Air Fleet

Air Fleet is a stage in Shadow the Hedgehog.

Stage Number
Air Fleet is one of five Stage 05s.

To Reach
Air Fleet can be reached by completing the Hero mission of Central City, the Normal mission of The Doom, or the Dark mission of Sky Troops.

Story
Central City lies in ruins. The Eggman Fleet has been decimated, Black Doom has shown Shadow his past destroying one of GUN's most powerful machines. The future looks bleak for Sonic's world. High in the skies of Sonic's world, G.U.N.'s flying battleships are evacuating from Central City. At Central City, in the White House, The Commander urges the President to evacuate to a more fortified position to protect themselves from the advancing Black Arms, which the President reluctantly agrees to. Outside of the building stand Shadow and Black Doom. Black Doom orders Shadow to follow the President (which the player can choose to do or not). Shadow then skates off towards the ship where the escape pod is going. Immediately upon starting the stage, Shadow runs into Tails, who asks for Shadow's help in protecting the President's shuttle from the Black Arms boarding parties by defeating all the aliens. If Shadow chooses to side with Black Doom instead, he must destroy the shuttle, which is being conveyed on a monorail track through the ship. Shadow can switch the rails in places where the path forks, to send the pod into dangerous Arms-controlled regions of the ship, but it is generally up to the hedgehog himself to deal massive damage to the vehicle; as such, the Shadow Rifle is a good choice of weapon for this mission.

Dark
thumb|right|300px|Dark mission of Air Fleet. Destroy the President's escape pod!

Guide: Doom's Eye

Objective: Destroy the President's ship before it reaches the end.

Tips: Flip the switches to red to lead the ship into unprotected areas. It is best to attack when it is turning. Use the level's cannons and turrets when they are available.

Ranking:

Leads to: GUN Fortress

Normal
Find the Chaos Emerald!

Objective: Reach the Goal Ring.

Tips: Use Chaos Control in areas where more jumping than running is required.

Ranking:

Leads to: Black Comet

Hero
Protect the escape pod from the black creatures!

Guide: Tails

Objective: Destroy 35 Black Arms.

Tips: Always take the green path.

At each checkpoint, you should have these many Black Arms defeated:
 * Checkpoint 1: 07/35
 * Checkpoint 2: 20/35
 * Checkpoint 3: 21/35
 * Checkpoint 4: 24/35
 * Checkpoint 5: 30/35
 * Checkpoint 6: 33/35
 * Checkpoint 7: 35/35

Ranking:

Leads to: Lava Shelter

Behind the Secret Door
Behind the door is a Black Arms, Air Saucer. This now enables Shadow when mounted to grind along the electrified rails. If you grind along the rails it takes you to a secret room filled with Weapons (including a 'Shadow Crate'), extra lives and a heal unit for the vehicle. The Saucer can be used all the way through till the end of the level but will require some careful riding. A helpful tip; if you want to complete the level with the saucer or reach other electrified rails further along the level, double jump continuously when there is a steep slope to overcome.

Trivia

 * Even after the escape pod is destroyed, in the stage GUN Fortress, it appears without a single dent or scratch from the mission.
 * The player can glitch the dark mission. What you need to do is get the checkpoint before the turret near the 3 way path and keep shooting, suicide and repeat the process. The ship will increase in damage and the mission will complete faster.