Dark Fright

"Appearing in packs at a time, these mini-monsters go in for the tackle. It's thought that each of the quiet sighs and gossipy insults of everyday life are affected by the power of Dark Gaia to form a new Fright."

- Description, Sonic Unleashed

The Dark Fright (スプーキー) is a type of Dark Gaia's Minions that appears in Sonic Unleashed. They only appear during the game's nighttime stages.

Overview
The Dark Frights were born when Dark Gaia and all of its energy fell apart at the beginning of Sonic Unleashed due to it waking up before it had fully matured. The resulting fragments from Dark Gaia then formed the Dark Frights and the rest of the minions after receiving power from people's negative feelings. It is thought that for every quiet sigh, gossip and insult that occurs in everyday life, a Dark Fright is created. They first appear in Apotos Night Act I: Moonlit Town in the PS2/Wii version and Windmill Isle Night Act 1 in the PS3/Xbox 360 version.

The Dark Frights are far from the strongest of Dark Gaia's Minions, as they have little health and do not cause much damage. However, they rarely appear alone and they frequently attack in packs in order to overwhelm opponents with sheer numbers.

The Dark Frights can easily be picked up by Sonic the Werehog and used as weapons, but they do not cause much damage in the PS3/Xbox 360 version due to their low density. They also come in a stronger variant called Red Frights.

Upon the reconstruction of Dark Gaia by Dr. Eggman, all of the Dark Frights along with the other Dark Gaia minions were returned to the beast, who was later defeated and sealed within the planet's core.

Physical Appearance
The Dark Frights mostly resembles balloon-shaped birds with small wings, a small knot on the bottom of their body and a little horn on their forehead. They have dark blue and black skin, and have markings on their body that resembles a face, while their actual black faces with yellow eyes are hidden inside their "mouths".

The colors of the Dark Frights' body markings differ between the versions of the game; in the PS2/Wii version their markings are colored magenta, while in the PS3/Xbox 360 version they are colored yellow.

Powers and Abilities
The Dark Frights are able to move around by either teleporting into an area in a puff of purple smoke, or emerging from black puddles on the ground. As a Dark Gaia Minion, the Dark Frights can possess people by latching onto the deepest, darkest part of the heart, and generate despair, negative emotions or even erratic behavior that are completely opposite to the person's personality.

The Dark Frights are capable of flight, allowing them to float through mid-air in any direction they may desire. They are also able to dash through mid-air at high speed.

Attack Patterns
The Dark Frights attack the player by either tackling the player at high speed or bouncing on top of him/her.

When not attacking, the Dark Frights float about one foot above the ground and move erratically in any direction by rolling in the air. These attributes makes the Dark Frights' movements hard to predict, and to target properly in order to attack them.

Trivia

 * The Dark Frights' behavior makes a reference to what they resemble; they chirp like birds and "deflate" upon defeat like balloons.