A TRIBUTE TO THE DARKSIDERS This entry is…as stated in the title…a tribute to the “Darksiders”. Yeah, I know I made that word up. Basically, “Darksiders” refer to either good people that, in one way or another, were tempted and corrupted into the “dark side” of things or bad people who have "seen the light", so to speak, and have turned from their evil ways to fight on the side of good. I decided to write this entry because after seeing Anakin Skywalker turn to Darth Vader in “Revenge of The Sith”, I had some sort of recollection about all the icons that have had similar predicaments. I don’t know why, but I find myself strangely drawn to such icons. Perhaps it is the glimmering spark of hope in me that there might still be some good in them. And, more often than not, I have been correct in thinking so. So, I’m going to present these icons to you. And I’ll try to tell their tales in the shortest summaries I could come up with. I might be updating this regularly as more and more darksiders cross my mind everyday, practically begging me to tell their stories. Haha. Below is an ever-growing list of the characters I've worked on so far... >ANAKIN SKYWALKER of Star Wars >NER'ZHUL of War Craft >ARTHAS MENETHIL of War Craft >JANUS ZEAL of Chrono Trigger >ROBIN of Teen Titans >TERRA of Teen Titans Let’s start with one of the first of these icons and perhaps the most popular as well. ANAKIN SKYWALKER of Star Wars a.k.a.. Darth Vader, the best pilot in the galaxy     Quotable quote: “I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead. Every single one of them. And not just the men. But the women. And children, too. They were like animals. And I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!” Anakin Skywalker started out as a slave in the desert-world of Tatooine. He lived with his mother, Shmi Skywalker, under their employer, Watto. Even as a young boy, Anakin showed great potential in being a pilot. Although his mother remained a slave, Anakin was soon freed by Qui Gon Jin, a Jedi master who took Anakin as his pupil. When Qui Gon Jin died in a battle against the Sithlord, Darth Maul, Qui Gon’s other student, Obi-Wan Kenobi, took Anakin under his wing. Anakin’s Jedi training started much later than the recommended age. Thus, he became stubborn and hard-headed. He had the knack for questioning a lot of the Jedi teachings, unlike the other students who had known only Jedi training all their lives. That said, he showed great skill in the face of danger. He grew up to be one of the most powerful Jedi and the best pilot the galaxy had ever known. His disregard for Jedi rules eventually led to his breaking some of them. One example is the rule that Jedi must not have spouses. He secretly married Padme Amidalla, who eventually got pregnant. One night, he had a dream where Padme died in childbirth and he didn’t know what happened of the child. Afraid that the dream might come true, he sought the power to “prevent people from dying” that he heard about from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Senate. The Jedi soon found out that Palpatine was a Sithlord and proceeded to arrest him. Palpatine put up a fight and the Jedi were forced to resort to lethal force. Anakin found himself killing his own Jedi brethren to keep Palpatine alive and to learn the supposedly “life-saving” secrets of the dark side of the force. He ended up being a Sithlord himself, dubbed “Darth Vader”. He became Palpatine’s new apprentice and right-hand man. He went to destroy his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and failed, falling into a lava pit and scorching his skin. Palpatine saved him and put him in a black armor that kept him alive. And then his dark master lied to him that Padme had died even before giving birth to their child. He doesn’t learn about his child, Luke, until he (Luke) was already full-grown and a learning Jedi himself. He never found out about Luke’s twin sister, Leia, until a little later – just before his death. For many years, Darth Vader served as Palpatine’s lapdog. But he had plans of his own. All the while, he had thought of overthrowing his master. And maybe even ruling the galaxy with his son. In the end, when he realized that he was expendable and that Palpatine was about to kill his son, Anakin stood up for what he thought was right and killed Palpatine himself. He died of injuries from the battle against Palpatine and an earlier battle against Luke, but his sacrifice reconciled him with his son, who was allowed to live. NER’ZHUL of War Craft a.k.a. The Lich-King   Quotable quote: “Return the blade. Complete the circle. Release me from this prison!” The green-skinned orcs of Warcraft once lived peacefully on the planet of Draenor, and Ner’zhul was their chief shaman. Shamans had pacifistic ways of communing with the world around them. When the Burning Legion of demons arrived on their planet, some of the orcs were corrupted. They were amazed by the demons’ magical powers and they made a pact together with the demons. Some of the orcs drank demon blood that granted them power far beyond their imagination. Those who did turned away from their shamanistic cultures and embraced the demonically-empowered ways of the warlock. Ner’zhul was among those who protested. And though he believed it was wrong to side with the demons, he did not wish punishment to befall his people. He knew that the demons could kill them all in a fleeting second. And so he did not pursue revolution. The demons allowed him to live as long as he did not pose a threat. The corrupted orcs were sent into the world of Azeroth through a Dark Portal to clear the path for the Burning Legion’s entrance into the planet. And it is there that the orcs met their mortal enemies – the humans. The humans put up a fight and eventually drove the orcs back to their homeworld. The humans entered the Dark Portal and found themselves fighting on the world of Draenor. Upon seeing his brethren (demonically-corrupted, but brethren nonetheless) being overwhelmed by strange, metal-clad, pink-skinned creatures, Ner’zhul made a desperate move to save his people. He mustered up all the shamanistic prowess he could and opened up multiple dark portals leading to different worlds. This was to allow the orcs to escape Draenor. But his spell proved too much for the planet to hold, and Draenor was eventually torn apart into pieces. Although it remained stable, the world they once called home became a smoldering cluster of floating rock-chunk-islands in space. The demons were infuriated by Ner’zhul’s blunder. Kil’Jaeden, one of the chief demonlords, took Ner’zhul and put him under unimaginable pain and torture. After inflicting as much pain on Ner’zhul’s body as possible, it was eventually destroyed and Kil’Jaeden went to torture Ner’zhul’s soul. Ner’zhul’s spirit was cruelly tormented, and agonized in all ways Kil’Jaeden could think of. Then Kil’Jaeden put his soul in a magical armor to keep it in existence. The armor was frozen in ice and thrown into the roof of the world of Azeroth – the frozen continent of Northrend. Ner’zhul, now twisted and corrupted, discovered new powers within himself. He soon learned that, with enough time and concentration, he could strip living creatures of their will and shape them into anything he deemed fit. Kil’Jaeden decided to use this new power to the Burning Legion’s advantage and gave Ner’zhul his new mission. He was to take the mission that the orcs have failed to fulfill. He was to amass an army that would pave the way for the Legion’s entrance into the world of Azeroth. The Legion sent dreadlords to make sure that Ner’zhul did his job, and help him in the undertaking of his new task. Left now with nothing, except hatred for the demons, Ner’zhul plotted his revenge. But he could not do it without power, so he played along with the demons for a while so he could amass his own army and take his vengeance upon those who made him the Lich-King that he had become. And so Ner’zhul set his eyes upon the human, Arthas Menethil… ARTHAS MENETHIL of War Craft a.k.a. Prince Arthas of Lordaeron (King Arthas, later on), first of the Lich-King’s death-knights.    Quotable quote: “This Kingdom shall fall! And from the ashes shall arise a new order that will shake the very foundations of the world!” Notice that the last pictures for Ner’zhul and Arthas are the same. If you want to know why then read on. Prince Arthas Menethil was the son of the late King Terenas Menethil of Lordaeron. Arthas lived in a period where the Alliance of humans, dwarves, elves, and gnomes was constantly losing its hold over the races due to endless bickerings among its human leaders. While the wizards of Dalaran went rambling about the epidemic that has plagued some of their lands, the rest of the alliance leaders concern themselves with the possible actions of the orc prisoners that have just escaped. Losing faith in the alliance, the elves withdrew their support and the gnomes were nowhere to be seen. Now bombarded with internal security problems, the humans and dwarves were left to fend for themselves. Arthas was trained in the ways of the Holy Paladin. He was sent to investigate the plague. He learned that it was one of undeath – an ingenious epidemic designed to spread through Lordaeron and twist the people into becoming undead minions of darkness. Desperate to end the crisis before it gripped the whole of Lordaeron, Arthas resorted to killing the “infected” villagers himself. He reasoned that it would be better for the people to die by his hand rather than serve the darkness as undead. His superiors and brothers in the Paladin order had the impression that Arthas was losing his mind. Arthas, filled with righteous fury, dismissed the Paladins and relieved them of duty by “his right as heir to the crown”. He traced the plague to its source and found himself taking the Lordaeron fleet to the frozen continent of Northrend. There, he came across the dwarven Mountain King, Muradin Bronzebeard, who explained his (Muradin’s) purpose for going to Northrend. Arthas learned that the dwarves were trying to claim a magical sword named Frostmourne, that was supposed to have mystical powers. Utterly worn-out and outnumbered, Arthas decided to help retrieve Frostmourne, seeing in it a new hope for victory against the undead. Upon reaching the pedestal that held the runeblade, Muradin read inscriptions on the sword’s dais, indicating that the runeblade was cursed. Muradin tried to persuade Arthas to forget about the sword and just leave the continent. Arthas persisted, reasoning that he would gladly bear any curse if it would mean salvation for his people. So he claimed Frostmourne and Frostmourne claimed Muradin’s life as payment. Granted with new power, Arthas pushed forward and took the battle to the dreadlord in charge of the undead scourge at the time, Mal’Ganis. Mal’Ganis wasn’t surprised – the Lich-King of the undead had foreseen it. The dreadlord knew that the minute Arthas grabbed the sword, the human Paladin had been driven by the voice of the Lich-King. Arthas heeded only one voice now, The Lich-King’s. Little did Mal’Ganis know that the Lich-King was planning more than what he knew. And the dreadlord soon found himself at the mercy of Frostmourne, who did not hesitate to smite him dead right where he was standing. As the blade in his hand drained him of the last vestiges of sanity he possessed, Arthas roamed the frozen continent of Northrend, stripped of all sense and virtue. Then, being driven by Ner’zhul’s maddening voice, he returned to Lordaeron to kill his father and “succeed” him as King. Although he kept his humanity, Arthas had become the first of the Lich-King’s undead death-knights. He rode his undead steed across Lordaeron with the plague of undeath following in his wake. Obeying further instructions from Ner’zhul, Arthas crippled the homeland of the elves, Quel’Thalas. They soon moved to ravage Dalaran, the land of the wizards, and utilized its magical nature to open a portal that allowed the Burning Legion of demons to enter the world of Azeroth. The Burning Legion went to face their old nemesis – the Night-Elves – who saved Azeroth from demonic invasions 10,000 years in the past. The Night-Elves – with a little help from the combined forces of the humans and orcs – succeeded once again in dealing a lethal blow to the Burning Legion and killing one of its greatest demonlords, Archimonde. With the Burning Legion mustering their forces in the alternate dimension of the Twisting Nether, the undead scourge was left as the single most powerful force standing in the continent of Azeroth. The demons have made attempts at punishing the Lich-King for his treachery, but they were thwarted by the invincible combination of Ner’zhul and his new champion, Arthas. Arthas soon used Froustmourne to shatter the Lich-King’s icy prison, freeing the armor that contained Ner’zhul’s spirit. He put it on and thus was the body of the once righteous paladin united with the wicked spirit of the very evil that he had sworn to destroy in the past. JANUS ZEAL of Chrono Trigger a.k.a. Magus, the dark wizard  
Quotable quote: “If history is to change, let it change! If the world is to be destroyed, so be it! If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh!!” Just a little fact: Notice how the first picture of Janus resembles the child Trunks from Dragonball. And then notice how Janus’ second picture resembles Vegeta. It is because Squaresoft (the game developers of Chrono Trigger) collaborated with Toei Animation Corporation (the company responsible for bringing Dragonball to existence) in order to come up with the designs for the characters of this particular game. Janus lived in around 12000 BC, a period in time where humans were divided into those who can use magic (The Enlightened Ones) and those who cannot (The Earthbound Ones). Janus was the son of the Enlightened Ones’ Queen Zeal, thus making him a prince (duh…). He lived in the palace with his older sister, Schala, and was trained in the arcane arts of magic by the three Magi of their kingdom – Melchior, Gasper, and Belthasar. Janus showed great potential in becoming a master magician, especially under the tutelage of three of the wisest men of their time. Apparently, this potential was so great that it was often misunderstood, for it gave Janus wisdom so complex. At a very young age, Janus was already capable of casting spells and wielding powers that very few could comprehend. A very distinct characteristic of Janus was that he can foresee the near future, which nobody else in the vast expanse of their race can do. His fellow Enlightened Ones considered him weird and ominous. Perhaps the only ones sympathetic to his predicament were Schala and the three Magi. Despite his people’s indifference towards him, all was well in the kingdom of Zeal. That is, until the day the purple-cloaked “Prophet” arrived. Nobody knew where the prophet came from and none, save Janus, was able to sense the terror that this so-called prophet was about to spawn. The prophet won the queen’s favor by astonishing her with his knowledge of things to come. His supposed “magic” was similar to Janus’ ability to foresee the future, only the prophet’s foresight went much further. The queen was quick to make the prophet her chief adviser. The prophet continued to feed the queen with forecasts of coming conflicts, as well as appropriate actions to be taken in order to overcome the obstacles. And for a time, the kingdom was free of substantial problems for they were solved before they even began. Little did the kingdom know that the prophet was twisting the queen for his own purposes. He secretly told the queen of an ancient power that they could control. He taught her how to summon the creature called Lavos, an entity so powerful that it could destroy or save worlds. But in order to control the creature, they needed a nexus of powerful magic. And that nexus proved to be Schala. They needed to sacrifice her in order to possess enough magical prowess to enslave Lavos. Now power-hungry, mad and twisted, the queen agreed to meet the demands. Janus forebode the coming dread and tried to warn the people of the prophet’s treachery. But the people refused to believe such an ominous kid over the man who had eliminated all the worries of their kingdom. Schala, though sympathetic to Janus’ cause, loved her mother so much and had faith in her mother’s decisions of trusting the prophet. The Magi shared Janus’ concern but they could do nothing for the queen listened to no one but the prophet. It was then that a band of warriors came into their kingdom from nowhere, much like the prophet did. But Janus sensed only good in those warriors, contrary to the prophet’s warning to the people that the warriors have come to wreak havoc. Powerless over the people as ever, Janus failed to prevent the kingdom from deciding that the warriors be imprisoned. And he sensed that one of the warriors would die. When the time was ripe to summon Lavos, Queen Zeal forced her daughter to hand over her powers to the spell of summoning. And, for she loved her mother so much, Schala obeyed. While the spell was being cast, Janus rushed in to try and save his sister, along with the warriors who somehow escaped prison. The summoning spell opened a portal in time, which sucked Janus in. Janus found himself in 600 AD. He did not know what happened at 12000 BC for there were no records of that era on 600 AD. It seemed that 12000 BC never happened. And Janus could only assume that the kingdom of Zeal had failed to control Lavos…and that Lavos had destroyed the kingdom. As for what happened to Lavos after, or the warriors, or the prophet, or his sister, or his mother, or the Magi…Janus knew nothing. Janus was left with nothing but the hatred that he had sub-consciously cultivated in his heart when people shunned him, when his mother was too busy for him, when nobody believed what he believed, when his sister was forced into submission, when the monstrosity called Lavos first entered his life. He swore to exact revenge against Lavos someday. Janus sooner learned that in 600 AD, humans have forgotten how to use magic. What without the kingdom of Zeal to pass on that knowledge. Magic belonged to a race of beasts called the Mystics. The humans and the Mystics were at constant conflict. And, though human, Janus found favor among the Mystics for his knowledge of magic. Janus found his place as one of the Mystics. He felt he would fare better among beasts who took care of their own than the discriminatory humans who can’t even make peace with their own brethren. He joined the Mystics in their war against the humans. Janus fashioned himself a new personality. He wore clothes of majesty and carried with him a death-scythe for a weapon. He further trained himself in the arcane arts of magic. Dark magic. He harnessed enough power to be able to open a portal in time. He devised an ingenious plan to summon Lavos and destroy him. He destroyed all obstacles that got in his way. He eventually rose in the highest echelons of Mystic power and rallied the Mystics into his own personal army to do his bidding. He gave the beasts organization, shape and knowledge that eventually became the greatest threat to humanity. He began to call himself Magus, after the Magi who had taught him everything they knew. The time grew nigh to summon Lavos for the second time. So he deployed his Mystic army to make sure that nothing interrupts the spell he was about to cast. In the deepest, darkest recesses of his towering castle, Magus performed the ritual to summon the monster again. He was confident that the power he had nurtured throughout the years would be enough to destroy the monstrosity that destroyed his home. A band of human warriors from the distant kingdom of Guardia infiltrated Magus’ castle and interrupted him as he cast the spell. Magus noticed them as the warriors who arrived at Zeal when he was a child. But he let none stand in his way. Magus made an effort to fend off the human warriors and continue the summoning simultaneously. His divided attention cost him the battle and the spell was interrupted. He accidentally opened a portal in time, not knowing where it would lead. The portal sucked the warriors in. In danger of unintentionally entering the portal himself, Magus decided to escape through the use of another portal. Since he had already begun the process of opening a particular portal in his summoning spell, he concluded that that particular portal would be the easiest one to open at the moment. So he escaped the portal that lead to an unknown time by entering the portal that lead to the time when Lavos lived. 12000 BC. He found himself back in his former home, the kingdom of Zeal. He was at the time before Lavos was summoned, before the prophet ever came. But he had grown dark and hateful, and his physical appearance reflected that. He feared further persecution from the people who had persecuted him in the past. And he knew that, if worse comes to worst, he would not be able to defeat an entire kingdom of magic-wielding people even with his refined powers. So he covered himself in a purple cloak. Refusing to give up his mission of avenging his sister and his kingdom, Magus devised a new plan to summon Lavos again. He needed to make sure that nothing got in the way this time. So he, once again, decided to attach himself to power. He used his knowledge of the era to impress his way to royalty. And he fashioned himself a new name for the mean time…he was then known as “The Prophet”. Remembering how the human warriors arrived in Zeal when he was a child, Magus took steps to prevent them from interrupting again. He warned the kingdom of the arrival of warriors who would wreak havoc…warriors who would need to be dealt with. By the time that Lavos was summoned and Janus had been sucked into the portal, Magus revealed his true self and carried on with his original mission. He unleashed the full fury of all the magic that he had been breeding all his life. But it wasn’t enough to destroy Lavos. The human warriors, who escaped captivity, aided in the battle against Lavos but they failed all the same. And, true to Janus’ prophecy, one of them (the male warrior named Crono) fell in battle. Finding defeat once again, Magus went separate ways with the warriors and escaped the kingdom. The warriors did the same. They meet again a little later and here, the game takes you for a twist. You control the warriors and you have a choice of either destroying Magus or letting him join you. For the sake of this article, let us assume that Magus joined the human warriors. Magus decided to share his knowledge with his new team and aided in bringing Crono back to life. He also learned from the warriors that Lavos was meant to destroy more than just the kingdom of Zeal. For all the time since Lavos was summoned in 12000 BC, Lavos had been sleeping, feeding on the planet’s resources. He would awaken in the year 1999 AD and put the planet in an apocalyptic state just to give birth to his clones, who would travel to other planets to do the same. The warriors knew this because when Magus accidentally flung them into an unknown time zone, they landed on 2300 AD, where they found the planet in ruins. They asked the few survivors of what happened and they came to know of Lavos. It is also in that time zone that the warriors found sufficient technology to open a portal to “The End of Time”, a time zone that connected all other time zones. That allowed them to travel to different time zones, which is how they came to 12000 BC. From that point on, Magus and the warriors joined forces to put an end to Lavos, and prevent him from destroying the planet in 1999 AD. Squaresoft decided to leave the fate of the ending up to the players. The choices you make (i.e. letting Magus join your party or killing him) would play vital roles as to what ending you would see. There are over a dozen possible endings, if memory serves, and I’m not planning to write them all down here. ROBIN of Teen Titans a.k.a. Red X (also, first apprentice of Slade)    Quotable quote: "It is simple: there is good, and there is evil; there are those who commit crimes, and those who stop them. The two sides are opposite, as different as day and night, and the line between them is clear. Or, at least, it's supposed to be." Please note that all information about Robin in this article are based on the animated series "Teen Titans" and not on the comic book series of the same title. Robin was more than just a superhero to his teenage friends - he was their leader. The Teen Titans was a team that wouldn't be where it was if not for Robin. Focused, serious, determined. Robin had all the makings of the ideal hero...or villain. A new threat was rising in Jump City. A threat that went by the name of "Slade". This supervillain, like Robin, had no superpowers of his own but possessed enough skills to match the best fighters in battle. Robin, out of deep concern for the security of his beloved city, led the Titans in missions against Slade's operations - all of which were unsuccessful in capturing Slade. What began as a superhero's average job developed into a grudge against the villain, and eventually escalated into an obsession. Robin reached the point of getting so involved with his exploits that he was willing to do anything - ANYTHING! - to neutralize the threat. That was when he decided to disguise himself as a villain named "Red X" without the knowledge of his friends. The plan was to prove Red X worthy enough of a partnership treaty with Slade. Once inside Slade's circle, Red X (or Robin) would be in a position where he could inflict great damage upon the criminal mastermind's schemes. Under this new persona, he ran errands for his arch-nemesis, stealing whatever Slade told him to steal, in order to get that much-coveted partnership. To make things more convincing, he even engaged the other Titans in a couple of serious skirmishes. This only provoked his teammates to work harder in bringing "Red X" down. In the end, it turned out that Slade knew all along that Robin was Red X, and the Titans were shocked to find out. Robin suffered intense criticisms from the Titans for that, especially for putting on a villainous personality - even if it's just a fake one. His friends couldn't help but notice how Robin and Slade had so much in common. But that didn't slow Robin down a bit. His obsession burned as fervently as ever. Such dangerous behavior proved dangerous indeed when, in one of their missions, Robin's wrecklessness and carelessness separated him from the other Titans and led him straight into Slade's trap. He was in Slade's lair when he found out that the criminal mastermind had the power to kill his friends anytime he so wished, by way of nanoscopic probes inside the Titans' bodies. But he wouldn't...provided that Robin should agree to a condition: he should work for Slade as an "apprentice". Robin decided that, given the circumstances, being a "villain" was the most "heroic" thing to do for his friends at the time. So he accepted the offer. In his first mission as Slade's apprentice, he came face-to-face with his former teammates. He was reluctant to give the fight his all, but he was forced to do so as Slade threatened him again with his friends' deaths. He defeated them all, but not necessarily killing them. Nevertheless, he was not happy with what he had to do. He returned to Slade with a rebellious impulsiveness that sparked a duel between master and apprentice. In the heat of the battle, the Titans arrived to aid Robin. Slade, angered by this interference, decided to activate the killing mechanism of the nanoscopic probes. Robin was forced to watch in horror as his friends suffered slowly and painfully. But his quick thinking led him to a risky decision - he got some of the probes inside himself as well, sharing in the Titans' agony and in their would-be fate. He demanded that Slade deactivate the killing mechanism, reasoning that if his friends die, then so will he. And Robin, who was so much like Slade, knew how much someone like Slade would hate to lose...not to mention, lose his apprentice. Sure enough, Slade did deactivate the probes, and then escaped (but not unhurt by the Titans). Robin was reunited with his team, and was reconciled to being a hero again. But his experiences in the dark side have left a mark in the deepest, darkest recesses of his psyche that would haunt him for a long time. TERRA of Teen Titans a.k.a. Terra, second apprentice of Slade      Quotable quote: “My name is Terra. I have done horrible things. And I have absolutely no regrets.” Please note that all information about Terra in this article are based on the animated series "Teen Titans" and not on the comic book series of the same title. Terra was (as she explained in the animated series) a wandering superhero, occasionally beating up bad guys and helping people here and there for a hobby. In one of her travels, she came into contact with the Teen Titans who came to the rescue under the impression that she was running away from a giant scorpion. Terra, who was in fact leading the beast into a trap, made a showcase of her earth-manipulating powers and defeated the monster. Her performance won her the Titans’ favor and the team was quick to take her in as a friend but not yet an official teammate. Beastboy, one of the Teen Titans, soon found out by accident that Terra couldn’t control her powers completely. Beastboy promised Terra that he would keep it secret from the other Titans. In one of their missions, the Titans invited Terra to join even if she wasn’t an official member yet. In the heat of the battle, the evil mastermind (Slade) led Terra away from the Titans and into a one-on-one battle against himself. Slade proved too powerful for Terra especially with her lack of control over her powers. It was then that Slade used psychology on her and persuaded her into considering that Beastboy would soon break his promise and reveal her secret to the others. And that she would be betrayed. Terra broke into a frantic outburst of confusion. Her lack of control over her powers unleashed tremors that endangered everybody in the vicinity, even the Titans. Slade took this opportunity to slip away from the skirmish. Beastboy succeeded in calming Terra down before any of the other Titans could witness that the tremors had been caused by Terra. The Titans, failing to find any trace of Slade, returned to their headquarters. Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, decided to make Terra an official member of the team despite his recent discovery – that Terra couldn’t control her powers completely. Robin announced this to the team in the presence of Terra, who assumed that Slade was right and that Beastboy had betrayed her. The truth, of course, was that Robin found it out for himself. Terra left the Titans with a feeling of betrayal. She secretly turned to the one man who promised to help her – Slade. True enough, Slade trained her and eventually succeeded in granting Terra complete control over her powers. In accordance with Slade’s plan, Terra returned to the Titans to become an official member of the team. As soon as she gained their trust, she deactivated the security in their headquarters and Slade’s invading army came rushing in. However, Terra led Beastboy (whom she had grown very fond of) out of their headquarters before the invasion by going out with him on a date. Falling deeper in love, Terra considered confessing to Beastboy the treachery that she had committed. But before she could do it, Slade ruined their romance by showing up on their date and taking the liberty of telling Beastboy everything, breaking his heart. Beastboy and Terra broke into a brief argument that ended up with their parting ways and taking their places in their respective sides – Beastboy with the Titans, and Terra with Slade. The Titans survived the invasion and got their headquarters back. But things were only starting to get worse. Terra showed up again a little later as Slade’s new apprentice. Granted with better control over her powers, as well as an exoskeleton that allowed Slade to intervene (by manipulating Terra’s body and powers) in battles, Terra easily wiped out the Titans. When Slade’s power was raw and he had already taken over the city, the Titans resurfaced to fight Slade again. It turned out that Terra failed to destroy them after all. Terra set out to battle once again. But the Titans, armed now with righteous anger and suppression of their pity for Terra, proved too much for Terra to handle. Even with the intervention of Slade, Terra was forced to retreat. The Titans stealthily chased her down Slade’s underground hideout, where they witnessed Slade’s cruel treatment of Terra for her cowardice. The Titans moved to save Terra but Slade manipulated Terra and made her fight the Titans. Terra fought to regain control over her own body and powers and turned them against Slade instead. Her powers caused Slade’s underground hideout to collapse. Terra used every bit of energy in her to save the Titans and, at the same time, suppress the underground breakdown to prevent it from causing any damage in the surface. Terra’s selfless sacrifice petrified her body, turning it into a stone image of her former, living self. The Titans swore to find a cure that would bring her back to her normal self, but they have yet to succeed. And Terra remains, up to this day, unmoved and underground. | 
