Shadow woke up to find himself lying in a warm, soft bed. His body was somewhat in pain, but not as much as he had anticipated it to be. He didn't know what had happened to him until memories started to flood back into his mind. His promise to Maria, the fight with the BioLizard, and finally teaming up with Sonic to defeat it before it had a chance to land on Earth and destroy the planet. The last thing he could remember was the bright red flash accompanied with the feeling of going through an indefinite fall before landing on a lush green patch of earth. "I must have mastered the Chaos Control so completely that it's practically instinct", he thought.
Studying his new and unfamiliar surroundings, he realized that he was in a wooden cottage of some sort, which apparently was kept very tidy. He also noticed the array of flowers that decorated the room with both their appearance and fragrance. The black hedgehog was reaching over towards a red rose when a new yet friendly-looking face opened the door.
"I'm glad you're finally awake", said the stranger in her usual thoughtful tone. The warm aroma of something delicious struck the hedgehog with a hunger that he had not felt for a long time. The stranger smiled as she noticed how hungry her guest looked. "I thought you'd be hungry after sleeping in so long", she said while placing a platter on the table next to the bed. "But I want to check those wounds of yours first", pointing to the bandages around Shadow's torso. She almost jumped back in surprise when she noticed that they had healed completely. "No one can heal that fast in a week!" she gasped. Shadow looked down towards his undone bandages and remembered that using the Chaos Control had landed him in a really high part of a tree. His weight had broken the branch he had been standing on and he fell all the way down, getting scratched and bruised by leaves, more branches, and an occasional Charmy nest on the way.
He looked up at her and gave his signature smile. "I'm a fast healer", he said softly. "But…but it doesn't make sense. Even with my special herbs, you couldn't have healed so quickly", she stuttered back. She then proceeded to touch the fur where the wounds had once been present, only to have a dry hand instead. "Don't worry about it now", Shadow said reassuringly. "I'm just a really fast healer. Let's just leave it at that." He then realized that he hadn't properly acquainted himself to this kind stranger. "I didn't even ask you what your name was when you first walked in. Mine is…Shadow."
The stranger, a tan brown hedgehog who had green highlights on her quills, perked up. "My name is Sara. And you're welcome. The first and last thing you said to me was 'Thank you'."