Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim.
"Hey! Come back here young man!" A young child rounds a corner, and squeals in delight from the chase, his feet propelling him forward on the deep red carpet. His shoes were removed after his last capture, where he received the ultimate torture: tickling. Thankfully this gives him an advantage of speed, as he thought his shoes were much too stuffy and formal for playing either.
"Oh, excuse me, sorry, just trying to get that rascal." The sweet voice of his captor floated down the hall, and he giggled as he dodged the people and chairs that blocked his path to freedom. "I'm going to count to three! If you don't come back here right now you'll be in big trouble!" She laughed, like a sweet bell as she continued to chase after him. "It was so rude of you to run out on your tutor like that! Why I-" She paused and muttered, "I did the same thing at his age, so who am I to be annoyed." She grinned, picked up her long skirt, kicked off her shoes and continued chase.
The boy noticed, and knew the end was near! His mother was much faster than he was, and was sure to catch up soon! Thankfully she didn't seem too angry about his tutor, but he didn't like that old bat one bit. He didn't understand what 'war' and 'conquest' meant, but they didn't sound like 'toy' and 'playtime' so they probably weren't much fun. He rounded a corner, and spotted the end point! The courtyard! Lots of bushes and trees to hide from her there.
"You'll never ever catch me!" He shrieked as he bounded down the hallway. His mother laughed as she ran down the hall after him, "Oh I'm sure I will! And it will be tickle time for you, mister!" He glanced back at her, beaming at the joy in her face, and how funny she looked hoisting up that long red dress as she ran down the hallway. Her blue eyes sparkled in the lights as she ran. In that moment, he heard a door open and her smile dropped from her face as she began to slow down. As he turned around, he ran straight into legs standing in his way.
"You know, I've had it up to here with all of this nonsense." A dark, unhappy voice ripped the child from his happiness. "You continuously run off on your tutors, disrupt my office when I am having-"
"Honey, he was just playing." The woman had caught up, and gently placed her hand on her son's right shoulder. Her husband scowled at her.
"Shut your mouth Meva! You should've been keeping him in his place. I should've known that you were in no position to look after him. And you!" He turns his position to glare at his son, who tries desperately to sink into the folds of his mother's dress. "One day, you're supposed to take over for me, and this is how you act?"
"He's just a child-"
"I said, Shut up! Was I talking to you?" The whole hall falls silent, with anyone left silently leaving the area. Meva shrinks back, and holds her son close. Her husband sighs with disgust and curls his hands into fists. "Sorry Meva, look, I made arrangements for him. I'm sending him to a… military school of sorts. Something to really make him ready for his future in life, as these tutors are clearly having no effect on him."
"Milletery?" the boy whispers. "I don't want milletery. I wanna be a builder."
"It's military you idiot." His father hisses at him. "It's going to be good for you. Now come on." He reaches forward and yanks his son with him, away from the doors that led to the garden.
"Stop! Stop it! He's too young for that!" Meva shrieks with desperation as she yanks her husband back from their son.
"Get your hands off me!" He backhands her to the floor, picks up his son, and continues down the hall.
"Mama! Mama!" His son cries and struggles in his arms, unable to escape his fathers grip.
"Stop crying! Stop it! She's making you soft." He grumbles as he withstands the little feet kicking against his stomach. Thank god for the thick dark robes he wears every day. "This school will make you a strong man, Zim. Just like your father." He hands his son to a general waiting with a craft, and walks back into the house, not looking back once.