Mephiles the Dark

Mephiles the Dark is a malevolent demonic entity that serves as one of the main antagonists of the video game Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). This sinister being is, in fact the mind of the super-dimensional being known as Solaris, a god of time that was worshipped by the people of Soleanna for years. Throughout the game's events, Mephiles confronts Shadow the Hedgehog, copying his form and attempting to manipulate him while at the same time planning to reintegrate with his other half, the fiery beast Iblis.

History
Ten years before the events of Sonic '06, the Duke of the kingdom of Soleanna headed the Solaris Project, an experiment into temporal manipulation through the study of the super-dimensional phenomenon known as the Flame of Hope, or Solaris as it was otherwise known. The experiment ended in disaster and the minuscule flame that was Solaris erupted, creating two separate beings: Iblis the Flames of Disaster, and Mephiles the Dark. Before the two sinister forces could threaten anyone, they were both sealed away. Iblis was bound to the soul of Princess Elise through a Chaos Emerald and Mephiles was contained within a relic called the Scepter of Darkness.

Ten years after the failed Solaris Project, the villainous scientist Dr. Eggman established a new base of operations in Soleanna by renovating the old underwater laboratory where the Solaris Project had originally taken place. The doctor had discovered the Scepter of Darkness and was working to revive the project so that he could gain control over time itself and conquer the world. However, the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) had been monitoring Eggman's activities and had sent their operatives Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat to sabotage the doctor's evil plan. The two agents stole the Scepter of Darkness but found themselves being pursued by Eggman's robot forces. In the ensuing conflict, the Scepter was shattered and Mephiles was freed.

After dispatching Eggman's robots, Mephiles' gaseous form melded with Shadow's shadow. Mephiles took on a physical form that looked identical to Shadow and introduced himself, yet also asked if Shadow had "forgotten" him, implying that the two had previously met. In recompense for an unstated past transgression, Mephiles punished Shadow and Rouge by transporting them through time, two hundreds years into a future where the world had been laid to waste by the Flames of Disaster.

Mephiles then sought to find the Chaos Emeralds in order to bring pain and despair to Princess Elise and release the "Flames of Disaster" (a.k.a. Iblis), who had been sealed inside Elise's soul until she cried. Mephiles intended to fuse with Iblis, reuniting them into a single entity, Solaris, their original persona.

To accomplish this, he travelled to the future and told Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat that Sonic the Hedgehog was the cause of Iblis being released, which led to the destruction of their world. Therefore, Sonic was referred to as the "Iblis Trigger" by Silver and Blaze. He sent the two back in time, making them believe that killing Sonic in the present would save their future.

When encountering Shadow again, Mephiles attempted to break Shadow's will to fight and join him by revealing that in the current future, the world would turn against Shadow and imprison him in suspended animation (while keeping his hatred for Shadow a secret). Thus, he attempted to convince Shadow to join him, saying they would both get revenge on the world. However, Shadow proved immune to Mephiles' tactics, saying that he would determine his own destiny, leading to a battle between the two of them. Though Shadow took the upper-hand, Mephiles knocked him into a wall with an energy blast and incapacitated him when he lowered his guard, but E-123 Omega intervened and drove Mephiles off. Later, Omega met Mephiles again, who revealed to Omega that he was one that would imprison Shadow in the future, prompting the robot to shoot him with two mini-guns. Though stunned, Mephiles laughs and escapes from Omega before Shadow and Rouge arrive. As Shadow (along with Silver after Shadow foiled his second assassination attempt on Sonic) had travelled back into the past at that point, he learned of Mephiles' true nature (and Silver learned that Mephiles had lied about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger).

Shadow, Omega, and Rouge later meet Mephiles in a desert temple, though they are too late to stop him from getting the Chaos Emerald there. Again, Mephiles offers Shadow a chance to join him, but Shadow, knowing Mephiles' true intentions to destroy everything, flat-out refused the offer. Mephiles was fought again and lost. After his seeming defeat, however, Mephiles proved immune to being imprisoned in a new Scepter of Darkness that Shadow tried to use on him, saying that it wouldn't work on him anymore (he implies that the reason he was immune was due to his time travelling by ten years ago). Mephiles then uses two Chaos Emeralds to create an army of clones of himself. He then boasts to Shadow that he can't defeat him, and asks why he is even bothering to protect a world that will eventually turn against him. Shadow replies, "If the whole world decides to become my enemy, then I will fight like I always have!", then removes his Inhibitor Rings and destroys the entire army.

As Team Dark battle against his many clones, the real Mephiles vanishes from the temple. He manages to find another Chaos Emerald and uses it to enact his final plan to re-unite with Iblis. Shortly after Sonic and Elise have escaped Dr. Eggman's Egg Carrier, Mephiles finds them and uses the Chaos Emerald to distract them. Mephiles appears behind Sonic and projects a beam of dark energy that impales Sonic and instantly kills him. Elise, having formed a close friendship with Sonic, is distraught by his death and cries. Her despair breaks the seal binding Iblis to her soul and the Flames of Disaster are released, allowing Mephiles and Iblis to re-unite and form Solaris.

Solaris, however, is later defeated by Super Sonic, Super Shadow and Super Silver and history is changed so that the events of the game never occur, and thus Mephiles never exists.

Personality
Mephiles is a ruthless, nihilistic sadist that cares only for absolute destruction. He has demonstrated to be conniving and manipulative, willing to sink to the lowest depths in order to accomplish his goals, and enjoys inflicting pain and suffering upon others. He has also proven to be very cowardly as he usually chooses not to fight his enemies directly, instead preferring to spawn various minions to fight for him and opting to strike opponents from behind or when their guard is otherwise lowered.

Appearance
Mephiles takes on three different appearances throughout the course of Sonic '06. His base form appears to be nothing more than an amorphous mass of black fluid which can also shift into vapour.

After being released from the Scepter of Darkness, he takes on an anthropomorphic shape almost identical to Shadow's appearance, though this form has bluish-grey stripes in contrast to Shadow's red stripes, has green eyes with feline pupil slits and has no mouth.

Mephiles transforms into his third form during his first boss fight. This form resembles Shadow's appearance again, but has taken on a more jagged crystalline quality, with no visible mouth or nose and his eyes have a red sclera.

Powers and abilities

 * Invulnerability - Mephiles appears to be very durable. He has shown to be capable of swiftly recovering from any damage inflicted upon him.
 * Time Travel - Mephiles has demonstrated the ability to move between past, present and future at will.
 * Energy Projection - Mephiles can fire blasts of dark energy at his foes.
 * Minion Creation - Mephiles can create various creatures to serve his purposes, including clones of himself.
 * Transformation - Mephiles can alter his own shape, usually forming dark imitations of other characters.