Author note: Hurakotay, thanks for your review. I know about Ki signatures, but the       

                      fic doesn't work if Gohan's super strong and can fly. He will get his

                      abilities back eventually, and there is going to be a battle showdown.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z. I wish! Boo hoo.

Chapter 2: A long way from home

            As night was settling in, Gohan still hadn't found any answers. He was beginning to wonder where he should go for the night. He'd slept rough before, many times, but never in a place as crowded as this. There seemed to be so many people, like the old man, just sleeping on the side of the road. It confused Gohan. He knew of homeless people and he'd seen them in cities in Japan, but he'd never seen this many, all on the same street.

       "Hey squirt!"

Gohan looked up, startled, and saw a scruffy looking youth. He must have been about 15 or 16.

       "Your new on this street, aren't you, kid." The youth carried on.

       "Eh, what?" Gohan muttered back, even more confused.

       "Don't play dumb with me kid." The youth yelled at Gohan, then pulled him up by the scruff of the neck and looked him straight in the eye.

       "Hey! Lemme go!" Gohan cried, squirming like a fish.

The youth dropped him and Gohan fell hard on the floor.

I've finally worked it out, Gohan thought. I've lost the ability to manipulate my ki. That guy shouldn't have been able to hurt me, but he did. That means I can't fly, or fire ki blasts!

       "Oi! I'm talking to you." The youth said, poking his finger into Gohan's chest.

       "Oh, I'm, er, sorry." Gohan replied, quickly.

       "So are you new here or what?" The youth pressed, impatiently.

       "Er, yeah." Gohan answered.

       "Okay then, that's all I needed." The youth said. "My name's Jack. Come with me and meet the rest of the gang."

Gohan, although very uncertain, followed. After all, what else was he gonna do.

            After walking through lots of rubbish littering the road, and past many more men and women like the old man he'd spoken to, Gohan stopped as Jack did. Jack then started climbing the drainpipe attached to the building they had stopped outside.

       "Up there?" Gohan asked, uncertainly.

       "Yeah! Your not scared are you, shrimp?" Jack asked, mockingly.

       "No! No, course not." Gohan replied, putting on a brave face. It scared him, not being able to manipulate his ki. He felt pain at the slightest thing.

            Half way up the drainpipe, Gohan's foot slipped and he fell a metre or so down before managing to regain his hold.

       "You alright down there, kid?" Jack shouted down.

       "Yeah, um, no problem." Gohan shouted back. Phew! That was too close, he thought.

            They finally reached the top, and what Gohan saw totally blew him away. About 20 boys and girls, ranging from his age to Jack's age, were living on this roof. Wearing clothes that were torn, filthy and too small for them, they had rags that they slept under, some of which already had occupants. It was then that Gohan realised there were even younger kids, already asleep under these rags.

            Jack motioned for Gohan to follow him again, so he made his way across the roof, carefully stepping around the sleeping figures. He felt uncomfortable having all eyes focused on him, from those children still awake. Noticing Gohan's uncomfortable expression, Jack quietly said,

       "Don't worry about them. They've never seen an oriental before. Oh, by the way, how did you get to London?"

Gohan stared back at him in, horrified. London! He thought he must be in England, but having it confirmed just shocked him.

       "I, er, don't really know, to be honest with you." Gohan replied, truefully.

       "Oh! Never mind." Jack's expression softened. "What's your name, kid?"

       "Er, Gohan." He replied, blushing slightly.

       "You sure know your English, Gohan." Jack complimented. "Welcome aboard, kid."

Gohan stared in amazement, as all the kids, who were awake, came up to him, shook his hand, spoke his or her name to him, and then settled down under their rags for sleep. Gohan, completely over-whelmed by all this, was blinking sleep out of his eyes. Jack passed him a rag to sleep under. Gohan accepted it, gratefully, and found a spot near the middle of the roof to settle on.

            As he was laying out his rag, he saw another kid, probably about 14 years old, poke his head over the top of the roof, as he ascended the drainpipe. He had a newspaper in one hand, as he eased himself up onto the roof. Gohan caught site of the date of the newspaper, as the boy walked past him. 25th October 1900. Gohan jolted with shock. 1900! He had travelled into the past somehow, and had ended up in Victorian London.

            As he settled to get some sleep, Gohan's thoughts rested with his mother and father. He missed them so much, and they must be so worried about him. A tear rolled down his cheek. Why did that tornado have to whisk him away from his home? And away from his mother and father? He gently cried himself to sleep, wishing with all his might that he were back in his warm bed at home, with his mom and dad not far from him.