Dark Gaia's Minions

Dark Gaia's Minions (ダークガイアのしもべ,Dāku Gaia no Shimobe?) are creatures that appear in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They were the energy fragments of Dark Gaia, having gained physical form and life of their own after its premature awakening caused it to disperse across the earth.

## Description

### Anatomy

Completely composed of Dark Gaia's energy, the members of Dark Gaia's Minions are very diverse in terms of anatomy, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes. The majority of them take the appearance of animals, with the bulk of them resembling humanoid chameleons with horns and spikes, while others look like large bees, sphere-shaped bats, giant horned eels, and small bulldog-like dinosaurs. Others look like phantom-like wizards, towering cyclops, blobby humanoids and even plants. Physical characteristics Dark Gaia's Minions share are usually freakishly appearances, blackish blue skin, and glowing body markings in different neon colors. Stronger variants of them however have neon red skin.

### Characteristics and culture

Dark Gaia's Minions lack any traits of sapience and operate solely on an innate desire to cause destruction, despair and harm to others. This makes them very hostile and aggressive, as they will attack everyone nearby. They are also naturally compelled to cause psychological problems and erratic in other beings by possessing them. Most of Dark Gaia's Minions are simple and animalistic in nature, only giving of growls and roars and possessing just enough intelligence to fight effectively or carry out their goals. There are those among Dark Gaia's Minions which are born with exceptionally high intelligence however, which lets them take on more humanoid forms. As the night and darkness are their element, Dark Gaia's Minions are exclusively nocturnal creatures and cannot stand sharp sources of light. How Dark Gaia's Minions are created differs between each type. Usually, a minions is created when Dark Gaia's energy comes in contact with negative emotion, with the type of Dark Gaia's Minions depending on the emotion. In other cases, Dark Gaia's Minions can be the environment or flora that has been mutated by Dark Gaia's energy. For many of Dark Gaia's Minions, there exists a stronger and tougher version of it, such as the Dark Fright and the Red Fright. These member are usually born from stronger forces and can be recognized by their neon red skin and cyan markings.

## Powers and Abilities

Dark Gaia's Minions possess a diversity of powers, with each variant possessing their own specific powers. This can include elastic limbs, flight, reproduction, or even energy projection for power argumentation or devastating attacks. Humanoid minions, such as the Nightmare variant, the Master variant and the Titans, have noticeable skills in ruthless hand-to-hand combat, while more animal-like members simply attack by biting or stinging.
The level of physical abilities between Dark Gaia's Minions depends on their rank; the bigger and/or more monstrous the Dark Gaia Minion, the more powerful it is. The most powerful members tend to have superhuman powers, such as super strength, super speed and other abilities.
A common power amongst Dark Gaia's Minions is their ability to terrorize humans on a psychological level by possessing them. By latching onto the deepest, darkest part of the heart, the minions can generate despair, negative emotions or even erratic behavior that are completely opposite to a person's personality. As an example, the normally jolly Ice Cream Vendor would get a nervous breakdown during nighttime due to the minions. People that are possessed by Dark Gaia's Minions have small purple clouds emitting from them. Each of Dark Gaia's Minions can also teleport to other locations in a puff of purple smoke or emerge from black puddles on the ground. When Dark Gaia's Minions are defeated in battle, they dissolve back into energy form.
Dark Gaia's Minions have certain unique weaknesses. They cannot handle sharp sources of light which tend to weaken them or at least disrupt their powers. As such, they can be exorcised with the light from the blitz of a camera. Also, if a person is strong-willed enough, the psychological-changing effects from Dark Gaia's energies are nullified.

## Role in Sora’s Adventures

The minions of Dark Gaia appeared in Sora and Friends Unleashed and Maleficent team up with Dark Gaia.