The sherbet orange echidna looked at Sonic cautiously, hands removed from her hood so that she could hold them in front of herself, palms facing calmly outwards at him. Her blue eyes looked appealingly at him, but somehow also remained calming.
"Yes, I know that this might be a bit of a shock to you, but please do not be alarmed."
"Well, considering that you're here, and you shouldn't be, I have to think there's something wrong going on," Sonic insisted, scratching his head through his quills.
"I understand, but I ask you again not to be alarmed. I know that it must be strange to see an echidna, when there should only be one left in the world, but please, I need you to look past that and listen to me." Sonic now looked at her with a touch of confusion.
"Wait... you think I'm confused because you're an echid-"
"Please, allow me to explain myself before you say anything else," the echidna girl urged him, cutting off his question. "I can't tell you much, but I will let you know what I can. My name is Tikal and, strange as it may seem to you, I am not from your time." Now Sonic was more confounded than ever. Of course he knew who Tikal was, and the fact that she wasn't from the present was just as well known to him, she had helped himself and his friends when they had needed to defeat that Chaos monster. So why was she talking to him as if they were strangers who had never met before? "I have come here because I have a warning to give to you. Someone from my time is going to come here, someone very powerful and dangerous who could, if left unchallenged, could bring ruin to your world and catastrophe to the timeline."
"...That so?" Sonic asked slowly, crossing over his chest. He had had his own share of time-travel adventures, not to mention traveling across parallel universes to different planets, and perhaps a few space-trips and being sucked into storybooks. This sort of 'threat from the past' plot didn't surprise him.
"Yes. He is a madman who goes by the name 'Kintobor'. His creations are the most advanced that have ever been built and he plans to use them to cause havoc here in your time. He must be stopped before he can. He plans to be here to try and conquer this place in about 1 week from now in your time. You must gather up all of the Chaos Emeralds, and your friends, so that you can be prepared for his arrival. If you can do this just right, then you might manage to fend him off and send him back to where he belongs with just one battle."
Sonic eyed the echidna girl warily. He didn't know what it was, but something about her was really making her off this time around. Talking like she didn't already know him. Talking about future events even through she was from the past. She might have been a spirit housed inside of the largest and most powerful energy source in all of their world, but this seemed a bit too off for his own tastes.
But, then again, it wasn't like the blue speedster to brush off the challenge of saving the world from yet another danger.
"Sounds like a blast. You can count me in, Tikal. I'll make sure that this 'Kintobor' guy is taken care of," he grinned, jabbing his own thumb towards his chest as a sign of his resolve to defeat the new threat to the planet. Tikal smiled slightly, a bit of calm seeming to come over her previously-tense figure.
"Thank you, Sonic. I am certain that, with you and your friends in the fight, there is no way that Kintobor will succeed." The blue hedgehog winked at her cockily.
"Of course not. No evil guy off his rocker is gonna get the best of this hedgehog," he smirked. "I'll just pop off and gather up the guys, and then let them hear what you have to-"
"No!" He was so surprised by Tikal's sudden outburst that he stopped mid-step, his foot hanging in the air as he looked at her with wide eyes. "Sonic, please, whatever it is that you do, you cannot let your friends know that I am here."
"...But why?" Sonic asked, putting his foot down and looking directly at her again. "I'm sure the guys will be pleased to see you, and Knuckles will-"
"Most especially you can't tell Knuckles!" Tikal emphasized, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. "Sonic, I have already taken a risk in coming here to give you this warning; my very presence in this time could cause a butterfly effect on the future should I take even a single step out of place. I will help you in the battle against Kintobor in whatever way I can, but if at all possible, I have to try to not be seen by anyone else. There could be great consequences if someone else were to see me. For the sake of time's proper flow, I'm begging you not to tell anyone else about me, Sonic."
"...Well, if you say so, Tikal," Sonic finally sighed, scratching his head.
"Thank you, Sonic," the echidna female sighed with relief. "I apologize for all of the trouble you will have to go through for this, but I promise you it isn't without reason. Should Robotnik be allowed to interfere unchecked, the consequences could be absolutely devastating." Sonic nodded as he placed a hand against his hip.
"Makes sense," he agreed. "Alright, so, I've gotta gather up the gang, collect the Chaos Emeralds, and beat the evil out of this Kintobor guy. All without letting anyone know you're here unless it's absolutely necessary." He grinned. "It'll be a breeze."
"Right. I have the utmost faith in you, Sonic. I know that you won't let me, or your time, down." Tikal sighed and brushed back a few of her dreadlocks. "Well, if we have all of that settled, then I suppose I'd better be off. I have other things to prepare if we want to be certain that Kintobor will be defeated in one fell swoop."
Tikal reached down the front of her hooded robe, and pulled out an all too familiar red gem. Noticing the look on Sonic's face, she smiled reassuringly at him.
"Oh, please don't worry. This Chaos Emerald is from my time, not yours. You'll be able to find this emerald on your own in your world." She gripped the red emerald in her hand, and waved at Sonic. "I will see you again in about a week's time, Sonic. Until then, I wish you luck." There was a brief moment of blinding light, and then Tikal was gone. Sonic stared at the spot that she had disappeared from for a moment before turning from it and smirking. It had been almost seven months since their last battles against he Metarex. And he wasn't about to back down from a brand new challenge.
"Welp, guess I'd better start rounding up the gang."