"I just got another call from our ice gang ally. Cole, he needs your help" was what Kuo greeted Cole with today. It seemed like he couldn't catch a break lately. First was Zeke's and Laroche's failed hospital idea. God damn that was a disaster, and now this. "Hey Cole i should warn you, he's uh…he's changed since you saw him last. He says they're all changing, some faster than others". 'Great, just great. The world is really out for me today, isn't it?' This was Cole's train of thought for the day. This day nothing was going in his favor, he almost died multiple times today because of his luck.

Cole's day started off just great, trying to save a woman whom he thought was getting harassed by militia soldiers. However after dispatching the soldiers instead of receiving another version of the same thanks he got a million times before saving others. He was met by a screeching voice throwing accusations of assault at him. The woman wasn't getting harrassed, she was a militia supporter, and her screeches only attracted more militia. All of them with the guns pointed and ready to shoot anything that was in sight, ally or foe. So Cole had to forcefully take the woman, jump out of sight and avoid the militia's hailstorm of bullets while shielding said woman from them. Of course, she hadn't made his job easy, digging her nails in his chest and screaming in his ears all the while. But in the end she and him were safe. Then there were the kids stranded in the middle of a building in flood town. They were in the middle of a deep pool of water with the only bridge there having fallen after they crossed it. While climbing the building to save the kids, one of the pieces of metal he got a hold of in his climb wasn't latched on to the building right way, and didn't support his weight. So the moment he grabbed a hold of it, his center of balance destabilized, which ended with him taking a nasty plunge straight into the water and almost dying, again. He did save the kids in the end, and they even apologized for putting him in that situation, which took away a bit of the sting, but it did hurt like a bitch. But the worst one happened while he was in a skirmish with the Vermack and militia. They were in the middle of a gang war that was hinted at happening throughout the day. With both sides intensifying in skirmishes along the center of flood town. It was hell, between helping the civilians out of there, and dealing with the gang war itself. It was taxing back in empire city when he had to deal with the occasional one happening. But he was tired, and died almost 2 times today and this just made his day worse. What hit the nail in the coffin for this day was when he fell from a building by taking a rocket launcher straight in the back. That wasn't the end though, because he fell straight in a group of ice spikes left by some dead the ice heavy's towers and some of the ice used by some of the rushers. Impalement hurts, badly. His scream literally stopped the fighting for a second. Not one of his proudest moments to say the least. He didn't know how he got out of that one alive, but thank god he did.

But he decided to break away from this train of thought and head off with the meeting place where his Vermack ally wanted to meet him at. Perhaps it's a good sign, maybe his luck will take a turn, after all, he hasn't been contacted by him in days. 'This ought to be good at least, more opportunities to stop the Vermack. Hell, maybe even find a blast core if I'm lucky enough".

Right now Cole MacGrath was resting in Zeke's makeshift railcar hideout, resting after that disaster with the ice spikes. He knows Zeke won't let him hear the end of it after he hears of the ice spike disaster, but at the moment he doesn't care. The news of the Vermack mole looking for him improved his mood a bit, he really hoped it would be something good. He was pretty far away, taking 30 minutes to reach him, since he wanted to meet him on the other side of where he was currently at, near the location of the railyard. He did get there in the end though.

To say Cole was surprised by the state of his ice conduit ally would be an understatement. Kuo really undersold what happened to him, "changed" wasn't enough to describe it. Hell, he looked like a walking tank. "Um, hey bud, did…did you put on some weight since we last met?" Cole couldn't help but to quip at the state his friend was in, it was genuinely the first time he choked out a laugh today.

"Ha…ha,... very…funny." He also had breathing problems too it seemed. He could barely speak. "Ok, now that's more concerning, are you sure you're alright man?" Cole's amusement had faded instantly, concern replacing it. His friend wasn't looking too hot. "Don't…worry about me, im…. alright. Look, some people…are going to… be attacked…. by swamp monsters. It's…Vermack's fault, we…routed…them…from…their…terr-'COUGH, COUGH, COUGH'-territory" He could barely finish the sentence before breaking into a coughing fit. "You don't look alright to me man, you need help" Cole's voice softened, his eyes looking all over his ice gang friend,concern evident in them. His condition was not good at all. "I said… don't worry about me!, look, we gotta…'cough cough' help those people." Cole's mouth just hung open, in disbelief at what he was hearing "We?What we?Look, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but you sound like you barely have the strength to snap a twig right now. Much less take on an entire group of swamp monsters"by this point his left eye was twitching, and his voice was gruff. He didn't need another reason to hate this day even more. "That's… why asked for you?, didn't…I?'COUGH'" Was the reply from the ice soldier.

Cole just didn't have the patience to argue with him today, so instead of pushing back, he just said "Fine, but don't hold me back" followed by an irritated sigh. "We already wasted enough time, we need to move out, you know where they will end up?" The least he could do is focus on the task in front of him right now. "I…do 'cough cough' follow…me" And so they were on the move.

The place they headed to was the railyard near the meeting place. At least he chose a good meet up spot.

And they arrived just in the nick of time too, just as the train yard was overwhelmed by the swamp monsters. In response, the two of them got to work. The ice soldier got the attention of the horde, which seemed to be comprised of hive lords and their annoying spawn. And Cole focused on getting the civilians out of there. What impressed the ice soldier though was how Cole easily switched attention from one thing to another, whenever a swamp monster escaped from his sights and went for the civilians, Cole would quickly dispatch it with precision. Making sure no one was hurt. His initial assessment seemed to be wrong, he was way more controlled and focused than he seemed. While Cole didn't exactly hide it, he saw it on his face when they met that he didn't have the most stellar day. But being able to put aside his frustration's and focus on the task at hand proved he was disciplined, and took people's lives seriously. Especially when they were in danger.

As Cole finished escorting the civilians out of the danger zone, a hive lord tried to attack the ice conduit, but before he could chow down on him, he got an amp to the face. "Not only are you looking like a human tank, you seem to also have the reaction speed of one" Cole quipped. "Ha, ha,... fuck you" was what he came up with in response. "Now that's the comedian i know" he couldn't help but quip again. Cole then offered him a hand to help him get up. "Thanks, now… let's focus on the task at… hand".

Before the hive lord could bury into the ground, the ice soldier launched an ice pillar from the ground and sent the creature flying into the air. "I said it once, I'll say it again, you thought about becoming a baseball player instead of doing this?" said Cole before launching a barrage of cluster grenades toward the hive lord, quickly dispatching it. "And, like i said, i… could have gone pro…but i don't want to get…into…it" the ice conduit said in rebuttal. "Alright, fine, I understand, the past can hurt a lot, hell, there ain't a day where thinking about the past doesn't hurt for me." Cole's eyes went downcast. A reminder of Trish suddenly popping up in his head. This day just sucked.

"We…shou-should probably 'Cough' get out of here… We shouldn't… be seen together… like this" The ice conduit thought moving places was a good idea, maybe make him open up, Cole looked like he needed someone to talk to, badly. They chose to go to a nearby rooftop outside the railyard. Hell the rooftop was flooded apartments were the only places you could go to in most of flood town. At least this one caught the sunset.

"Ok, so what now?, Were done here for today, we just part ways?" inquired Cole. At this point he was just over this day, he wanted to sleep. "I… thought we could… 'COUGH' talk. It's clear…you had… a shit day" Was that a hint of concern in his voice?Honestly, Cole couldn't tell. "So what?I get to spill my troubles to you and you get to keep yours close to your chest?, doesn't feel like a fair trade to me." The ice soldiers just 'hmmd' in response. "Talking… even with a stranger 'COUGH' 'COUGH'...can help" was the best response he had. "Heh, nice. Which psychology book did you take that one from?" again, another humorous quip from Cole. It's all he had going for him today. "It… was called, how… to deal with… angsty super powered individuals…101" And the ice gang soldier shot back with a quip in response. Cole just put head in his hand and snickered. "Oh god that was so bad. Please never try to make a joke again." despite that his actions didn't match his words. It did lift his mood up a little, so that was a good sign.

In the end the snickering stopped. Followed by Cole getting up from his crouching position with a tired sigh, taking his amp out, and putting both his hands over the top of it, followed by his head. Using it as a support. His eyes were downcast again and he looked at the sunset a bit before looking at his friend with the corners of his eyes.

[Play Disco Elysium-Deserter Soundtrack]

"I just don't know man. I feel responsible for all of this. If i hadn't been greedy for a few extra bucks, and didn't open that package. None of this would've happened." This was pressing on him a lot lately, especially today. He felt responsible for all this chaos, all these lives ruined. "Way i see it?... 'COUGH COUGH COUGH'...This still… would have…happened 'COUGH'... Bertrand…had a sphere… of his own…remember?" His reasoning did make sense, Kessler likely had a second detonation scheduled in case the first one failed as well. "You're…going through…survivors' guilt. Perhaps… there's more… you could…have done. But… 'COUGH COUGH' that's in…the past." the ice soldier's voice had started turning sullen as well "I… have my own fair share… of dealing with…survivors' guilt. It helps… if you think about…what your loved one's would have wanted. My sister would want me… to move forward despite it…all. Sometimes, it's all… we can do. 'COUGH COUGH COUGH' Just…move…forward." Something in his words struck a chord with Cole, it seemed to snap him out of that sullen mood he had. "Just move forward huh?, Trish?, is that what you would have wanted me to do?Actually, what would you have wanted me to do?Would you be proud of what I've done here?" He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice his friend making a sit for himself. Hell, even the sunset passed, there was a full moon in the sky right now, reflecting over the murky waters of flood town.

The two spent the rest of the night just looking towards the horizon, both seemingly lost in their own thoughts.

Author's note:

Man this took way too long to get out. It should have gotten out earlier than this. I actually had the original draft done a bit after the first chapter released, i just never got around making the modifications it needed. Then i got lazy and got thrown into an unexpected vacation with no acess to my accounts. But i managed to finally get it out in the end. Better late than never?, right?.

And as always, feedback is appreciated.