Dark Eel

"These serpentine sneaks dwell in the cracks in the walls and floor, and fire energy bullets from their mouths."

- Description, Sonic Unleashed

The Dark Eel is a type of Dark Gaia's Minions that appears in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed. They reside in cracks and can suddenly pop out of the ground to attack any intruder. They only appear during the game's nighttime stages.

Overview
The Dark Eels and the rest of Dark Gaia's Minions came into being when Dark Gaia broke apart in the beginning of Sonic Unleashed due to its premature awakening by Dr. Eggman. These fragments were then spread across the Earth and became Dark Gaia's Minions, with the Dark Eels some amongst them. They only appear in Arid Sands Night Act 1.

In gameplay, the Dark Eels appear before the player in order to attack him/her by emerging from the ground. When they are about to emerge from the ground, purple smoke will emit from their entry point.

The Dark Eels are not one of the strongest of Dark Gaia's Minions, but they have above average defenses that will severely reduce the damage dealt by Sonic the Werehog and leave them less prone to flinching. However, like the Evil Flowers, the Dark Eels are stationary and cannot move from their position in order to avoid damage.

Upon the reconstruction of Dark Gaia by Dr. Eggman, all of the Dark Eels 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 Eels mostly resemble a cross between a serpent and a larva. They are several meters long with a large and wide head, with a set of horns on the sides of their head and one on their forehead. They also have neon blue skin with glowing, purple markings and they emit purple smoke.

Behavior
The Dark Eels tend to reside inside cracks in the walls or on the ground, where they make their nests. They are fiercely territorial and will get outraged and attack anyone who gets too close to their nests.

Powers and Abilities
As a Dark Gaia minion, the Dark Eels 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 Eels have sufficient burrowing skills, enough to let them burrow entire nests underground, even through solid rock.

The Dark Eels possess limited energy manipulation, allowing them to fire hazardous pink energy balls from their mouth and can fire up to three energy balls at once.

Attacks Patterns
When the player is out of the Dark Eels' physical range, they will attack by shooting three energy balls simultaneously at the player, thus covering a larger attack area. These shots, however, are slow and can only travel in straight lines, and they are easy to avoid or guard against. If the player is close to them, however, the will attack by slamming their bodies down on the player.

Trivia

 * In contrast to popular belief, the snake creatures that appear during the boss battle with Dark Moray are not Dark Eels.
 * Since the Dark Eels reside in cracks with water, the player can throw a Thunder Ball into such puddles in order to electrocute the Dark Eels and take a good chunk of their health.