Ezekiel opened his eyes; standing over him was a girl with long strawberry blonde hair and eyes the color of amethyst. "You ok?" she asked from behind amber colored sunglasses.

"Um.. hi," he said as he got to his feet. "Ezekiel Jones," he said holding out his hand.

"Charmed," she muttered. "Usually I would ask who the hell you are and what you are doing on school property. But you look like you're in a much trouble as I am."

"What do you mean?" Ezekiel asked.

"My father he did something to the internet."

"The internet?" he asked. "I'm going to start again: Hello, my name is Ezekiel Jones, I fell through a portal where I switched places with someone named Megumi. Now you explain to me how your father has gained control of the internet."

"My name is Erina Nakiri and my father controls some very bad people."

"Ok," Ezekiel nodded. "Go on."

"And now certain other people, my friends, are going missing. The latest being Megumi. There's only one person who can help us." Erina paused for a moment. "Well, only one on my side of the portal or universe of where ever the hell you're from. Where are you from?"

"I'm originally from Australia, but my team works out of Portland," he replied.

"Portland? Like Oregon?" she asked as she started to walk away.

"Yes," he said, following her.

"What do you do exactly?"

"My team, we're called the librarians."

Erina paused; cupping her hands over her mouth to hide laughter. "Why?"

"If I wasn't stuck here without my equipment I would be able to show you," he muttered. Ezekiel would only hope the rest of the team was figuring out a way to get him home. "And what we do is investigate paranormal activity associated with magical artifacts or the lay lines."

"Is that right?" she asked, looking skeptical. "Well, I'm on my way to speak to someone who might have knowledge of that kind of 'stuff.'"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he has knowledge of a great many things and luckily he's in town."

Erina made her way to a waiting limo. "I was going to ask Megumi to come with. We have worked well together in the past. Hopefully, you won't slow me down too badly. "

The car drove to what appeared to be the tourist district, arriving at a place called Restaurant Yukihira. Ezekiel had to admit he was feeling hungry.

They were greeted by a boy with spiky red hair. "Hey Erina, did you find any clues at the school?

"Not really," she sighed. "Were you able to find any clues from the local customers?"

"Sort of," he explained. "People have seen strange lights and colors across the night sky, especially near the ocean." Soma paused, looking towards the kitchen. "…And then there's my dad."

"What about your dad?" Erina asked. "I know he just got back into town a few hours ago; does he know anything?"

"That's the thing; he knows something but he's refusing to tell me." He turned to Ezekiel. "Anyway, who are you?"

"Ezekiel Jones, I'm a librarian." He held out his hand for a handshake.

Erina turned to Ezekiel. "Sorry, Soma this is Ezekiel, he fell through a portal. Ezekiel this is Soma, one of my closest friends."

Soma shook his hand. "Librarian, huh- so you're knowledgeable about stuff?"

"My team and I specialize in research about paranormal events- such as why I somehow switched places with your friend Megumi."

"You switched places with Megumi? Is she ok?" Soma asked.

"She's with my team, so she'll be safe."

Erina placed a hand on Soma's chest, "Cut to the point- Where is your dad?"

"He's out back, " Soma replied, "in the alleyway."

She grabbed Ezekiel. "Come on."

"But I'm hungry," he grumbled.

"Soma, make our new friend something to-go," she said as she dragged Ezekiel by the arm.

An older man with long dark red hair sat on a crate. He was smoking a cigarette looking up at the sun. "Hello, Miss Erina."

"Hello, Mr. Yukihira"

"Call me Joichiro," he said to her. "I've known you so long you're practically family."

"Ok, Joichiro. What information do you have about the disappearances?"

"Your father has kidnapped my son."

"Soma?" Ezekiel asked. "As in the person running your kitchen?"

"If only it were that simple," Joichiro replied. "After leaving school when I was a teen I wondered the world in search of my passion- along the way my heart was captured by many remarkable women; sirens and angels who healed my soul."

"We get it, you have more than one kid," Ezekiel muttered, the news did not seem to be that 'mind-blowing.'

But Erina stood frozen in place. "Who?"

Joichiro took a long drag from his cigarette. "I didn't even know he existed until after the events of last year."

"Last year? After the revolution, when my father was driven from the school?"

Joichiro nodded. "I guess since your father couldn't brainwash Soma he took the next best thing. There was only one problem; my other son was the child of a sea witch."

Ezekiel spoke up, "That won't be a problem; my team has some experience with witches."

"Who are you?"

"Ezekiel Jones, librarian," he said.

"What?"

"A friend," Erina shouted, "Now continue the story!"

"Before I left her, my lover once told me a story of a portal. She described it as a means to tap into the electrical energy that connects all worlds. She said it would be possible to create such a device if someone could harness the power of the magic and combine it with the power of…" Joichiro paused.

"Of what?" Erina asked.

"...Emotional pain."

Erina's mouth fell open. She took out her phone she scrolled through her contacts and hit call. "Alice? Where is Ryo?"

"Who's Ryo?" Ezekiel asked.

Joichiro answered. "He's someone who knew only pain in his young life."

"And you think Erina's father is capable of harnessing his pain to open a dimensional rift?"

"Azami Nakiri is capable of a great many things," Joichiro said sadly. "If I had only known I could have protected that poor child."

Erina finished her call. "Ryo Kurokiba is no child."

"What did Alice say?" Joichiro asked.

"Ryo went missing, around the time of the first disappearances. But it took a while for Alice to report it because she had sent him on an errand. When she lost contact she assumed he had just gotten lost or held up."

"Where was the errand?" Ezekiel asked. "That's the first place we should check for clues."

"That's the thing, the errand was in Vancouver. Alice told me she has reason to believe he made it to Canada."

"So let's go to Canada."

Erina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we'll just hop on the next plane."

Joichiro stood up. "Your family doesn't have a private jet?"

"No," Erina answered, clearly frustrated.

"Does Alice?" Ezekiel asked. "I'm not sure how she fits into all of this..."

Erina gasped. "You're a genius! That's how she knew he arrived in Canada." She started back through the restaurant, heading for the car.

Ezekiel followed. On the way, Soma handed him a bag. "I made you and Erina some beef skewers. "

"Thanks, mate," Ezekiel said, taking one out for himself.

"Did my dad say anything?"

"Yeah, you have a long-lost half-brother: someone named Ryo, who apparently has superhuman levels of emotional pain."

Soma had no reply.

"Anyway, me and Erina are headed to visit someone named Alice to ask about a free flight to Canada."

"Ok," Soma said, with a confused but positive tone. "Have a nice time."

As Ezekiel got into the limo he could hear Soma shouting. "Dad! Where are you? This is serious! I can't believe you weren't going to tell me!"

Erina looked at Ezekiel. "What did you do?"

He shrugged. "They're your friends."