Spy Guy: Happy Angst day ya'll. This was the first oneshot that I wrote for it, and...I don't really like it. It wasn't good at allr ealyl, but I wrote it, and...ran out of time. It'll have to do sorry if Vlad's being too much of a creeper. Hope some people like it.

His room was perfect…recreated especially for him down to every last detail. He could sleep in his bed amongst his familiar sheets, or sit at his desk while he studied obsessively, trying to numb his mind from the pain. As long as he stayed in the confines of his room, he was surrounded by things that reminded him of his home, his life…and his family. He wanted to stay within its walls forever, forgetting what awaited him outside…

But he would never let him.

"Daniel?" His voice called from the other side of the door. "Have you calmed down yet?"

"No, Vlad." The boy growled, turning his leather office chair to face the entrance. "I won't do what you want. You can forget it."

Danny crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest, listening as Vlad unlocked the deadbolt that kept the young halfa prisoner. The door creaked open, and Vlad strode angrily inside, his dress shoes making dull tapping sounds on the wooden floor.

"You are not allowed to speak to me that way." The man snarled, his hands fisted at his sides. "You forget who is master here. This entire place is my lair, and I can change it to fit what is required of it."

To prove his point, Vlad waved his hand sharply through the air, erasing the comforting familiarity of the boy's room and replacing it with cold white walls. Iron chains burst from the blankness, their manacled ends snapping at the young halfa like angry vipers. Danny screamed as the links encircled his body, their cold, rusted surfaces digging unmercifully into his skin.

"This place can be either heaven or hell for you, Daniel." The man snarled beneath his breath. "It is entirely your choice. If you decide not to become my son, then I will lock you away in this place forever."

"I want to go back to Earth!" Danny cried, gagging as a chain encircled his throat. "I want to join the resistance!"

"Of course you do." Vlad spat, clenching his fingers into a fist, smiling smugly as the chains tightened further around the boy's throat. "You obviously want to die, Daniel. If you leave this place, you will be killed. If you even make it as far as the human world, the guardswillsimply cut you down the instant you breach the portal. Here, you're under my protection, kept alive and away from the humans and ghosts that seek to use you. To your friends and family you are only an object…a tool…a weapon. Something that can even the odds against the dead that have subjugated them. Here, you can be my equal. We can chose our battles. You and I shall be father and son, rich beyond our wildest dreams, highly sought after, and treated like dignitaries. Think of all we can be, my Little Badger. Just think, for once in your life!"

"I don't care about any of that!" Danny choked, his painfully thin fingers attempting to pull the chains from around his neck. "Please Vlad. Leave me alone!"

He hated the sound of his voice as he begged his archenemy for freedom. The boy desperately needed to see his family…more than anything. The memory of their surprised faces as the ghosts poured from their basement was the last he had of them. They could be anywhere in the human world now…

They could be dead…

The chains loosened slightly, allowing Danny's weakened body to collapse, forcing him to kneel amongst the iron links. He felt a tear run slowly down his cheek, and moved to wipe it away, only to have his arm stopped short by one of his restraints. Frustrated and scared, Danny let out a pitiful sob, biting his lip until he could taste blood. The pain in his lip was pain he could control. He had caused it, and it overrode some of what he felt in his neck and in his arms.

"I hate seeing you like this, Daniel." Vlad cooed, kneeling by the boy's side, concern etched on his wrinkled face. For a moment, the chains pulled tight again, dragging the boy to his feet, encircling his limbs in a vice-like grip. Then, they released, drawing themselves back into the white walls. Danny's knees buckled, and Vlad's arms caught him as he fell, gently cradling the boy's limp body. Slowly the room around them faded back to what it had been, once more filled with comforting familiarity.

"If only I could have held you when you were a child, Daniel." The man whispered softly, stroking the boy's head in a fatherly manner. "The stories I would have told you, all about the ghost zone, and how someday, you would join me there. Well, here we are, my son. You never heard my stories, but we made it here anyway. We're both halfas…powerful creatures who inspire fear in humans, because of our powers, and reverence from ghosts, because of our beating hearts. Someday, you'll understand, little badger. Then, we will truly be father and son…"

The man carefully set the young halfa down on his bed, and quietly left the room…