Toa Hordika, but Roodaka is confident that the heroes will ultimately come to the villains, due to the Toa's guardianship of the Matoran villagers.

'The story ends here, leading into BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows''. The comic concludes with a sneak peek at the location of the next year's story: Voya Nui.'''

Credits

 * Greg Farshtey - Writer
 * Randy Elliott - Artist
 * Pete Pantazis - Colorist
 * Nick J. Napolitano - Letterer
 * Jaye Garner - Editor
 * Toby Dutkiewicz - Art Director/Design

Characters

 * Matau
 * Nokama
 * Norik - In present and flashback
 * Nuju
 * Onewa
 * Roodaka
 * Sidorak
 * Vakama
 * Whenua

Locations

 * Metru Nui
 * Coliseum
 * Tower of Toa
 * Voya Nui - In sneak peek

Objects

 * Catcher Claw
 * Chutes
 * Herding Blade
 * Kanohi
 * Great Huna - Mutated
 * Great Komau - Mutated
 * Great Mahiki - Mutated
 * Great Matatu - Mutated
 * Great Pehkui - In flashback
 * Great Rau - Mutated
 * Great Ruru - Mutated
 * Matoran Spheres
 * Rhotuka
 * Toa Canister - In sneak peek
 * Toa Tools
 * Blazer Claws
 * Claw Clubs
 * Fin Barbs
 * Hordika Teeth
 * Lava Spear - In flashback
 * Rhotuka Launching Shield - In flashback
 * Thumpers
 * Visorak Battle Ram

Organizations

 * Brotherhood of Makuta - In flashback
 * Matoran - Mentioned only
 * Piraka - In sneak peek
 * Rahi
 * Fireflyers - Mentioned only
 * Kikanalo
 * Visorak - In present and flashback
 * Boggarak
 * Vohtarak
 * Zivon
 * Sidorak's Species
 * Toa
 * Toa of Air
 * Toa of Earth
 * Toa of Fire - In present and flashback
 * Toa of Ice
 * Toa of Stone
 * Toa of Water
 * Toa Teams
 * Toa Metru/Toa Hordika
 * Toa Hagah/Rahaga - In present and flashback
 * Vortixx

Miscellanea

 * Chutespeak
 * Elements/Elemental Powers
 * Air
 * Fire

Quotes
"Too bad that one Visorak wasn't so lucky. I'll never get all of him scraped off my feet."

- Nokama

"Long they became Hordika, they were prisoners of their own natures--trapped by the role of "hero." They will come to us because they have no choice. Could they be Toa and do anything less? They will come to us...and we will destroy them."

- Roodaka gloats

"Not so very long ago, six canisters washed up on the shores of an island called Mata Nui...Six heroes emerged from those canisters and dared to challenge the darkness. But these canisters do not carry Toa...and this is not Mata Nui...and on this island...the darkness has already won."

- Narration

Extra Features

 * Comic middle: Join the Fight for Metru Nui section encouraging fans to collect the various 2005 sets and create their own battles.
 * Comic end: Coming 2006 section advertises future updates for BIONICLE.com, ads for BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows, BIONICLE shoes, and the "Guardian Toa Co-Pack" of the Toa Hagah at Wal-Mart.
 * Rear cover: The New Face of Fear section teases the next year's Piraka sets.

Continuity

 * Vakama snaps at Whenua in this issue, momentarily strangling him in a fit of rage. This foreshadows Vakama's temporary turn to evil in Web of Shadows.
 * This issue sees the appearance of another one of the summer playsets: the Battle of the Coliseum.
 * This issue leaves the story on an unresolved note; the flashback era of Metru Nui would be resolved with the parallel movie BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows and novels Web of Shadows and Time Trap.
 * Voya Nui makes its first appearance in any BIONICLE media here, as a sneak-peak of 2006's darker storyline.