A/N: Ack! DX So sorry for the long-ass wait this week, you guys. I had a MAJOR paper randomly dropped on me by one of my teachers, and she only gave us until our next class period to get it done. DX So I had to spend the last 3 days working on it. And the worst part was that we didn't even get to pick our topics. She did it for us. I got stuck writing an 8 page paper on Togo of all countries. Ugh...-_-; But at least it's over now and I can get back to posting. So here be Chapter 22 of ZADR Orange for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently. =3 Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. And remember, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

As Zim continued to sleep on for a while longer, the sweet smell of heated waffles slowly wafted into the living room. "Mmm..." he smiled, licking his lips before then rolling over and crashing onto the floor with a loud thud.

Jumping at the sound of Zim falling onto the floor followed by a pained groan from the other, Dib rushed back over to the entrance to the living room to peek out on the other again. "Zim!" he exclaimed before making his way over to the fallen Irken, kneeling down on the ground next to him to help him back up. "Are you okay?" he asked, sending him a concerned look.

"Mmm..." Zim merely grumbled, snuggling back up to Dib. "Zim is too tired to wake up..." he yawned before hearing his stomach growl loudly, causing his eyes to snap open. "Th-Then again..."he said before offering one of his hands to Dib.

Carefully helping Zim back to his feet, Dib seated him on the couch where he would be more comfortable. "Wait here. I'll be right back." he told the other before heading back into the kitchen, exiting a minute later with a plate of waffles for Zim. "Here. I reheated these back up for you. Sorry I couldn't make fresh ones. I never was all that great at cooking, and I highly doubt you would have wanted me poking around in your kitchen trying to figure out how everything works in there." he smiled weakly at the other.

But Zim didn't seem to care as he took the waffles from Dib and greedily began shoving them into his mouth.

"Woah! Slow down, Zim. You're going to make yourself sick if you eat them that fast." Dib held up his hands so as to make the other stop for a moment.

Swallowing down what he had in his mouth painfully, Zim began coughing afterwords before gasping for air. "S-Sorry...I was hungry..." he said between gasps.

"Well, eat up then. There's plenty more still left in the fridge that we can warm up if you're still hungry." Dib smiled at him.

Smiling back, Zim quickly finished off his plate before setting it down on the floor next to the couch. "Thank you..." he thanked the other, feel a lot better now that he had gotten something to eat.

Smiling even more, Dib then leaned in to nuzzle his face to Zim's. "You're welcome...So, are you still hungry?" he asked, wanting make Zim feel as comfortable as possible.

Zim just shook his head, however. "No...I'm good." he said before stretching out and yawning. "I feel a lot better too..." he said as even his antennae twitched and stretched themselves out.

Sighing in some relief, Dib's entire body seemed to go lax at that bit of information. "Well, that's good. I was really worried about you yesterday." he sent Zim another concerned look.

Antennas drooping at Dib's words, Zim instantly dropped his gaze away to the ground. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble...Your-That THING is a real piece of work." he then glared in the direction of Dib's house.

"Wh-What? N-No! No! You didn't get me in trouble! G-Gaz and I were just tired of him never listening to us...It was bound to happen eventually..." Dib didn't want Zim to think that any of what happened the day before had been his fault.

Hugging Dib tightly, Zim just wanted to make things right for them again. "You can both stay here as long as you want, you know..." he reminded the other, feeling that it was the least he could do for them as he still felt like it was partially his fault.

Body drooping, Dib merely leaned up against Zim a bit at those words. "I think that may be for a lot longer than I had originally planned on staying...But thanks..." he leaned up nonetheless to place a small kiss on Zim's cheek as a show of gratitude for agreeing to let them stay.

Pulling Dib onto the couch with him, Zim couldn't help but purr at the small kiss. "You know, Dib...We ARE alone right now..." he whispered almost seductively to the other as he nuzzled the boy affectionately. "Anything special you want to do?" he asked, smirking up at him expectantly.

Blushing at the Irken's question, Dib could only stutter out a response nervously. "W-Well...Well, I...Uhm...A-Actually, yeah, there is." he said, looking up at Zim more seriously now. "I've decided I want to go through with the change, Zim. I'm sick of looking like my dad, and I don't think I'd have any regrets if I went through with it." he stared Zim straight in the eyes to let the other know he meant business.

Surprised by Dib's words, Zim blushed as a small smile slowly formed across his face. "R-Really? Th-This is GREAT!" he exclaimed, glomping onto Dib so he could nuzzle him even more.

Blushing at the small nuzzle, Dib nodded his head assuredly. "Yeah. I'm ready to do this whenever you are." he informed the other, knowing the sooner they did this the better.

Grinning wide, Zim shot up in his spot. "Then we shall do it now!" he said excitedly, rolling off the couch and dragging Dib behind him by his hand. "To the lab!" he pointed dramatically at the ceiling.

"Uhm...Will it hurt? I mean, what exactly will you be doing to me?" Dib's serious demeanor was suddenly replaced by a rather nervous one.

"I'm not sure, Dib. I HOPE it won't. I'll try to make it as painless as I can. But I've got to change your whole genetic make up." Zim explained to the other as he headed to the elevator with him.

Eyes growing wide at this information, Dib nearly pulled his hand back. "WHAT? You mean, you've never done this before?" he suddenly went from nervous to scared shitless now.

"Well, never to a human...But you're somewhat similar to a Vortian, right?" Zim stopped in his tracks to glance back at the other.

Mouth hanging open and lower eyelids of one of his eyes twitching, Dib had by now completely paled. "How would I know?" he sent Zim an incredulous look.

"Oh right...But don't worry, Dib. I've dissected many humans before. I can figure it out. " Zim smiled again, grabbing Dib's arm and dragging him off to the lab. "I just gotta infuse the proper DNA structure is all." he made an attempt to reassure the other that everything would be alright.

Dib, however, had at this point lost all the feeling in his legs now and was literally being dragged behind Zim.

Giving Dib's hand a tight squeeze, Zim pulled the human to him and kissed him deeply on the lips. "Don't worry, Dibbers. Zim shall keep you safe." he promised, smiling at the other once they had broken their kiss.

Seeming to snap back to life at the deep kiss, Dib blinked his eyes and blushed before looking away to the ground nervously but nodding his head nonetheless. "O-Okay...S-So long as you at least have an idea of what you'll be doing..." he gave in somewhat, knowing that if he was going to have this done, he'd need to trust Zim.

"And I already know what to do. You'll be looking like the disguise, right?" Zim just wanted to make sure it was exactly what the other wanted before starting.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib dropped his gaze to the ground. "Y-Yeah...I don't want to erase ALL of my human features...J-Just the ones that remind me of my dad..." he said before looking back up at the other.

Stroking Dib's hair in a playful manner, Zim could only smile at that answer. "Now, I need you to lay down on that table and let me put you to sleep. It would be very bad if you woke up, so I have to use a lot of this stuff." he said, leading Dib over to a medical table before pointed behind him at a large tank of gas.

Sending the tank of gas a nervous glance, Dib merely nodded his head again and did as he was told, climbing up onto the table to lie down. "And you're sure that stuff won't hurt me?" he asked, wanting to make sure.

Nodding his head assuredly, Zim pulled up the tank closer to the table. "I'm positive. It is from your own Earth hospitals after all." he informed the other.

"Hmm? Really?" Dib asked, lifting his head to look at the tank, wondering where Zim had gotten it from now.

"Of course." Zim reassured him one last time before laying him back on the table. "Now, just relax." he instructed the other before pulling over a tube, which he attached to Dib's mouth and nose, watching as he began to loose consciousness.

Feeling his eyelids drooping as he blinked them closed slowly, Dib could see his vision blurring more and more with each blink. But before passing out completely, he reached up one hand to take one of Zim's own hands to squeeze gently for reassurance.

Returning the squeeze with a squeeze of his own, Zim smiled down at Dib as he finally passed out on the table in his lab. "He should be out for...Uhh...Let's see...24 hours at least...before I need to give him more." he said assuredly to himself before nodding and quickly rushing around to get the equipment he would be needing. He figured he should have Dib at least half done by about 6 o'clock if he worked without breaks. "Better get working." he then said under his breath to himself, pulling on a pair of gloves.

Working for the next 6 hours, Zim had no knowledge of Gaz returning home around 4:00 in the afternoon.

Entering the base with a bag of some sort of fast food in hand, Gaz came to find the place completely empty now. "Dib? Zim!" she called out their names, looking about the place before just shrugging it off and heading back to her room to drop off her things, returning to search the base for them once she had done that.

Meanwhile, back with Zim, said Irken was working like a mad scientist, wearing very thick goggles to protect his eyes and really big gloves which were being used to handle the chemicals. To top it all off, he wore a sort of face mask to keep himself from inhaling any of the toxic fumes.

Working diligently and without pause, Zim merely ignored how hungry he was beginning to grow as he REALLY needed a snack soon to keep up his energy.

Little did he know that back upstairs, Gaz was beginning to grow annoyed looking for them.

"Zim? Dib?" Gaz called again, entering into the kitchen now. Noticing the elevator nearby, she without hesitation stepped inside it before looking up towards the ceiling to address the computer. "Hey, can you take me down to whatever level it is Zim and Dib are on?" she asked before standing back and crossing her arms.

"Why should-" the computer began but stopped itself upon realizing it was Gaz standing in the elevator. "Uhh... Yes, ma'am. Right away." it started up the elevator, which lowered her down to the lab level of the base.

Standing back as she waited for the elevator to take her down, Gaz stepped out once the doors had opened into the room Zim and Dib were in. Then approaching Zim from behind, she tried to get a look at what he was working on. "What are you doing?" she asked before she could even see for herself.

"AHHH!" Zim shrieked at having her sneak up behind him, causing him to almost drop what he had been holding before turning on her. "DO YOU MIND? THIS IS VERY DELICATE WORK I'M DOING!" he screamed at her angrily, mostly just irritable because he really wanted a snack now and also because at this point in the procedure, Dib's life could be in jeopardy if he did anything wrong.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Hope this chapter was to your guys' liking, especially considering so many of you were wanting to know whether Dib would actually go through with this procedure or not. Anyways, next chapter will hopefully be up in a few days. Sorry again for the wait on this week's chapter. But just look at it this way. The next update will probably come a lot faster. So you have more to look forward to soon. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Lol. Well, you'll certainly get plenty of randomness when it comes to reading this story. =3 And Gaz really is awesome. I never really saw her as being a completely heartless bitch, so we decided to portray her as having a softer side towards Dib. Though, that's not to say she's completely out of character, as you'll see in a chapter or so. XD But until then, we hope you enjoy this update. And she really doesn't get enough attention in other people's writing. She deserves so much more given the fact that she's just plain awesome. XD

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Lol. XD Well, a job at a game shop seems the only really appropriate job for Gaz. XD Congratulations on getting your own job as well. 8D And, no. No Gir for a while still. Remember, Zim told Dib over breakfast that Gir was at a Taco Fest.

To Watermelondrea: Well, we try to keep Gaz somewhat in character, but honestly, I never saw her as the heartless bitch some people try to make her out to be in the show. I think she cares about Dib on some level. She certainly doesn't think he's crazy. Just annoying. So, we're glad you enjoyed the way we portrayed her in that last chapter. =3 Hope today's chapter is just as enjoyable despite its lateness. 83

To heartofstone15: Well, here's the next chapter for you then. =3 Sorry for its lateness this week. Really though, not much happens for a while now. The calmness will be here for a while until the real storm strikes. That's not to say these next few chapters won't be interesting though. X3 In fact, they're some of our favorites. X3 So I hope that doesn't burst your bubble too much. XD We kind of get back into the plot with these next few chapters.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD Glad to hear it. And don't worry too much about Zim. As you can see from this chapter, he's already beginning to feel better again. =3 So thanks for reviewing. 8D

To kaoru1174: Lol. XD No problem. I consider you to be one of our regulars, so missing a few chapters every once in a while is just fine. 83 We're glad to see you're back though. 8D And we love our readers, so we're glad you feel welcome here whenever you respond. You guys really are the ones who keep up going. 8D But anyways, I can imagine Dib and Gaz getting along on some level. After all, they have their moments, even in the show. You just gotta keep an open mind and look for them. Trust me. They're there. As for Zim, as I'm sure you can see in this chapter, he's feeling MUCH better now. But that doesn't mean the sweet little parts will end. If anything, they're only just beginning. =3 Do whatever you'd like so far as fanart is concerned. We love anything we can get. Just make sure to send it to at least one of us if you do manage to make a picture for the story that you like. =3 We appreciate anything anybody sends in to us. With that said, we hope you enjoy this update just as much as you have the others, and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3 And, yes. We certainly do try to keep our chapters as interesting as possible. XD

To Vithian: Well, we had to slow the story down somewhat to work on developing the plot some more. But rest assured the action will pick back up soon enough. =3 And trust me, even with these small breaks in the action, you'll be plenty exhausted by the time we finish writing this story. We're still at only just the beginning. So much more is planned to happen, I couldn't even begin to list the events to come. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself. 83 But anyways. Yes, Dib has issues. Oh, such issues he has. But it's his issues that make this story interesting. XD Membrane is quite original, and there's a lot to be said for him if you just take the time to work with his character. Same goes for Gaz. You CAN'T really single him out He's just like everyone else in the show. So don't bash on him too hard. I'm sorry I can't provide you with lemon-ade just yet. But we didn't want to rush into those parts too quickly in the story. So you'll just have to put up with the lime-ade for now. X3 And that goes doubly for your zombie self as well. XD As for when the TAGR comes into play, you'll just have to wait and see. X3 Gaz plays an important secondary character in this story, but Tak isn't needed quite yet. She'll come into the story just a little bit later. So until then, we hope you enjoy the current chapters to come. Thanks again for commenting. Until next time! ~

To angel-winged-wolfess: No problem. =3 You earned it. We'll have to see about the next contest though. It's fair game if you manage to catch it again. Especially if I don't get around to announcing the contest before we reach that point. So, if you'd like to give someone else a chance, I would suggest you try to keep track of and avoid that 200th review. Otherwise, you might end up with another prize. XD But anyways, the reasons Membrane will end up regretting kicking Dib and Gaz out I doubt anybody will get. XD Let's just say something happens to him that makes him regret it. XD But you won't find out about that until later in the story. For now, just try to enjoy the plot development happening here. And I'll hopefully talk to you again soon. =3

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Make sure you take the time to let everything soak in before moving on to the next chapter. Remember, we mentioned a few chapters back that Gir was at a Taco Fest. Zim and Dib had a conversation about it over breakfast. He won't be back for at least a few more chapters. And, 3 is a few in my opinion. Anything above that isn't even close. So HAH! XD Anyways, go pay your kitty some attention. They do tend to be rather clingy at times, I know. I have my own and have raised several litters of them in the past. So once they've gotten their fill, you can come back and read this new chapter. =3

To Casykirby: Hey, no problem at all. =3 Like a few others, I consider you to be one of our regulars. And you DO tend to get reviews in almost every week. So don't even worry about missing a chapter here or there. It's no big deal. We're just glad to have you back. And we wouldn't want you getting in even more trouble by sneaking on to review when you're already grounded. So take your time. The chapters will still be here when you're allowed to get back online again. =3 But anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter so much. 8D And I already told Cat Human they could consider the last chapter dedicated to them as well. But they didn't review this week. So, whatever. I would draw something for them, but I've already got way too much on my plate as it is between trying to get other requests finished and working on homework. Perhaps they'll catch the 200th review and get something then, but right now, I really can't work on anything else. Besides, I have NO means of contacting them at the moment as it stands. So it's kind of hard to offer something to someone I can't send a PM to.

To Sapcoat: Well, we're glad to hear it. 8D We really do try hard to keep this story as interesting as possible. =3 So receiving reviews like that from you guys is really encouraging. Thank you. =3 And we're happy to hear we were able to brighten your day after a long day of testing. =3 We'd really love to hear from you each and every chapter. Though, we won't force you. XD You will get a response for every review you send in though. X3 So we hope you enjoy that. 8D Until next time!~