Tikal (Sonic the Hedgehog character)
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Tikal is an ancient echidna in the video game Sonic Adventure (she had smaller appearances in several other Sonic games).
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Tikal lived in a city similar to that of the Maya. She has a strong relationship with the creature Chaos, apparently a water spirit. Tikal's peaceful temperament and beliefs drastically contradict that of her father's, Pachacamac's, who was fierce and warlike. Though she begged him to stop in his conquest, his greed and ambition overcame everything else.
To escape from her father's evil wishes, Tikal took refuge at the shrine which held the seven Chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald. In the waters of the fountain lived an unseen force, which seemed to protect the shrine and the Chao that lived there. Unfortunately, Pachacamac and his army got to the shrine, and, though Tikal resisted, the warrior echidnas knocked her unconcious and the Chao were killed. When the army got to the top of the temple and prepared to take the Master Emerald, Chaos, the force in the water, stopped them and, apparently, killed them (though after Tikal woke there were no bodies). Chaos then went berserk, and started attacking the rest of the world. Though the extent of its rampage is not precisely shown, it is implied to be cataclysmic. Hoping to prevent further destruction, Tikal implored the Master Emerald to use its vast powers and seal away Chaos. It did so, but at the same time, Tikal herself was sealed inside the Master Emerald as well, perhaps due to her proximity to the Master Emerald, or perhaps as a price for granting her request.
Tikal and Chaos remained inside the Master Emerald for centuries. In the "present" (the events of Sonic Adventure, Dr. Eggman broke open the Emerald, inadvertently releasing both Chaos and Tikal. Tikal accompanied and helped the heroes in Sonic Adventure as a little ball of light, and occasionally showed them flashbacks from her life, probably to uncover the mystery behind Chaos. In the end of the game, Tikal showed her true form and was distressed upon Chaos' transformation, convinced that he would 'destroy the world again'.
After Perfect Chaos was defeated, Chaos fell to the earth as Chaos Zero. Chao resurfaced and gathered to Tikal and Chaos, but they both floated up into the sky. It is unknown where they have gone, as the next time the Master Emerald was broken in Sonic Adventure 2, they did not return (aside from multiplayer mode, which may slightly clear up the plothole). In any case, Chaos was finally at peace.
Tikal is named after a ruined Mayan city, and her father shares the name of another ruined city in the Inca Empire. The pyramid in the Mystic Ruins resembles Tikal's, and the Lost World level retains aspects of Maya ruins, such as the rotating snake and the jade.