Military complexes are not the most exciting thing in the world. They do manage to attract tourists, however, no matter how many times guards tell them to stay off the property.

Fort Burbank, in many ways, wasn't your typical underground base, but it also was, relatively speaking. Since the turn of the millennium, the interior was updated to look modern and the technology was upgraded to look better than ever before.

Giving the guards permission to open the giant double-doors was Ivan Jacobson. He was medium-sized, stocky, and half-balding. He wore a pink suit and tie, and blue dress pants.

Let's just say that the man was a complete tyrant. The only reason he created Fort Burbank was to avenge his wife. That's right, she was killed by toons. Before then, Ivan didn't have a problem with them. He thought they were unique. But ever since the tragedy, he had grown to despise them with his every last will.

When Ivan entered the building, his workers immediately stopped what they were doing. They initially thought they were in trouble.

"No need to be alarmed, fellas, it's just me. Keep on doing your jobs." Ivan said, raising his hand up.

The workers went back to doing their various work. Ivan walked past the rooms where Dot, Newt, Bobby, Pesto, Squit, Slappy, Skippy, Dr. Scratchansniff, Hello Nurse, and Mr. Plotz were held in. All of them had to wear hospital-type clothes like scrubs. Needless to say, not a single one of them was happy.

Ivan unlocked the door to his office, opened it, and entered. He also turned on the light switch. When he sat down at his desk, he looked at picture of him and his late wife smiling happily together.

[Flashback to six years ago]

Ivan and his wife were eating dinner at a fine dining restaurant. They were both rich, so they could afford it.

"I would like to point out how absolutely stunning you look in that dress." Ivan said, dialing the charm factor up to eleven.

"Oh, Ivan, you just know how to make a woman feel happy. Besides, you don't look so bad yourself." the wife said with a smile.

"Aw, shucks, Nancy! That's quite nice of you to say!" Ivan said, also smiling.

After Ivan and Nancy finished eating their dinner, the former whistled for the waiter to bring them the check.

"Here's your check, sir." The waiter said.

"Thank you, my good man." Ivan said.

The waiter walked away. Ivan opened the holder and took a good look at the receipt.

"Same price as last time. This place never disappoints." Ivan said.

"Why don't I pay this time? It doesn't hurt to mix things up once and awhile." Nancy said.

"But I always pay." Ivan said.

"True, but keep in mind that I'm just as rich as you, so it only seems fair." Nancy said.

Ivan relented. "Alright, honey. Your call."

Nancy grabbed her purse and pulled out her credit card. The husband and wife duo then got up and went over to the podium to pay.

"Did you find everything okay?" The maitre'd asked.

"Ah yes, the food was delightful!" Nancy said.

"As per usual." Ivan said.

The maitre'd took the checkbook as well as the credit card, swiped it, and handed it back.

"You're all set! Have a nice rest of your evening!" he said.

"Thank you, you too." Ivan said.

"Buh-bye." Nancy said.

Ivan and Nancy left the restaurant and started walking to their car. Not long after, the former stopped dead in his tracks.

"Damn it!" Ivan complained.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.

"I accidentally left the car keys in the restaurant. I'm gonna go back and get them real quick." Ivan said.

"Okay, honey. I'll be waiting right here in this spot." Nancy said.

Ivan smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Nancy said.

Ivan and Nancy shared a kiss. Then, the former began walking, only to stop when hearing the sounds of loud gunshots. He ran over to his wife, who was laying on the pavement dead. Blood was spilling out of her that it practically became a pool.

"Honey! Honey! Honey, stay with me! You gotta stay with me! Stay with me! Stay with me, please! Please!" Ivan said while crying. He had Nancy cradled in his arms.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ivan screamed to the sky.

[Present]

Ivan set the picture down. Tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his face.

"It's not fair!" Ivan yelled while he slammed his fist on his desk.

Not wanting to cry any longer (after all, he cried countless times after his wife's death), Ivan wiped his cheeks and sniffled.

Outside the complex, a black Chevrolet Camaro pulled up. Getting out of the car was a woman with dark hair presumably in her early 30s.

"Sorry, ma'am, this area's restricted." One of the guards said.

"I'm here to see my father." The woman said.

The guards gave a nod of approval and opened the double-doors.

"You can go right in, ma'am." The other guard said.

"Thank you." The woman said with a smile. She entered the building.

Heading directly to Ivan's office, the woman walked past the rooms where Dot, Newt, Bobby, Pesto, Squit, Slappy, Skippy, Dr. Scratchansniff, Hello Nurse, and Mr. Plotz were in. She looked at them with worry and concern.

"Is there a problem, toots?" Slappy asked, looking at the woman dead in her eyes.

"Oh! Uh, no, there's no problem at all." The woman said, giving a nervous laugh.

"Let's keep it that way." Slappy said.

The woman just nodded. She looked afraid, as if Slappy wanted to kill her.

Ivan was staring into space before hearing a knock on his office door.

"Who is it?" Ivan asked.

"It's Maya. Can I come in?" Maya asked from the other side.

Debating on whether or not to speak with his daughter, Ivan gave in. "Come on in!"

Maya opened the door gently and walked in. "Hi."

"Hello, Maya. It's rather unexpected to see you." Ivan said.

"Well, me and you haven't talked in a little while, so I thought I'd drop by." Maya said. She gave an unassuming smile.

"Frankly, I'm glad you came. You're all I've got after Mom passed away." Ivan said.

Not wanting to get sentimental, Maya quickly changed the subject. "So, uh, how have you been lately?"

"Eh, I'm doing alright, I guess. How about you?" Ivan asked.

"I'm good! My job's been weighing me down, but that's to be expected." Maya said.

"Right. For me, it's the exact opposite. Everything could never be better, work-wise anyway." Ivan said.

Maya looked down at her shoes before getting straight the point. "I'm gonna cut the chase. Dad, what your doing is wrong."

Ivan narrowed his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I get it, Mom died at the hands of toons, but that's no reason to capture them and keep them locked up in this place!" Maya said.

"Their species are going to pay for what they did to my wife, your mother, one way or another! I can't live with myself knowing how dangerous they are!" Ivan said.

"Dangerous? Dad, they're just trying to find their place in the world! Can't you understand that?! Just because a small number of toons murders an innocent person doesn't mean that ALL toons are murderers!" Maya said.

"You're lying!" Ivan yelled, his voice getting louder.

Maya flinched at her father's inflection. She was disheartened.

Ivan leaned back in his chair. "Why did you even bother to come here?"

"Because you're my father, and I love you. It's the only reason I could forgive you for this." Maya said.

"I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just want you to understand. You're my only daughter, I can't afford to lose you like I did Nancy. It's too much." Ivan said.

"I'll never understand, Dad. Ever since Mom died, you transformed into a totally different person." Maya said.

Ivan started to get angry. "Do you want to know why the police hasn't come and thrown me behind bars, Maya? Because I've stayed away from people like you! People who interfere with personal business and get away with it! Well, newsflash, you're not getting away with it this time!"

"How could you say that to me?" Maya asked, her voice breaking.

"Sometimes I'm ashamed to call you my daughter." Ivan said.

"Well then, if that's you really feel, then don't even bother!" Maya said with tears in her eyes. She stormed out of the office and slammed the door in anger.

Realizing what he has done, Ivan put his hand over his eyes.

Still angry, Maya marched out of Fort Burbank and into her car. "Ashamed to call me his daughter?! WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?!"

Maya started up the car and drove away. It was going at a fast speed, as people often drove cars fast when they're outraged.

Back at FB, Ivan, feeling remorse and guilt over what just happened, picked up his phone and called his daughter. When she didn't answer and it went straight to voicemail, a message was left.

"Maya, if you get this message, just know that I'm sorry for everything. I didn't want it to happen this way, honestly. It isn't your fault, it's mine. Call me back, okay? I love you."

Ivan hung up the phone and sighed.

Meanwhile, Maya, still driving pretty fast, mind you, was venting to herself.

"Maybe I should just cut him out of my life for good."

A police officer happened to be sitting on the hood of his car when he noticed that a black Chevrolet Camaro zipped by. The radar gun showed it was going ten miles over the speed limit.

"Great, another one." The officer said. He got into his car, turned on the sirens, started it up, and drove to follow the Camaro.

Hearing the sirens from behind, Maya muttered, "Aw, crap!" and stopped the car.

The officer stopped his car and got out of it. He went over to the Camaro and tapped lightly on the windshield.

Maya rolled down her windshield and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi. Do you realize you were speeding?" The officer asked.

"Not at first, but I do now. I'm sorry, officer. I just got done visiting my father and that put me under a lot of stress. I promise it won't happen again." Maya said.

"Not after I give you a ticket it won't." The officer said. He wrote a speeding ticket and handed it to a disappointed Maya. "Pay it as soon as possible. If this happens again, it's jail time for you, ma'am."

"Just when I thought this day couldn't get any shittier." Maya said with a sigh.

"You sound like my co-workers. Have a nice rest of your day." The officer said, and walked back to his car.

Maya rolled up her windshield and drove further. When she made it home, she looked at her phone and saw a text from her father that read, "Call me back when you get the chance please".

"I'm not so sure about that, Dad." Maya said rather soft-spoken like.