Hey there! I'm back with the second chapter to this fic! After getting the feedback from the first chapter I took the advice that I was given. I don't have much to say about this chapter aside from there may be spoilers that stem a bit farther in the game then right after Zaude.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Vesperia or the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Two: Hope and Hope Lost

Duke watched the battle from a distance with Khroma.

"That man was a fool," Khroma said, "He should have headed my warnings. He has only plunged our world into chaos with his little quest for power. I thought you said those children would stop him."

"As far as I am concerned, they did stop him," Duke said as he watched the giant Blastia core crushed Alexei, "He has indeed plunged our world into chaos however there is nothing more he can do."

"When do you plan on getting the Dein Nomos back from that boy Yuri Lowell?" Khroma asked, "It will be crucial if you wish to stop that mass in the sky. It is only a matter of time before the power of the shrine fails and the Adephagos is awakened in full."

"Worry not Khroma, I will get the sword back from Yuri soon," Duke said as he watched as the young female knight caught Yuri off guard and stabbed him in the stomach.

"Duke!" Khroma gasped as she too witnessed the attack on Yuri, "Should that boy fall into the hands of the knights, you'll never get that sword back. The Empire will surely reclaim it."

"It doesn't look as though that will happen," Duke said as he watched Yuri stagger towards the edge of the platform, "Khroma, track his decent then get as close as you can."

"From that height," Khroma said, "That fall will kill him. And with his body in the condition that it is in…" She followed Yuri's fall and stopped just above the water's surface.

"Yuri Lowell will not die," Duke said as he removed his jacket then leapt into the icy sea after Yuri

Duke swam towards Yuri. He could see the sheath of the Dein Nomos tied tightly to the boy's left hand. He could also see the extent of the stab wound, it wasn't terribly deep however if left untreated the wound would kill the boy. Duke knew that he wouldn't have time to remove the sword from the boy's hand. Duke himself was running out of air and in his condition, it was only a matter of time before Yuri drowned.

Duke gently grabbed the boy then swam towards the surface. He could feel Yuri's weak pulse against his hand. He didn't quite know why he saved the boy again, perhaps it was the sword tied around his hand or perhaps it was the boy's determination to change things for the better. But whatever the reason Duke had once again prevented the twenty-one year old from losing his life.

"Khroma!" Duke gasped as he broke the surface of the water and held the boy to the Entelexia.

"The boy," Khroma asked as she carefully took him into her talons, "Is he alive?"

"Barely," Duke said as he pulled himself out of the water.

"Where should we take him?" Khroma asked as she carefully passed the unconscious boy to Duke.

"Zaphias," Duke said, "It's his home town."

"Duke," Khroma said, "Mantaic is closer. We should take him there, he's not going to hold out long in such a condition."

"Yuri has a poor tolerance to the heat," Duke said as he pressed a wad of fabric to the wound to slow the bleeding, "A desert town would not treat him kindly. Head to Zaphias, we will be able to get him a better doctor there."

"You're going to help this boy again?" Khroma asked.

"He will die of blood-loss and hypothermia if we do nothing." Duke said as he wrapped his jacket around Yuri's shivering form, "He wants to save this world and I feel as though he is willing to do whatever it takes."

When Khroma landed outside of the capital she allowed Duke to slide off then she returned to her Krytian form, "What do you need me to do?" She asked.

"Take him to the Lower Quarter and find out where he lives," Duke said as passed Yuri to the woman, "I will go find him a doctor."

Khroma took the boy and headed into the Lower Quarter. As she walked she got odd glances from the residents and people seemed to be muttering about her under their breath to one another.

"Is that…Yuri?" A young boy wearing a white and orange stripped tee-shirt asked her.

"Do you know him?" Khroma asked.

"Yeah I do," The boy said, "Everyone here does. What happened to him? He's really hurt!"

"He was injured during a battle," Khroma said, "Do you happen to know where he lives?"

"Of course I do," The boy said.

"Could you show me to his home?" She asked.

"It's right this way," The boy said, "Hey…is Yuri gonna be okay?" he asked softly, "I don't know what I would do if something was to happen to him, he's like my big brother."

"He'll be fine," Khroma said, "My friend is getting him a doctor as we speak."

"A lot of the doctors don't like coming to the Lower Quarter," The boy said, "They don't think we're deserving of their time or services. Which is why a lot of the times when someone here needs medicine, Yuri steals it for us." The boy paused, "Yuri lives in the first room just up the stairs. Please take care of him, he takes such good care of all of us."

"I will," Khroma said, "Thank you." She walked up the stairs to Yuri's room. The room was small but neat. She placed the boy on his bed and sighed. Yuri was very pale and while the bleeding had slowed, the damage was probably already done, Yuri's pulse was weak. His lips had a pale blue hue to them however the tell-tale yet shallow rise and fall of his chest assured Khroma that the boy was in fact breathing.

"He's lost too much blood," Khroma thought, "Is he even going to recover from this?"

"Khroma," Duke said as he walked into the room carrying a few thick blankets, "I need you to get a life bottle."

"Is the doctor coming?" Khroma asked, "The boy who led me here said that the doctors don't usually come to the Lower Quarter."

"I managed to persuade one to come," Duke said.

"I'll have you know," A man said as he entered the room, "I don't normally take patients such as him."

"If it is money you are concerned about fear not," Duke said, "You will be well paid."

"If you insist," The man said, "Do you have a life bottle?"

"Khroma is going to get one now," Duke said, "How is the boy?"

"He'll live," The man said, "It is deep however it hasn't hit any vital points. Change the bandages every day or so, keep the area around it clean and use a life bottle on him every day until he wakes. The life bottles will keep his body nourished while he's unconscious and help to speed his recovery."

"I thank you," Duke said as the man began bandaging the boy's stomach.

"That should do it," The man said, "Inform me immediately if he shows even the slightest signs of developing an infection. I'll call for one of the castle's healers to seal the wound with a healing arte then treat the infection." He handed Duke a small bottle, "This will help prevent that from happening however there will still be a slight chance of infection. I can also tell that he is hypothermic so he will probably develop a fever within the next few days so don't be alarmed. Just make sure he takes it easy when he wakes up. A wound like that is going to take a while to heal completely. So tell him no battles until he's completely better."

"I will let him know," Duke said as he handed the man a good sized bag of gald, "I thank you for your time."

"You're welcome," The man said as he took his payment and left the room as Khroma walked back in.

"Will he be alright?" Khroma asked as she handed the life bottle to Duke.

"He will be fine," Duke said as he carefully covered Yuri with the thick blankets, "I am leaving the boy in your care. There is something I must attend to."

"Ba'ul and a Krytian woman named Judith are inquiring about this child," Khroma said, "What should I tell them?"

"Tell them nothing," Duke said, "It would be a problem if Yuri's friends were to interfere right now. He needs rest."

"They're worried Duke," Khroma said, "They think this child was killed. The princess could heal him with her power."

"It is best to let his body recover on its own," Duke said, "Tell them nothing. They can wait until he has fully recovered."

Khroma sighed as Duke left the room. There were times when she didn't understand the human that she had befriended and this was one of those times.

"Commandant, we have thoroughly searched the surrounding area and we are sorry to report that there were no signs of Mister Yuri Lowell."

Flynn sighed he had been afraid of that. "If he fell into the ocean, he's done for…" He thought.

"Thank you," Flynn said tiredly. He hadn't gotten any sleep since Yuri had gone missing and it had been a good twelve hours, "You may take your leave."

The knight left and Flynn punched his desk, "Dammit Yuri!" He yelled, "This isn't how I wanted things to end up!"

"I'm sorry. Did I come at a bad time?"

Flynn looked up, "Lady Estellise," he asked, "What is it?"

"Rita and Judith have returned from the shrine," Estellise said, "They couldn't find Yuri."

Flynn sighed, "Could you call the rest of your group here?" he asked as he rubbed his aching temples. He may have been exhausted, too exhausted to deal with what had happened but he didn't have a choice.

"I'll go get them," Estellise said, "They're all waiting outside."

The rest of the group walked into the room. They all looked as though they were in the same boat that Flynn was in when it came to the amount of sleep they had gotten in the past twelve hours or so. "I will continue my efforts to search for Yuri," he said, "In the meantime you should return to your normal lives…I've know Yuri for a long time and…he wouldn't want you to stop doing the things that are important to you just because he went missing."

"That does sound like Yuri," Judith said.

"What should we do?" Karol asked.

"We should do what Flynn said," Estellise replied, "He knows Yuri better than all of us."

"I guess I can go back to Aspio," Rita said, "But would it be alright if I investigated here first?"

"I don't see a problem with it," Flynn said, "I will inform the Imperial research team that you will be there and that they are not to interfere with your work."

"I'm going back to Danghrest," Karol said.

"As will I," Raven said, "I wanna see if things have settled down after the Don's passin'."

"What about you Judith?" Estellise asked.

"I'm going to help Rita here then I'll do what I please," Judith said, "What are you going to do Estelle?"

"I'm going to go back to Zaphias with Flynn," Estellise said.

"You're going back to the castle?" Rita asked in disbelief, "But why?"

"The only reason I was allowed to continue the journey was because Yuri was protecting me," Estellise said, "I will help Flynn with the search efforts," She lowered her voice, "I know that Yuri is still alive somewhere…"

"I really hope you're right…" Flynn said quietly, "I just…really hope you're right…"

Yay, Duke made an appearance! And he's just as cold as ever. Poor Flynn though, he seems to be the most bothered (aside from Sodia). So let me know what you thought and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Until next time!

Ex-shark-V-005