Hi! Sorry, it's been sooooo long since I last updated. I'm hoping it'll be more frequently that I put up chapters. I thank you all who have stuck with this after my first chapter :) Just to clear the air, the first 3 chapters are Valjean POV. I had a question about that, and just telling you it's Valjean. We will get into everyone else soon enough :) So, um, here you go! Enjoy Chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Unknown

He was dreaming. It had to be a dream. How could one transport through time? How could one pass 200 years of history? This was all too much for him to take in. The man with the newspaper had long since taken his daily read and departed, leaving a very confused man in the streets of New York.

New York. Of all the places, he ended up in New York. He had only heard small talk about the growing city, though it was no Paris at the time. However, things have changed immensely in the last couple of centuries. People filled the sidewalks and the roads filled with taxis, as the man had said they were called.

He had to find some place safe. He had to get away from the public area. People had begun to stare. He needed to update to the time period, and fast.

He sprinted past hundreds of people. He searched for an inn or a place to stay the night. Most of the places he saw were eateries or shops. The world had greatly changed. Nothing was the same.

He needed help. He needed someone to give him more information about how people lived in modern times. The world was so different to him. Buildings reach the skies, the population had more than doubled, and there was much new technological advancement.

He observed the world around him. If he were to blend in, he would need to understand how people went about in their daily life. He stood to the side of a building in another alley and examined those who passed by. Most of the men he saw had the same style of clothing: matching pants and jacket, a plain white shirt, and a tie in various colors. Others, however, wore informal clothing, such as the man with the newspaper from earlier.

This new world was too complicated for him to grasp so quickly. Paris in the nineteenth century did not have taxis or buildings reaching the skies. The highest building he could remember did not reach half the height of what buildings in the future reached.

And there was the question of how he got there. That light…it completely blinded anyone who stared long enough. One minute he was bringing Marius to safety, and then the next he transported 200 years into the future.

Marius could die, he thought. No one knew where he was. They were seconds from going underground into the sewers, but the light came and changed everything.

His main concern was Cosette. She would be lonely with only Toussaint for company. How would they survive? They had no money without him. He was their benefactor; they would lose everything. Why was he the one to go? Cosette helped him start over, and now those dreams were gone. They would never see each other again.

He would find a way to go back. He would make sure his Cosette was safe. He would do anything to change this new fate life had given him.

He stared at his uniform. He had to dispose of it soon and change. People continued to stare, and some whispered in each other's ears. He was already changing the future just by standing among them. A young woman holding a child in her arms didn't seem to mind him. She smiled and waved with her free hand. He slowly lifted his hand into the air and waved back. She could help him, he thought.

He made the brave decision to approach her. She did not hide or walk away from him, but simply she greeted him. Maybe she could help him. He hoped and prayed she could. "Excuse me, Madame," he began, "I am…I am looking for a place to stay the night. Is there…um, is there anywhere near here?"

The woman smiled at him. "Um, yeah, the Gorber Hotel is just down the block. Or, if you're looking for an apartment, the Central Apartments are on Fifth Avenue, not too far from here." An apartment. That seemed like his best option.

"Thank you, Mademoiselle," He smiled and bowed to her. She smiled back and nodded. She was not frightened of his appearance, as everyone else seemed to be. He ran past hundreds of bystanders to Fifth Avenue. He needed to take shelter and assess his situation. It was still daylight, so he would have plenty of time to find a place to live. He had a feeling this apartment would help him understand his situation more clearly.

He passed street after street until Fifth Avenue appeared. He took a right and walked down the path. He was beginning to understand the world just from a simple walk around the city. The lights above the streets told the taxis when to go and when to stop for other taxis going a different direction to go. Red told them to stop and green told them to go. Yellow was a chance for the taxis to go faster, and he noticed the yellow taxis did that often. He noticed yellow was a very common color for the taxis. The others were more for the wealthier kind, he concluded.

The world was still beautiful, he thought. There was a large park nearby with many flowers and trees. It reminded him of the Luxembourg Gardens. He and Cosette would visit frequently and observe the scenery. It was a wonderful place for them to enjoy their natural surroundings. He enjoyed spending time with daughter. He just never imagined it would end.

There was a sign on a building saying, The Central Apartments. This was the place the woman mentioned. He ran to the front door and opened it. A bell rang as he walked in and he observed the inside. There were a few couches with slightly smaller books on tables and lights hanging from an ugly green wallpaper. The front desk was just up ahead with a man in uniform sleeping on the chair. His feet were propped up on the counter and his hat covered his face.

"Um, excuse me, Monsieur," he said. The man had not heard him. He walked in step by step until he made it to the desk. The man was sound asleep. Papers covered the desk and a bell rested on the counter. He put his hand over the bell, wondering if he should ring it and wake the man from his slumber. He needed a place to stay, but he didn't want to upset the man…

He decided to ring. The man would have to deal with an interruption. He pressed the small button on the bell and waited for the man. Nothing. Not even a flinch. He rang repeatedly until the man slowly awakened.

"Huh, wah…" The man lifted his cap to reveal a pair of worn out brown eyes. No wonder he was sleeping on the job.

"Hello," he told the man, "I'm sorry to disturb your slumber, but I-"

"Oh, please intrude," the man said, standing up, "Finally, I get a break." He stared at the man who was searching his pockets.

"Um, I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."

"You're my replacement," the man said. He opened his eyes. Replacement? He was only looking for somewhere to live. The man thought otherwise. "Um, here are the keys, I'm guessing you have your own cell phone, and I'll be here to take your shift at eight!" The man put the keys in his hands and laid the cap on his head. They were wearing almost exactly the same uniform. He nodded and smiled as if he should have known.

"No, I'm just looking for a room." He cleared up the situation, but the man did not understand clearly.

"The job comes with the room," he explained, "You pay half of the rent and work here on six hours shifts. It's a pretty good deal, if you ask me, but I was up all night and did not get any sleep. I need a break." He surveyed his options. He could continue to tell him the truth and say he's only looking for a room, which he has no money for, or he could accept this job, get the room and only have to pay half of what everyone else pays.

He smiled to the man. "Yep, I'm your replacement." There was a ring from the bell, but no one rang it. A door opened automatically and a man in uniform came out. He had a dark blue uniform with a belt around his waist carrying many devices. He noticed there was a gun.

But there was something familiar about this man. Not the uniform, not the gun, the face was much too recognizable. The dark, cold eyes, the short-cut hair, the determination…

"Hey, Marty," he said, "I'm going on duty."

"Catch the thugs for us!" Marty replied. He smiled and chuckled. They patted each other on the back as if they had been friends for ages. But this man had not been here for ages. This man came the same time he came.

"You…I know you…" He whispered. The familiar man turned to him in confusion. "Have…have we met?" The man smiled and shook his head. He didn't remember.

"Your face is not a face I would forget." He smiled and patted him on the back as he did to Marty. As he would to a friend. They were not friends. They were the complete opposite.

"See you later, Marty!" He waved and walked out of the apartment building, leaving a very confused man behind.

That face, he thought, I am not mistaken. Javert came to this world, too.

So, looks like Valjean was wrong. He was not the only one to come to New York. But...Javert doesn't remember him. We will get into that soon enough! And did anyone see the Les Mis movie reference? I crack myself up :P Next chapter will also be a Valjean POV, and then we won't see him or Javert for a while. This is mainly C/M/E/É, and I have a feeling we will see one or two or them soon...very, very soon...

Anabelle ;)