New Marais burned. Screams and explosions filled the sky as the Beast continued his battle against the rebels and militia who stood in his way. But all of this was of no concern to Cole MacGrath. Atop New Marais' cathedral, a vicious battle of Conduits ended. With a final surge of crimson electricity through his Amp, he executed the Napalm Conduit, his friend and recent enemy Nix. As the life of the dark-skinned Conduit cut out, a humming metallic orb rolled from her grasp. The Ray Field Inhibitor, or RFI, a device designed to destroy the Beast was the source of the conflict. Instead of killing just the Beast, it would kill all Conduits and cure a plague caused by its power giving counterpart, the Ray Sphere. Cole refused to let all Conduits die just to cure the plague. But Nix had sided with humanity, not wanting to become another nobody in the world.

And so the RFI rolled from her grasp, stopping short of the feet of an overweight man. Cole looked up from his deceased opponent and sadness grew in his heart. Zeke Dunbar, his friend, ally and brother in all but blood, stood against him. Zeke reached down and picked up the RFI, examining it from behind his sunglasses. He looked up and took in appearance the twisted man that was a brother to him. Cole's actions had turned his skin pale, his facial scar under his right eye and his veins more prominent, and both his lightning and his clothing were crimson. Cole's Amp, a forked weapon Zeke built to aid Cole was rusted and darkened. Cole stepped up to his friend, emotionally torn at what he was about to do.

"Half as long…" Cole stated in his gravelly voice, sorrow lacing each word.

"…Twice as bright" Concluded Zeke sadly. Raising the large revolver he held in his right hand, Zeke pointed it at Cole.

"I gotta try."

"I know." Cole replied with a sad smile.

*BANG*

The revolver kicked in Zeke's hand, a bullet which would have severely injured a normal man ripping into Cole. But the Prime Conduit only flinched, snarling a little as crimson electricity arced over his arms. Cole retaliated, firing a bolt of electricity in the form of a scythe blade. The Scythe Bolt hit Zeke, making the man stumble and grunt in pain, but he persevered and raised his revolver again. Another bolt hit Zeke, dropping him to a knee, but he could not give up. The revolver rose once more, yet no bolt came. Cole stood with his arm aimed and regret in his eyes, he could not bring himself to fire another bolt as he watched his oldest friend dying. Zeke struggled onto one knee, using all his remaining strength to aim his pistol, saw Cole's hesitation and fired again, hitting Cole square in the chest. This was the last push Cole needed as he stumbled back from the bullet, another Scythe Bolt cut Zeke down, finally extinguishing his life.

With heavy steps, Cole walked up to his dead friend's body and squatted before it. Resting his Amp in his arms, Cole bowed his head in sorrow and paid his respects to Zeke. All the Prime Conduit could hear was the humming of the RFI as he remembered the good times he spent with his companion, times he could never have again. Retrieving the device from Zeke's hand, he stood tall and stepped away, looking up as earth-shaking footsteps neared him. The Beast, John White, towered above the cathedral with Lucy Kuo, a fellow Conduit appearing in an icy mist on the rooftop too. Both took in the sight of death before them, then looked towards Cole, who held the RFI. With the triad of the pro-Conduit forces together, Cole dropped the RFI down and extended his Amp, electricity arcing between the prongs.

"AAARGH!" With all the sorrow and anger inside him enhancing his Conduit strength, Cole swung down on the RFI, smashing it in one. He breathed heavily. Finally, they had won.

"Cole, I can't…" echoed the voice of John in Cole's mind. "… I can't do this anymore." Both Cole and Kuo looked up at John as he leaned on the cathedral and lowered his head.

"What? After all of this?" Questioned Cole, out of breath.

"No!" The Beast looked to Cole. "I believe in the plan, but I'm so tired. I've had enough killing. I should have died a long time ago." John was right, he should have died when the Ray Sphere was destroyed in Empire City. Instead, it forced him to become The Beast. What Cole refused to accept was that John would give up now.

"John…"

"But I know you." John interrupted. "If I gave you the power, you would see it through."

Without warning John transferred his powers to Cole. Raw Conduit power surged as John gave upon his life, creating a devastating blast which flattened New Marais. In the aftermath stood only the cathedral, Cole, and Kuo. All around the wreck of a city, Cole could feel new Conduits awakening. All this power John had, and Cole saw the incredible potential he now wielded.

'I can do anything.' Cole thought as he regulated his new powers slowly. 'Anything.'

Regret filled Cole as he glanced at Zeke's body, left untouched from the blast. In Empire City they had helped people, Cole becoming a paragon of good. But in New Marais, the defeat at the hands of John made Cole bitter, selfish, and blind to who he was. And now he reaped what he had sown, unable to go back and change things. But one face flashed through his mind. A familiar, old face. Kessler. The alternate self of Cole who travelled back in time to fix his mistakes. If Kessler could perform such a feat, Cole could too, and with the powers of The Beast he could succeed where Kessler failed. Cole knew about the plague and The Beast's true nature. Most of all, he could undo the wrongs his past self would commit: New Marais, Nix, Zeke, Trish…

The selfish thought of seeing her again spurred Cole to enact this plan. He only needed to explain it to Kuo. The Ice Conduit had recovered from the blast, blinking in an icy mist next to Cole.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. But this power has given me an idea." Kuo raised an eyebrow at the new Beast.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this idea."

"Just… hear me out." Cole stated. "You remember Kessler, right?"

"The leader of the First Sons? Of course, John infiltrated them in Empire City."

"Kessler was more than that. Kessler was another version of me." Cole explained bluntly.

"What?!" Kuo reeled back in surprise.

"In his timeline he failed to beat John, an evil version of John anyway. So he used one last power. One way time travel."

"How do you know this?!" Kuo asked, confused.

"Kessler showed me just before he died. He could… transfer his memories to anyone through contact." Cole reached out and put his fingers to the sides of Kuo's temple. "Like so."

Kuo's mind was flooded with Kessler memories, or at least the relevant ones. Breaking free, Kuo backpedalled and screamed at Cole.

"It won't work Cole! That was one way travel! You'd leave me to fight non-Conduits in this reality."

"I am more than Kessler! I am The Beast!" Cole shouted back. Controlling himself, Cole's voice softened. "Maybe, just maybe I can amplify my powers to rewind all this, but exist alongside Kessler and myself."

"This is crazy Cole!" Kuo stopped, then her expression saddened. "But I cannot stop you, and honestly… I don't want to."

Cole smiled, grateful she understood, reaching out and hugging her. "Thanks… Lucy."

Kuo returned the embrace. "Go. But come find me if it works. And show me your memories."

"I will." The two Conduits released each other, separating as Cole took one last look at Zeke.

"I love you brother, and I hope to see you soon."

With the parting words, Cole flared up his power. The cathedral cracked and groaned under the pressure of Cole's power. The strain on Cole was greater though. He could feel himself and reality tearing apart as he focused all of his power into turning back time. And in a blast more devastating than the first, Cole MacGrath was gone.

?

Weightlessness was all Cole felt as he opened his grey eyes. And a void greeted them. Instantly Cole realised something was wrong, his body ached and he did not find himself in New Marais or Empire City. Looking round, all he saw was endless black, except for one, fiery figure.

"John?" Cole asked the figure, who materialised into the human form of John White, wearing a red suit jacket and trousers, but no shirt underneath.

"Yes, though I did not expect to see you here Cole." John's voice was human, a comforting change to the echoing telepathy of The Beast.

"Where exactly is here?"

"A void for The Beast." John answered, unmoving from his cross-legged position. "It is where I used to come to rebuild myself, especially after you nuked me."

"So why are you here now? You died when you gave me your powers." As much as the friendly face of John helped Cole, his presence was not a good sign.

"One moment." John bowed his head, flaring a little. "I… see."

"You see what?"

"Your choice of path has disrupted reality, allowing my existence to continue." The Prime Conduit wasn't entirely sure what that meant.

"And what does that do for me?" John sighed, extending out his legs to 'stand up'.

"Questions and questions does this predicament entail." Stated John like an actor.

"I never took you for a dramatic man." Cole quipped with a smirk.

"I'm not. I just felt like lightening the mood." Stepping forward, John closed the gap, and soon the two Conduits were within arm's reach of each other. Grey and crimson eyes stared at each other as John spoke once more.

"Whatever you did has ripped apart reality. So what I do now may not have the… desired effects." The original Beast placed his hands on Cole's shoulders. Power surged between the two, giving them some time to say their goodbyes.

"Find what you have lost, and rediscover who you are Cole." The Prime Conduit blinked, confused.

"And what have I-" Cole's question was never finished as he vanished from the void.

John lowered his hands and smiled. "Compassion. For compassion is the basis of morality."

?

"-lost?" Blinking several times, Cole realised that John had already teleported him. Empire City's saviour was infuriated that John would just warp him without saying a proper goodbye. Rage did not last in Cole's system for long, because rather than the bustling Empire City, he was towered over by trees. Something was horribly wrong, and it wasn't the splitting headache Cole received from no electricity sources nearby. Not that Cole could complain about his surroundings, the forest was beautiful and calm. A nice change of scenery concrete and wires. Good things never last however, as gunshots rang out in the distance.

'Dammit' Complained Cole mentally as he began running towards the commotion. A thunder storm eased Cole's aching as he sprinted into the field ahead. Yet Cole was not ready for what he saw. A woman wearing a white blouse with a brown vest, also she wore golden armoured, heeled boots. Suspending herself high in the sky, she summoned lightning just like his Ionic Storm. Two figures dodged each strike, moving adeptly beneath the girl. As the storm faded, Cole's headache returned, but he ignored it. More gunfire sounded from the figures below, yet the bullets hit nothing and were deflected.

'How?' Cole wondered. 'Those bullets went straight at her and they did nothing. Is that woman a Conduit?'

Suddenly tree leaves rushed past Cole and circled the woman in the sky, freezing over with a wave of her hand.

'Electrokinesis, Cryokinesis and Telekinesis. This girl is powerful!' Even Cole was not capable of more than two forms of manipulation, and he had to use a fancy machine to get Nix's power. The frozen leaves rained down on the two figures, and should have cut them to shreds. Amazingly the two were relatively unharmed. And they were not alone. Sprinting down the path was a third assailant, clad in a red dress with two swords on her back. Seeing a new enemy, the woman in the sky launched a fireball at her from thin air, adding pyrokinesis to her list of powers. This attack did very little as the crimson woman jumped over the ball and summoned shards of what seemed like glass. Returning the shards in similar fashion to the leaves, the crimson woman knocked the tanned woman from the sky, creating a small crater where she bounced off the soil.

Recovering quickly, the tanned girl fended off her assailants in close combat with expertise, but Cole watched as the girl was hit by an explosion at her feet. Screaming in pain, the girl looked unhurt, but was visibly exhausted. Unable to watch any longer, Cole drew his Amp and sprinted to help the girl. He thought his help would be unnecessary as the girl surprised the trio with a blast of air. The grey-haired teen launched, mechanical feet first at the girl, only to be shocked with a lightning bolt. Turning, a fireball launched into the ground near the green-haired girl, which Cole thought was odd given the girl was clearly in front of her. Correcting her aim, the multi-powered girl hit her opponent dead on, knocking her down.

Closing in the distance with Amp drawn wasn't Cole's greatest idea, as the girl he aimed to save identified him as another threat. Lightning struck Cole's chest, flooring him, but powering him up. Rolling back and pushing himself up, Cole heard the girl gasp in pain. Bolting forward again, he saw the arrow protruding from the girl's back. She was restrained as the crimson girl put on a pure white glove and aimed her hand at her captive.

Cole screamed at himself. 'Fuck, I'm not going to reach her in time!' Then Cole came up with his worst idea ever. Crackling with blood red electricity, the Prime Conduit launched a lightning tether at the hand which wore the white glove, Cole yanked the hand towards him, only to see the scarab creature in the girl's palm squirt a black substance. It latched to Cole's arm and he screamed out in pain. The sensation was just like when The Beast drained him in Empire City, but ten times more soul-tearing and less crushing. Cole felt Nix's powers leaving him and flowing along the substance to the girl. The pain did not last as the tether between him and the Crimson girl was severed. Glancing up, Cole caught a glimpse of a grey-garbed man with a large sword. Cole's body did not want to remain conscious though. Between his discussion with John, the headache and the excruciating draining, Cole collapsed, welcoming the darkness.

I love the inFAMOUS series, it is definitely my favourite game series. The thought for this fic came across my mind while I was writing RCHD (which I'm still waiting for ships from you lovely people.)

But rather than start closer to initiation, I thought I'd throw in a curveball with Amber.

Either ways, I hope you enjoyed, please leave reviews, and I'll see you soon.

Wardtortle, out!