Chapter 7: A Nightmare Never Forgotten

-Saturday, Mina's Mansion, 2:30AM-

Dlawso is seen tossing and turning in his sleep.

-Dlawso's Dream-

Dlawso's mom frowned. "Any reason as to why you can explain this?" His mom showed him a school paper with a grade of "A-".

Dlawso raised an eyebrow. "There's no need to explain anything. The grade is clearly an A." The seven-year-old just wanted to get back to playing Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube.

Dlawso's mom wouldn't buy it. "DO YOU REALLY THINK I CAN ACCEPT AN A-?!"

Dlawso got scared, tears beginning to shed from his eyes. "Mom, why must you always act like this?! Why do you think an A- isn't a good grade when it clearly is?"

Dlawso's mom didn't budge. "YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE SO DONE!" She stormed into Dlawso's bedroom with a hammer in hand.

Dlawso started having a nervous breakdown. "MOM... DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"

Dlawso's mom spoke like a predator attacking its prey. "I WISH I NEVER ADOPTED YOU!"

When she said that, Dlawso instantly went numb. He felt like he wasn't in control of himself, like a puppet on strings. Dlawso just fell to the ground and wept, thinking that everything about him had been a lie.

Dlawso's mom smashed the GameCube into pieces with the hammer, which only made Dlawso angry. He tried to get the hammer out of his mom's hand, but she hit him hard with a slap across the face. Dlawso landed beside his bedroom wall, his tears mixing with the blood from the blow.

His mom didn't care that he was just laying there. Not one bit. She just left the room and left him there, possibly to die.

When Dlawso woke up, he realized that his mom was sleeping, so he had to run for it. He didn't want to be under her control anymore.

Luckily, his bedroom window was only a few feet from the ground, so he opened it up and climbed through to the outside. Using only the moonlight to guide him, he ran as fast as he could away from his mom's house.

After a few days and nights, Dlawso started feeling lost and hungry. That was, until one night, when he saw Central City off in the distance. He figured that would be his new home.

Or so he thought.

Upon stepping foot into Central City, he felt lost again, and his stomach was rumbling from the hunger. He tried to get anything to curb it, but no one would listen to his pleas. Or his cries for help. It felt like nobody had cared for him.

It was at that point that he had to learn to take care of himself.

He did just that for the next ten years.

Then, everything changed when the war broke out.

People were running and running as the Eggman Army began attacking the city. Dlawso couldn't think of anything but to just run and hide. When he hid, he was shaking in fear, crying in order to get some sleep. When he ran, he couldn't think of anything else but to run to a different hiding place.

One day, however, his plan for running and hiding failed. Infinite had found him hiding under some rubble. "Well, well, well, if is isn't another child in fear."

Dlawso felt like he couldn't move. That his life was over. That his demons have overpowered him. He couldn't think of doing anything else but to cry for help.

Infinite grinned as he slowly and methodically walked toward him. "But nobody came... and nobody's going to stop me."

Dlawso could only cry as Infinite prepared to stab him in the neck with his sword.

Infinite grinned again, this time extending up to the edge of his face. "Now it's time to end another soulless life." He didn't hesitate as he was inches away from his neck in one single thrust.

-Back Into Reality-

Dlawso woke up with a fright in Mina's bedroom. "AAAHHH!"

Beads of sweat were running down Dlawso's face, and he was panting heavily. Although he realized that it was a dream, even though all of it actually happened, his lavulite purple eyes were full of fear.

Dlawso started to feel something weird in his stomach, and it rapidly went up to his throat. Acting quickly, he ran into the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. About a minute later, the vomiting stopped. Dlawso flushed away the yucky stuff and drank some water. He left the bathroom soon after and just sat on the edge of the bed with the lamp on, breathing deeply and just thinking about the dream.

Dlawso felt empty. "Why did I dream about that? Why was I dreaming about something that actually happened?"

He heard a soft moan. "Dlawso?" He turned around to see Mina, half-awake.

Dlawso smiled weakly. "Hey, my love."

Mina could smell his breath instantly. "Did you throw up?"

Dlawso nodded. Mina sat up instantly and checked his head for heat. "Dlawso! Are you okay?"

Dlawso nodded again. "No worries. I'm fine. I think it's just a habit of mine every time I wake up from a bad dream."

Mina raised an eyebrow. "A... bad dream?"

Dlawso nodded. "Yeah... about my life in the past, basically."

Mina felt surprised. "Wow... What was it like?"

Dlawso choked a little. "W-Well... my parents died... both of them... and I never got to see them..." Saying that felt like a stab in the back for both of them. "I was told by doctors when I was seven that my mom had died from giving birth to me... and my dad died from a drug overdose the same day as my mom because he wanted to be with her..."

Mina was surprised. "My god..."

Dlawso continued. "I was adopted by someone a few days after I was born. It wasn't until I started grade school that she started becoming very strict on me. She always wanted me to do chores around the house, even if there was nothing to do. I had very little time with friends because of her. One day, out of the blue, she snapped at me and destroyed my GameCube. I tried to stop her but she slapped me across the face. Hard."

Here, Dlawso took a deep breath, and then continued. "I couldn't be under her control anymore, so I ran and ran. I didn't care about where I went. I just wanted to get away from her. Eventually, I found myself in Central City, but no one cared for me. I was an only child, just homeless, lost, and afraid, but I managed. For ten whole years I managed. When the war broke out, again, all I could think about was running and hiding. That was, until Infinite found me and proceeded to stab me in the neck."

Mina had tears forming in her eyes. "Oh my goodness...Dlawso...I'm so sorry..."

Dlawso was quivering. "D-d-d-don't be...its okay..."

Mina frowned. "No it isn't...you could've died...you started taking care of yourself at seven years old!"

Dlawso sighed. "Well, there was virtually no help regarding food. I was an only child, so I basically just found scraps in garbage bins, and lucky me, I'm still here today."

Here, the two engaged in a warm, gentle hug. Despite both of them being naked, the fact that they were didn't really bother them all that much. Dlawso tried his best to hold back tears, but he couldn't help but let out a few.

Mina felt concerned. "It's okay to cry, Dlawso." Dlawso puckered his lip to prevent him from sobbing, but he couldn't take it anymore. He hugged Mina tightly as he cried his life out.

Dlawso admitted with a squeaky voice. "I just can't accept that my parents never loved me. All because I'm just a sham! A useless idiot of a person! A person that doesn't deserve to live in a world that can't understand me!"

Mina muttered. "Don't say that...I know that you've had some troubles... but please, don't die...A lot of people here love you."

Dlawso sniffed. "That's the point. My life will be completely ruined if one of my friends die...especially you Mina. I'd practically take my own life if you died...I don't want to be with anyone else but you...you make my life complete with your beautiful hair...your sweet kisses...that perfect hourglass body...I love you so much."

Here, the two leaned in for a kiss, their tongues attacking each other as Dlawso did his absolute best to calm down. After a few minutes, the kiss breaks. Mina puts a pillow on her lap and Dlawso puts his head on it, letting out all of his tears, sobs and sniffles. Mina was gently stroking his ears, but when that didn't work, she began to sing, specifically "Ashes" by Celine Dion.

Mina's soft singing voice was enough to calm Dlawso down. His crying stopped and his breathing slowed as she sang. When she finished, she saw that Dlawso had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. Mina cuddles as close to him as possible, and she too, falls back to sleep.

-Mina's Mansion, 9:00AM-

Mina was the first to wake up, still laying in bed. When she realized that Dlawso wasn't beside her, however, she sat up instantly. "Dlawso?"

There was no response. She tried again, only a little louder. "Dlawso, where are you?"

Dlawso calls from below. "I'm downstairs, Mina. I'll be up there in a bit."

Mina sighed with relief, but she was wondering why he was downstairs this whole time. After a few minutes, there is a knock at the door. "Mina, can I come in?"

Mina nodded. "Of course."

Dlawso opens the door with a tray in hand. Mina is surprised at what was on it. There was a glass of orange juice, a few fig bars, yogurt, a protein shake, and a few waffles (lightly buttered). He sat down the tray on Mina's lap, went out and back to get his tray, and then rejoined Mina in bed.

Dlawso spoke. "I figured I'd do this as an apology for waking you up so early."

Mina chuckled. "Aww, Dlawso. You shouldn't have."

Dlawso chuckled. "I insist."

The two sat together in bed, eating breakfast and watching TV. A breaking news report managed to catch their eye.

Breaking news from the Station Square Courthouse. Ash Mongoose, Mina Mongoose's former manager and bodyguard, has pleaded guilty to charges of assault and attempted sexual assault. The charges stemmed from an incident in which he, Mina, and her new bodyguard, Dlawso the Rabbit had a confrontation in Mina's dressing room which spilled into Twinkle Park. As for Ash, his guilty plea means that he will be sentenced to twenty years in federal prison without parole.

Dlawso breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank FUCK he's gonna rot in prison for what he did."

Mina nodded. "I'm just happy that he's no longer part of our lives anymore."

Dlawso then noticed the mail truck out of the corner of his eye. "Well, the mail's here." He hopped off the bed and put on a silk garnet robe. "I'll be back in a bit."

Dlawso went downstairs and outside to the main gate. Getting the mail from the two-way mailbox, he brought it inside and scanned through the envelopes. "OK, fan letters, power bill, shopping ads... huh, what's this?" There was a letter addressed to Dlawso from the Station Square Police Department. Opening it and reading the letter, what was on it made him scream. "MINA?! MINA!"

Mina was downstairs beside him almost instantly, wearing a regular pink robe. "What is it, sweetie?"

The coal rabbit, visibly shaken, gives Mina the letter. Frowning, Mina reads the letter. It says: 'I may be in prison, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to attack you again. Trust me, you'll see when I have Mina all to myself pretty soon, and YOU will be the one that has a lonely and depressing life, just like you were before you met her!'

Putting the letter on the table, Mina motions to the helicopter. "Dlawso, get everything you need from your house and bring it here. From now on, you're staying at my place!"

Dlawso nodded. "On it!" He ran upstairs, quickly changed into a gray short sleeve shirt and shorts, then ran downstairs and outside onto the helicopter. After six minutes, the helicopter landed just outside his house, and he ran inside, packing his clothes, electronics, and other necessary amenities into several suitcases. After 10 minutes of that, he ran back to the helicopter with suitcases in tow and was flown back to Mina's mansion. Dlawso brought the suitcases into the living room and flopped on the couch, his hands covering his head.

Mina wraps her arms around Dlawso. "What's wrong, Dlawso?"

The coal rabbit sighed. "It's Ash. I know he's in prison and all, but I feel... worried, like he'll escape and try to come after you or me."

Mina turns Dlawso's head to her, his lavulite purple eyes meeting Mina's green emerald eyes. "I know you'll be there to protect me, Dlawso."

Dlawso smiles. "Forever and always, Mina Mongoose."

Here, the two engage in a gentle kiss on the lips and wrap their arms around each other, holding each other close. After a few minutes, the kiss is broken, and the two snuggle together watching TV.