IV: MARS

red red red.

"Can't he just do it himself?" Sol asked.
"No, it has to be done by a medical assistant," Dr. Panoma answered, "We need the exact amount and we need witnesses to confirm nothing was done to the blood prior."
Sol sighed in reluctance.
"He doesn't like needles..." She said.
"Nobody likes needles!" Dr. Panoma exclaimed.
Sol shook her head.
"No offense, but I think you're underestimating his reaction. He's not going to agree to this."
Dr. Panoma chuckled.
"It's cute that you think he has a say in this. He already agreed to fully participate in this study, so he will do just that." She said in an eerily serious tone. Sol locked eyes with her.
"I have my guards with me. I also have every type of drug and anesthetic with me. If he won't cooperate, we'll find a way to make him."
As much as she wanted to flip her desk over, Sol stayed anchored to her chair. Severing ties with Andromeda would not be the best course of action for the Milky Way. But knowing the deep rooted resentment Mars will hold against her if she throws him to the wolves is not any better.
"I'm not one to ask for empathy," She started, "But if you will consider how traumatizing it was for Malakai to endure that at such a young age. You may have conditioned Dakota to be pliant, but Malakai has seen the horrors of the real world. You cannot force him into trusting you. I know because I've tried." She said trying to suppress the anger rising in her voice.
"If you corner a dog, expect to get bit."

***
He thought he'd be fine. He thought that for once it would be different this time. He didn't feel anxious when he walked into the all white room with people covered head to toe in hazmat suits. He didn't even feel anxious when he sat in that dentist office looking chair. The lights were too bright so he had to close his eyes to not be blinded, but besides that he felt normal. It wasn't until one of the assistants brought out the syringe that he started to feel less normal. Their voices seemed to get quieter. The lights got brighter. He tried to close his eyes and just imagine he was anywhere else but that just made it worse. When he closed his eyes all he could see was red.
Red. Red. Red.
The ringing in his ears became drowned out by the sound of his heart beating. Everything became red.

Dr. Panoma had heard the news of course, and she was not surprised in the slightest. Dakota had been in the room with her when she received the message, so of course he wanted to  know why five more guards were being sent to the medical examination room. She looked at him pitifully.
"You should be so grateful you're the good one. If you were to act anything like he did today, I'll make you wish you could die." She responded stoically.
Dakota was dumbstruck with her chilling words, unable to respond. Then she started laughing, which made him all the more scared.
"Oh Dakota I'm JOKING! Gosh, you really don't pick up on sarcasm. You'll get a hang of playful banter with time."
Dakota sighed of relief and gave an uncomfortable smile.
"But seriously, is he going to be okay?" He asked.
"Don't worry about him, he's just a dog scared of going to the vet."