Disclaimer: I feel like I own nothing; if you're disappointed, clap your hands. *clap clap*

…

"Okay, okay, I call this tenant meeting of Saint Bara to order." Ji Fuin knocked on his wooden desk, trying to look like someone to be taken seriously. The tenants continued to mill about and chat. Toph yawned but kept a grip on Sokka's wrist. She didn't want to risk losing him in the crowd; granted, she'd recognize his heartbeat anywhere, but the other tenants didn't need to know that. Besides, she sensed Mrs. Fink waving at them from across the lobby room and felt Sokka wave back; they had to keep up the pretense and if Toph were feeling more honest with herself, she'd admit that it felt nice. It reminded her of the times they traveled along on Appa and she would cling to the Water Tribe warrior for comfort. It didn't hurt to let her hair down every so often, so to speak. Though she could sense Fuin's annoyance from where she and Sokka were standing, by the building's entrance.

Fuin raised his fist and slammed it onto the desk, bringing the chatting to a stop as everyone turned to him; he nodded, satisfied and continued. "Now that I have your attention, I would like to draw your attention to some of our recent departures. As I'm sure you noticed, our family has gotten a little bit smaller..." The other tenants gazed around the room to see who was there. "I'm afraid Bu left us just yesterday and first floor Ed left three days ago, after his…'encounter'. Gai of the first floor and Fi from the second floor have not returned nor have paid their rent in several months, so I have no choice but to put their rooms for rent again. All of this, of course, means that your rates are going to go up a tiny bit." Fuin dodged a potted plant that someone hurled at him. "Right, who threw that?" A tall man with light hair raised his hand; Fuin sighed. "Don't get me started, Gin; you know you haven't paid your rent in three months. I could evict you."

"Man, I can't even pay my rent now, much less if you raise the rates!" Gin yelled and others nodded in agreement.

"Do you like having this newfangled electricity? How about running water? A decent building? If so, then shut up! That stuff requires money and I don't know if I can keep paying the bills at this rate." Fuin sighed, and the anger on his face faded. "Listen, I know you and Tiguh are massively over due on your rent, but if you could at least pay me half of what you owe me, I'll let you stay for another few months; something is better than nothing and I'd like to think we all want to keep the Saint Bara up and running." Gin glanced down at the floor, slightly flushed; from his heartbeat, Toph would've guessed that he was embarrassed and perhaps a bit ashamed? Sokka would have to be the judge of that. Meanwhile, she felt the heartbeat of a woman she assumed to be Tiguh pick up, and the blind earthbender's eyes narrowed; the woman was keeping something back and no matter how composed she looked, her body was giving her away.

"Keep an eye on that Tiguh person; she's holding something back." Toph whispered to Sokka, who nodded in agreement. "She's in the back row, by the potted plant."

"The tan one? I think she might be Water Tribe…."

"How the hell would I know? Blind, remember?" She rolled her eyes while Sokka shrugged sheepishly. With that, they focused again on what Fuin was saying. He had just been going over a new curfew policy or something of the like; Toph didn't care. Sokka can take care of finances….wait, he's a shopaholic….A vision of Sokka blowing their fortune on a Fu Fu Cuddly Poops doll or something and sighed. I guess if he's got cooking, I can keep track of money…can't let a dumbass take care of everything, no matter his IQ.

"Anyway, that should about do it for this week, but before we all head back to our rooms, I'd like to introduce Sou and Omai; they only just signed their lease today, but let's give them a warm welcome to our home, as I'm sure Mrs. Fink has already done." Mrs. Fink waved her cane in the air to the other tenants' applause. "Mrs. Fink, please just keep in mind that you do have several restraining orders out against you, so please try to not be as...'dedicated' this time around, okay? Mothering is all well and good but there's a fine line between that and stalker." Mrs. Fink crossed her arms and stuck out her chin defiantly.

"Did we really let that person into our apartment…?" Sokka groaned. "Of all things, why'd we get a mothering stalker for a neighbor? If I wanted that, I'd have moved in with Katara." Toph snorted, but she still nodded her thanks to the people around them; the other tenants were looking at them, as if expecting them to say something. She elbowed Sokka in the stomach and he winced. "Er, thanks for the welcome, everybody…we'll try our best to pay our rent…?" Silence.

"Say something funny, dummy." Toph hissed. Sokka sweated, then coughed.

"We'll try to keep the noise down, but you know…" He gave Toph's shoulder a squeeze. "One of us is a screamer…." Toph flushed and could just picture Sokka mouthing "It's her" to the other guys. She slammed her elbow into his stomach and stomped on his foot, just for variety's sake. Sokka winced in pain, much to the amusement of the other tenants, while Mrs. Fink and Tiguh looked dismayed.

"Bu-but you're not married yet!" Mrs. Fink walked over and smacked Sokka's shin with her cane. "Come here dearie, I'll keep your purity save from him." She glared at Sokka. "You sir, are sleeping on the couch."

"That's where…I sleep…anyway…!" He wheezed.

Gin gave them a deadpan look. "That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship. The couch is the destined place for workless bums and men who can't leave seat down."

"And where do you fall on that scale, exactly?" A lightly tanned younger woman scowled.

"Well, all men have to spend their time on their parent's couch; how else do we learn?" Gin coughed.

"So all men are pathetic? Nice." The pale man standing near her looked dismayed.

"How can you say that, Hina? Not all of us are like that loser Gin!"

"Oh, go suck a lamppost Kahn. Everyone knows that you…." Gin rolled his eyes.

"No, it is you who sucks!" Kahn retorted. Hina laughed, while the slightly tanned man standing behind Kahn shook his head. "Right Ti?" Kahn turned to Ti, who stopped shaking his head.

"Er…."

"Kahn, you really need to work on those retorts; besides, Gin can't help it if he's irresponsible and lazy." Tiguh shook her head in exasperation.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from." Gin raised his hand and gave Tiguh the one finger salute. She just rolled her eyes, reached over, and cracked his finger. "Mother…! Y-you Outhouse-living-filth-eating-princess-spawn-of-evil!" He muttered while nursing his now injured hand.

"I like her." Toph smirked while Sokka glared down at her. "Oh get over it, you baby."

"Why can you make sex references but when I do, I get beaten up?" He whined; Toph just laughed and shoved him.

"Relax Princess; you just need clean material—there could be kids around." Fuin just watched the argument heat up between Gin and Tiguh and, with a grimace at Gin's cracked finger, he knocked on his desk again.

"Tiguh, please don't injure Gin; if I even want to see a piece of gold from him, I need him alive." Gin glared at Fuin, eyes slightly watered from pain.

"Screw you, old man!"

Fuin just shrugged and looked at Tiguh. "Well, I guess he would be okay with eight fingers…." Gin quickly backed down, crossed his arms and scowled. "Well, that takes care of that. We should be done now, so good night to you all. Sou and Omai, if you could stick around after the others leave, there are a few things we still need to discuss regarding your lease." People began to shuffle out of the lobby and down the hall, passing Fuin's desk. After a minute or two, everyone had gone up the stairs to their respective floors. Just for caution's sake, Fuin remained quiet until Toph coughed.

"We're alone."

"How can you be so sure?" Fuin gave her a suspicious look.

"Sir, remember that we are professionals. Besides, if my partner seems to be almost psychic, it's only because she…has an overdeveloped sense of smell and hearing." Toph almost looked at him with exasperation. Was that really the best the Idea Guy could come up with? Still, she supposed that the explanation was better than "just go with her gut". Fuin's suspicions didn't seem to be abated, if his body's increased heart rate was anything to go by, but he seemed to go with it.

"Fine. A super sniffer. Whatever, I could really care less, so long as you solve this thing. Anyway, this is where I had my encounter with the thing…." Fuin gave them a step by step retelling of his encounter, from the flickering lights to the loud thud, the emergence of steam and the almost super speed of the dragon spirit. When he got to the part about the dragon vanishing and someone screaming, Toph nodded.

"Mrs. Fink told me about that; she encountered the dragon thing as she was walking down the stairs—apparently, it 'flew' past her and knocked her down the stairs."

"Then the next night, my old tenant Ed claimed he saw a dragon's face staring down at him while he tried to sleep." Fuin said. "His shit was packed and he was out of here by the next morning." Sokka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He stepped away from Toph and began to gaze around the room.

"So, Mr. Fuin…where was Ed's room?" He asked thoughtfully. Fuin stepped out from behind the desk.

"Follow me." He turned and led the two detectives down the hall. "We don't really have to worry about being overheard down here; after Bu left, the only people who live on this floor are me and my wife."

"So you have five other rooms that people could possible hide in?" Sokka asked as he looked at the walls, eyes narrowed. Fuin got to the last door on the left and, with a twist of his wrist, unlocked the door. Toph let Sokka take the lead; from what she could sense, there was no one else on the floor excluding a sleeping woman in the first room on the right, near the lobby; she just assumed that it was Fuin's wife. However, the more she focused on the room, the odder it was; there was a spot that was vacant to her senses. Given that the whole building had stone floors, she should've been able to sense the whole floor. "Not exactly the neatest guy, was he?" Sokka grunted as he kicked over a pile of what Toph assumed was trash.

"Like you're one to talk?"

Sokka scoffed. "I'll have you know that I'm quite the neat freak." He picked up something and gave it a serious look. "If this cup's any indication, I'd say that this Ed was not the biggest fan of alcohol or at least wasn't intoxicated the night he saw this dragon thing…." Toph didn't even bother questioning how he figured that from a cup, but knew better than to question him. Instead, she approached him and made a big show of sniffing the air. After that, she knelt down and, with her ear resting on the ground, she knocked the floor.

"What the hell is she doing?" Sokka shook his head and gave Fuin a pitying look. "Ah, right…'super hearing' and such."

"I understand your skepticism, Mr. Fuin, but trust me; my partner will find something." He kneeled down by her. "Please tell me you have something, 'super sniffer'."

"You're the idiot who made up that excuse, remember?" Toph raised her head and got to her feet. "I sense…there's something beneath the bed." Sokka and Fuin gave each other a look.

"I'd take her word for it, if I was you." Sokka smirked. "My partner knows what she's talking about." Toph crossed her arms and quietly thanked the spirits that the darkness of the room and her bangs obscured the slight grin on her face. To have someone have unquestioning faith in her abilities…; that was one of things that made Team Avatar (or the BoomerAang Squad, as she heard Sokka refer to them) so crucial for her. Fuin shrugged and led them into the bedroom. He turned on the light as they passed through the wooden doorway. From what Toph could tell, the room was empty aside from the space. Sokka grabbed her arm to stop her from bumping into the bed.

"So, what now?" Fuin asked, arms crossed. Sokka gestured to the bed.

"Help me move this." Together, Sokka and Fuin reached down, grabbed the wooden frame, and lifted the bed. Grunting with exertion, they dropped it to the floor. Toph winced at the noise.

"Why don't you guys knock down the wall; I don't think the dead quite heard that." She didn't have to see to know that the two men were glaring at her. Ignoring the wimps, she walked into the center of the room and kicked what felt like a wooden lid. "Damn it!" She hissed quietly. "Why don't you two take a look at this?"

Sokka nodded and approached the door lid cautiously while Fuin gapped. "Well I'll be damned…there really was something there…."

Sokka smirked. "What'd I tell you? You sir, paid for quality when you hired us." He became serious and looked at Fuin. "You don't recognize this?" Fuin shook his head. "So this place doesn't have a basement?"

"It does, but it shouldn't extend all the way to here; it should've cut off after the second room, since all I got down there is a storage room and a room for the water pipes." He shook his head at the lid. "And that sure as hell wasn't there when my father made this place sixty years ago." Without another word, Sokka lifted the wooden lid and gently lowered it to the ground. Toph could sense the metal hinges grinding; it seemed to be a hatch of some kind. Sokka and Fuin peered down into the hatch. "I can't see anything…." Fuin squinted, then called over his shoulder at Toph. "Hey, super senses! What do you make of this?"

Toph shrugged. "From what I can tell, it's a small room made of wood; someone must've earthbended the floor out and built it." Before Fuin could make another comment, Sokka swung his legs over the side and leapt down the hatch. A second later, a yelp of pain was heard.

"Ow, ow, ow…!"

Toph tried to calm the small spike in her blood pressure and kept the worry out of her voice. "You okay down there, Sou?"

"Yeah, yeah…I think I must've rolled my fucking ankle though…ow."

"This is what you consider 'quality professionalism'?" Fuin demanded.

"Look, I got it covered, okay? Anyway, Omai was right: it is a wooden room, about the size of this apartment, maybe a little bigger…." Sokka called up. "Even the ceiling's made of wood except for the area where…" he paused as he compared a mental map of the floor. "…where the hallway is. The stone floor and walls begin there." Toph could practically hear the gears turning in his mind. "Probably as a point where someone could earth bend in…." There was the sound of rustling as Sokka took a closer look around the room. "The craftsmanship is impressive, though I wonder how the hell whoever made this got the wood. You don't quietly build a place like this in a city. Hey, I think I found a trunk!" With a grunt, he lifted the trunk up the hatch. Fuin grabbed it and pulled it out of the hatch and onto the floor. "Uh guys? A little help?"

"Hey, you got yourself down there; you can get yourself out." Toph grinned but with a quick twist of her stance and her hand, she made a staircase from the stone in the hall. Fortunately, Fuin was too engrossed in working the trunk open to really notice. A minute later, there was a knock on the door. Fuin looked alarmed but Toph just shook her head and walked to the door. "Why hello there; we didn't order no damn take out."

"Ha, ha; you're hilarious." Sokka scowled and walked towards the bedroom; before she shut the door, Toph quietly sealed the stairway she had made with a twist of her hand. "Have you managed to get the trunk open yet?"

"Almost…," Fuin looked up. "How'd you get out?"

"There was a staircase in the stone portion of the room—as I said earlier, I think it's so an earthbender can get in and out easily. Did this Ed guy have bending?"

Fuin snorted. "Are you kidding? I don't think the kid could've bent over, much less bend an element. Still, smart guy; made a small fortune managing helping the Mechanist install his electrical and water pipes throughout the city. In fact, he and Bu were the ones who helped with our set up so we can get that running water that you find so amusing." Fuin sighed. "I hope we get this bastard; I want my tenants back."

"Enough with the chitchat; have you dunderheads gotten the trunk open or not?" Toph called from the living room and kitchen area by the door. Sokka gestured for Fuin to move over and pulled out his Water Tribe bone knife. With a few quick gestures and tinkering sound effects muttered under his breath, the trunk's padlock fell to the stone floor. Toph quickly walked into the room and looked over Sokka's shoulder. "What's in it?"

Sokka reached in and pulled the trunk's contents out and gently laid them on the ground. "A cloak, a sewing kit, spare boots…and some firm material I don't recognize…" He picked up what looked like a few long sheets of…earth?

Fuin took a hard look at the sheets. "With that dyed look, it reminds me of…." He reached out and gently stroked the material. "This is what the dragon's head looked like!"

"And there seems to be some tiny lights in here too…wow; I can't believe the Mechanist managed to get his electrical designs down to this tiny size." Sokka picked up and held what looked to be miniature versions to the electrical lamps that hung everywhere in the city, from the lamp posts to the lights in the Saint Bara's rooms.

Toph took a deep sniff and coughed; damn, that was getting annoying. "From what I can smell, I'd say there's earth in those sheets; with enough effort, I'd say an earthbender could mold it into whatever he wanted."

"What kind of skill would that require?" Sokka glanced up at Toph, who swallowed. He's not going to like this; hell, I don't like it…

"Enough to probably be a metalbender." Toph winced as she felt Sokka's heart pick up at the thought. The sheer skill metalbending required was astounding and normally out of most earthbenders' normal senses; hell, the only reason Toph managed to figure out how to do it was because she was blind and had a sensory advantage and even then, it required a kidnapping situation to figure it out. To think there was someone out there who might be also be able to bend metal…; if Toph was fully honest with Sokka, she'd admit that the idea was kind of excited. She had tried to teach metalbending to earthbenders without much success before she ran into Sokka again. Could one of her former students have figured it out? The possibilities were entertaining but dangerous too; she would try to discuss the idea with Sokka later once they had returned to their room and ditched the impatient old guy.

"A metalbender?" Fuin's eyes widened. "I thought they were only legends…."

"There are so few, they practically are. I myself only know of one earthbender strong enough to do it, and she's the greatest earthbender in the world…." Fuin paled as Sokka voiced Toph's concerns. "To bend metal requires understanding and skill beyond most earthbenders' reach. If that's the case with these sheets here, you have made enemies with a powerful person…though why he chooses to go with this charade versus just destroying this place…." He paused to contemplate, but shrugged after a few seconds. "Well, the motivation doesn't matter yet; what matters is the how and who right now. But at least there's one bright side to all this, Mr. Fuin."

"And what the hell might that be?" He rasped. Sokka smiled and tried to act confident.

"Your enemy is not a spirit; he's human and he's living in this building."

…

And that's that for this portion; now we move on to narrowing down the suspects! If anyone figures it out before the big reveal, I'll be impressed; what would be a suitable prize? Anyone can suggest a mystery they'd like to see….how about this? First one to figure out who the villain is (in this case, it's a duo), can request a oneshot from me (preferably about Avatar or Korra) and I'll dedicate it to them. Does that seem reasonable?

Well, let's give it a shot, at least: The first reviewer to correctly figure out/guess who the villains are behind this mystery gets to order a oneshot specified to their demands from me.

Here's a helpful guide to the residents of the Saint Bara to aid in the guessing, in order of rooming:

3rd floor (8 possible rooms): empty, Sokka and Toph (undercover), Tiguh, empty; empty, Mrs. Fink (across the hall from Sokka and Toph), empty, Ao and Saku and Shi (the Fire Nation colonials that Fuin was complaining about in the last chapter)

2nd floor (8 possible rooms): Fi (missing), Kahn, Hina, empty; Ti (across from Fi), Gin (across the hall from Kahn), empty, empty

1st floor (6 possible rooms): Gai (missing), empty, Ji Fuin and his unnamed wife (right next to the lobby); Ed (moved out), empty, Bu (moved out).

…

Anyway, sorry if the point of view shifting was confusing; I tried to write Toph, but discovered that her sensing abilities almost made the case too easy; hopefully that will change with practice and future chapters.

Please read and review; they're the motivation to go on and