A/N: This is not one of my typical fluffy romance or fun time stories. It's a wee bit on the creepy side, but if you have a sick sense of humor like me, it should be rather enjoyable. I hope no one is too appalled by the content. I know Zhao is long gone from the series, but he is such a great character. Well, hope you enjoy this. I had fun writing it!

Never Try to Woo a Water-Bender

The sun was barely visible above the horizon as night was closing in fast on the small Earth Kingdom village. Katara separated from her brother and Aang to search for food and peruse the local shops. As Katara wondered upon a shop selling various pieces of jewelry, she took a moment to admire the sparkling necklaces. One piece in particular caught her eye. Sitting in a box separate from the other jewelry was a beautiful blue necklace adorned with sparkling green gems. Katara gently touched a large stone at the bottom on the necklace, staring at it with admiration.

"Would you like to purchase that?" the woman behind the counter questioned Katara.

Katara's attention was taken from the necklace when the woman spoke. She smiled shyly at the woman and shook her head. "Oh, no… I could never afford something like that," Katara replied softly.

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "That's too bad. Well, I'm closing up shop for the night, sorry."

As the shop owner began to pull down the wooden board to close off the opening, Katara took one last look at the necklace before turning to leave. When she turned around, she unexpectedly bumped into a figure. "Oh! I'm sorry. I did not see you there," she quickly apologized. As she gazed up at the figure's face, her expression twisted in horror. Standing before her was none other than the infamous Admiral Zhao.

"Why hello Katara. Must be my lucky day... to have bumped into you."

Katara cringed at the sound of Zhao's creepy voice. She stared up at him in disgust. Behind him, she noticed two Fire Nation soldiers standing alert. She cursed herself for splitting up from the others so late in the evening. She prayed they were nearby, but she was not so lucky.

"Where are your friends?" Zhao questioned, still standing dangerously close to Katara.

Katara glared up at him, knowing he was up to no good. "What do you want Zhao?" she spat, emphasizing her hatred for him as she spoke his disgusting name.

Zhao gazed down at Katara with a sickening smile. "I'll be quite honest with you," he began, "I've been awfully lonely lately, and I was searching for someone special to keep me company. My search was going rather unsuccessfully, that is, until I bumped into you."

Katara's eyes widened, fear entering her as Zhao spoke his intentions.

"I'd be honored if you would join me tonight on my ship," Zhao stated as he tried to give Katara a dashing smile, though it only made her stomach churn.

"No way!" Katara snapped, taking a few steps back.

"Actually, it wasn't a question, or an offer… more of an informative statement," Zhao's smile twisted sadistically. As he saw Katara begin to turn, obviously to run, he called out to his men. "Take her back to my ship! I will be there shortly!"

Katara gasped as the two men grasped her arms, restraining her from fighting back. One of the men quickly withdrew a damp cloth from his pocket, pressing it tightly over Katara's mouth and nose. Katara squirmed and kicked helplessly, trying to scream for help. Her efforts were futile though, as her vision quickly grew hazy, and quickly, she had passed out.

When Katara finally awoke, she found herself lying on a bed in a room adorned with various items displaying the Fire Nation insignia. She blinked several times as she sat up, confused as to the current situation. As she gazed down at herself, she noticed she was no longer in her water tribe clothes, but was now wearing some sort of tiny red outfit, fit for a harem girl. Suddenly she remembered what had happened. She had been talking to that creep Zhao and was taken away by his men.

Katara gazed around the room, wondering how long she had been out. It sickened her that someone had obviously changed her clothes for her. She prayed it had not been Zhao. She reached for her neck, feeling a strange lack of sensation. She gasped when she found that her mother's necklace was no longer there.

Katara nearly jumped from her seat on the bed when Zhao suddenly appeared in the room.

"Your neck looks rather bare. I've brought you something to fix that," Zhao stated as he strolled over to Katara, who was glaring threateningly up at him. He smiled arrogantly as he pulled out the necklace Katara had been eyeing earlier. He sat down on the bed beside Katara, pushing Katara's braid to the side as he draped the necklace gently around her slender neck. Katara sat perfectly still, frightened by his advances. She stared hatefully though, down at the offending necklace that now hung nearly down to her breasts. She could feel Zhao's eyes undressing her from his spot behind her. She felt his hand lightly graze the side of her neck as he let go of the clasp of the necklace and pulled his hand away. She shivered in disgust at the touch. Quickly, she searched the room for a source of water. There had to be something she could use against him. Regrettably, there was no sign of water.

"Don't you like it?" Zhao's raspy voice felt uncomfortably close to Katara's bare shoulder, causing her to shiver again.

"Where's my mother's necklace?" Katara demanded under her breath without turning to face her captor.

Zhao chuckled behind Katara. "That old thing? I tossed it along with the rest of your filthy water tribe clothes."

Katara felt her cheeks burn with rage, her teeth grinded as she snarled, "You did what?"

Another chuckle arose from Zhao. "Don't worry sweetheart, it's lying safely in a drawer."

Katara was relieved to hear her possessions were safe, but still rather irked that he had taken them from her. She now stood on the floor, her bare feet nearly hurt from the cold of the metal. She had always thought it was quite silly of the Fire Nation to build their ships out of nothing but metal. What a waste of resources and lack of efficiency. But these were not things that troubled her at the moment. Zhao's intentions were what perturbed her the most.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zhao questioned, his voice deep and almost dripping with lust. Katara's eye twitched in irritation as she felt a warm hand press not so gently down upon her shoulder.

"Stop touching me," she growled as she spun around, pushing Zhao's hand from her shoulder.

Zhao forced a smile as he sauntered over to a table where two small glasses of red wine sat not so coincidentally prepared. He picked up one of the glasses, taking a sip from it as he gazed at Katara over the rim. After picking up the other glass, he came back to Katara and held it out to her. Without hesitation, Katara smacked his hand, sending the glass soaring from Zhao's hand and crashing loudly on the metal floor several feet away.

Zhao's expression was no longer so friendly. He now stared dangerously at Katara. "I've had about enough of this. You have no choice in the matter. You might as well make this easier on yourself and go along with. We'll both enjoy it much more if you behave." His words were severely threatening, to the point that Katara feared she would rather take her own life than give into him.

Katara took several steps backwards, trying to keep her cool and stay confident. But she was not so successful when Zhao unexpectedly grasped one of her wrists, his hand burning hot. She yelped as the searing pain shot up her arm. Zhao smiled sadistically and tossed her back onto the bed.

Zhao stood for a moment, running a thumb through the sideburn on the right side of his face as he stared at Katara wantonly.

"Stay away from me!" Katara tried to sound threatening, but instead her voice cracked, her fear very apparent.

Evidently her fear only fueled Zhao's disgusting urges as his smile only grew larger and he slowly approached the bed where Katara lay fearfully. Zhao slowly crawled onto the bed, hovering over Katara with an animalistic look in his eyes.

Katara tried to scoot back away from Zhao, but found herself pressed against the wall. She was now completely overrun by fear, there was nothing she could do. There was no water in sight, nothing to use in her defense. Zhao was now leaning over her, almost pressed against her body. Katara trembled helplessly, a tear forming in the corner of her right eye. As the tear slowly made its way down her cheek, she suddenly had an idea. A devious smile spread across her face as she spoke, "Zhao!" He did not respond, so she spoke louder this time. "ZHAO!"

Zhao sat back up for a moment, looking Katara in the eye. "What?" he questioned, growing rather impatient.

"This is your last chance," Katara threatened, "Get off of me now or I'll make you regret the day you were born."

Zhao stared expressionless for a moment, until bursting into an annoying fit of laughter in Katara's face.

"I warned you," Katara spoke in a low growl. Zhao's eyes widened as Katara used her full force to push him off of her and thrust him onto the floor. Katara jumped to her feet on the bed, her hands extended out before her, aiming down at Zhao who was now leaning on his elbows, fire burning in his angry eyes.

"You'll regret that," he snarled. His scowl turned into a smile though as he noticed Katara holding her hands out before her. "What are you going to do? There's no water here for you to bend. You're pathetic," he laughed insanely.

Katara's smile widened. "Don't you know? The human body is made up of over 65 water."

Zhao's laughter took a sudden halt. He gazed up at Katara fearfully. Could she really bend the water in a human being?

His question was answered, though not in the way he had hoped.

"Come on Sokka! The guard said she's in the room at the end of the hall!" Aang called out to Sokka who was following not so fast behind him.

"How do we know he wasn't lying?" Sokka suggested. "This might be a trap."

"No, I can feel her presence. She's close," Aang replied. When he reached the door, he was surprised to find it swing open before him, Katara standing there in her water tribe uniform, appearing to be unharmed. "Thank goodness you're alright Katara!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around Katara.

Katara was rather surprised that Aang and her brother had found her. "How did you guys know where to find me?" she asked as she gave Aang a gentle hug in return.

"We found a villager who said he had seen you taken away by some hairy monkey-looking man. We knew it had to be…" Aang's usually chirpy attitude slowly faded as he peered over Katara's shoulder at a sight he had never seen before.

"What's the matter Aang?" Sokka questioned as he came up behind Aang and peered into the room to see what had Aang so horrified.

Lying in the middle of the room was what appeared to Aang to be the remnants of Admiral Zhao. His body lay strewn out, his flesh wrinkled and sunken in. His eyes sockets looked nearly fragile enough to break at any moment. His clothes lay unusually loose against his shriveled body. His lips were cracked and bloody. Every part of him looked as though it had been sucked completely dry. Aang jumped backwards, his eyes wide in horror. "What… What happened to him?!" he hollered, pointing his finger offensively at the obviously deceased body of Zhao.

Katara glanced over her shoulder at him, and turned back with her usual sweet smile. "Oh… that… I got tired of waiting for you two to come rescue me, so I took care of things myself."

Aang stared at Katara in awe. Her smile almost scared him. He stepped aside as Katara walked past him and Sokka. "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps," she said as she walked down the hallway.

Aang and Sokka slowly followed Katara from a good distance behind her. Aang leaned over to whisper in Sokka's ear, "What happened back there?"

Sokka put a hand to Aang's ear as he whispered his reply, "Let me give you some valuable life advice, never try to woo a water-bender!"