EDIT: I just want to make a side note. All chapters are written ahead of time. Also, this is one of my favorite chapters! Have fun!

Okay, here is the second chapter to the story. I hope you enjoy it.

And if you are looking for ZADR, go somewhere else.

This is a ZADF story.

As in friendship.

As in no making out.

I can't make it any clearer then that.

And remember, I don't own Invader Zim!

Dib was poking at his pizza nervously, slipping glances every once in a while at the overhanging clock. This odd behavior was beginning to get on Gaz's nerves. She looked at the time out of curiosity. It was only six o'clock.

"Dib, if you have somewhere to go, just go." Gaz said finally, hitting the pause button on her game.

Dib sighed. He knew she was talking about Zim since he already made the second trip to the store after the pizza came. "He asked me to come at seven thirty. It's too early to leave."

"Then stop being so annoying. You are distracting me." Gaz snapped as she turned back to her game.

Dib went back to poking his pizza. He still wasn't sure if he should leave at all. He was worried that it was a trap, but a piece of him wanted to know if Zim had finally given up.

Finally, Dibs curiosity got the best of him. He walked out of the room and started to rummage his room for any alien weapons he could find to defend himself. When he came back down with an object that seemed to resemble a gun, his sister almost immediately stopped playing her GS2 and stared at her brother.

"I thought you said you thought this was a trap."

Dib shrugged. "Curiosity got the best me."

Gaz went back to her game and settled back in her seat on the couch. "Curiosity is what killed the cat."

Dib nodded. "Yes, but the thing the cat was curious about was the reason why the world is so screwed up." Dib left the house and didn't turn back. Gaz wondered about Dib's comeback but ignored it. She was at the final level.

Dib walked down the sidewalk by himself. It was a nice warm summer evening. The sun was still out but Dib liked it better when it was dark. He could see the stars then.

No one bothered Dib during his walk. And with each step Dib took, he knew all he had to do was turn around and go home. But something drove him. It was his hungering curiosity to find the truth. For weeks now, Zim has almost become a different person. He stopped yelling like a mad man. Zim had begun to avoid Dib and everyone else more often. He even changed his clothing.

Zim now wore a pair of black pants much like his old ones, except it was made of jeans and not rubber. He also wore a black shirt with a red jacket. Zim even switched to a more normal looking wig that had black hair that fell neatly over one of his fake contact eyes.

But in some ways, Zim was still Zim. Zim still had the worst luck with name calling and still had an urge to yell, "I am normal!" every once in a while.

But no one could deny the fact Zim was acting more depressed then usual. Something had happened. And Dib was determined to find out what. Not that he was worried.

Dib walked up to the front steps of Zim's home, half surprised of getting there so soon. He knocked on the door twice and waited. Gir torn open the door and hugged Dib, nearly crushing his ribs.

"Gir!" Dib choked out. Gir hugged tighter.

"Mary! I am so glad you came! Master is being all cranky and was yelling bad things about you! I want a monkey Mary!" Gir wailed. The robot then let go of the poor boy and dragged him inside. "Okay Mary, Master will be here any second. I got to go and do stuff!" Gir zipped his suit on and ran out the door. Dib sighed and closed the door and sat on the couch.

"You're late." Said a familiar voice from the kitchen Dib automatically back stood up.

"What do you want alien scum?" Dib demanded to know, in the tone of voice he normally used when performing his unacknowledged heroics.

Zim pointed at him in a vileness way on instinct, paused and reformed his normal posture making clear he didn't want to fight. Not yet. "I Zim, have an intriguing proposition for the both of us that may benefit both sides of the party."

"What party?" Dib asked, not used to the professionally sounding sentence that escaped Zim.

Zim frowned at Dibs ignorance. "That's not important Dib-Beast. Do you want to talk, or do you want Zim to kill you?"

"Since when did you want to talk?" Dib asked, still wary of the possibility of a trap.

"Since certain events happened. But that's none of your business." Zim snapped.

Dib sarcastically raised hands mocking his rival. "Oh, did I touch a raw nerve?"

Zim slammed his fist on the kitchen table. "It's none of your business!"

Dib took a step back. He never had seen Zim react that way.

Zim sensed the humans surprise and returned to normal. "As I was saying, I am willing to make a …compromise." The word sounded strange coming from the invader, like someone had misplaced their vocabulary and it had made its may in Zim's mouth.

But Dib didn't bring attention to it. "What kind of a compromise? Because if its something retarded like you only taking over only half the world, its not going to happen."

Zim looked at the floor. "That wasn't the deal Zim had in mind. I had a feeling you'd hate that idea anyway."

Dib raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Zim sighed. "It pains me to say this, but… I won't be taking over Earth at all Dib-Stink. All I ask in return is that you stop trying to turn me in to the Bulging Eye Sockets."

"Swollen Eyeballs." Dib quickly corrected. Then he fell into a shocked silence when the impact of Zim's words hit him.

Zim continued. "Its hardly a truce since you get to keep all these idiots alive on this filthy dirt ball, while I Zim am able to out live you pigs; buts it's the best I can do for now."

Dib shakily pointed at Zim. "You…You are giving up?"

Zim nodded. "In a sense…"

Dib continued to speak in disbelief. "Giving up, you know what that means, right? No more evil plots to destroy/massacre/enslave the human race. No more insane battles where I chase you with some alien gadget. No more experimenting on me and testing your inventions on helpless kids. No more anything."

Zim smiled faintly and nodded again. "Yes, those will be fond memories…"

"Why?"

Zim shot a look at Dib. "Why do you want to know?"

Dib fumbled for the words. "This just isn't like you. Actually, you haven't been yourself for some time."

Zim avoided the bait. "Do you want to make the deal or not?" He snapped in an aggravated tone.

Dib quickly nodded. "Yes! Yes, of course I want make the deal!"

"Good. Remember, no more trying to turn me in or else the truce is off." Zim reminded. Dib nodded. Not knowing what to do next, he held out his hand. Zim stared at it blankly. "What?"

Dib rolled his eyes. "You are supposed to shake it. It is how humans show that they agree with each other."

Zim grabbed Dibs hand and shook it violently. Dib quickly pulled his hand away before having it broken. "Um… We'll work on that later."

After Zim had pushed Dib out the door and Dib had returned home, Dib had had a numb feeling in his chest. "No more fighting. No more saving the world. No more anything." Dib repeated to himself, unable to believe the words that were escaping his lips. For years he yearned for a chance to prove his sanity. And once Dib got it, he made a deal to give it away. But, as Dib reasoned, it was a small price to pay for the worlds' safety.

Gaz walked past her brother in the kitchen, drinking the last soda. "You look like you've seen a ghost… and knowing you, you probably didn't because then you would be rambling like an idiot about it."

Dib stared at the ceiling. "I feel like my inner child died." He said in a near whisper.

Gaz scoffed. "It's about time. He was annoying." She glared at Dib. "I am going to bed. If you wake me, I will kill you."

Dib nodded, never lifting his gaze from the ceiling. "Sure, whatever you say."

Gaz stared at him strangely and proceeded up the stairs. "Whiner." She said under her breath.

Dib stayed in the kitchen, sitting in the dark. He still didn't understand why Zim gave up. Everything about him was wrong now. The depressing attitude, the sudden obsession of appearing normal in public, the new truce Dib had agreed to. None of it seemed right.

"Something happened." Dib mused to himself. "And I will stop at nothing to find out. Only natural, this could all be a set up. A trap. I can't trust Zim for a second." Despite the truce, Dib still felt very much paranoid about the whole situation.

But what else can you expect from the Earths first and only underappreciated hero?