Notes:

Hello, this is the corrected version of the first chapter, made by Ferric. Thank you very much, now it is so much better!

You can see it like a Nivanfield love story or like they are Brothers/best friends who care a lot of each other. For my part, I am seeing them as best friends or two soldiers, whose cares for each other a lot scince Chris Redfield lost too much in the past.

Fate

He was sitting against the metal wall as he looked down at his pulsating slimy clawed arm, the electricity throbbing with his heart as he began to sweat because of his increasing body temperature. He couldn`t think clearly because of the mutation as it slowly reached his brain. He looked away from his arm, glancing at his left shoulder as he noticed the B.S.A.A. badge. He frowned, only able to see through the left eye since the right one was a ghostly white, and gave it a sad look.

I can`t do this anymore... I'll soon turn into one of those things and then I'll lose my control...and...kill... No, I can`t let this happen, not anymore. There`s no hope, no cure, nobody can help me out of this shit. I`ve joined the B.S.A.A. to eliminate the biological threats, to fight against the terrorists, fight against the war, against the death of countless innocent people... I spent my whole life in the alliance which is fighting against the bioterrorism to avoid these outbreaks, to save the world, to cover my comrades, to cover my captain.

He looked up at Chris, who was trying to open the door of the escape pod, and he frowned, I`m so sorry, Captain. But you have a future, the world will need you like in the past. You are the greatest man I know, the strongest, he thought and grabbed the patch with his human left hand.

A beeping sound was heard when the door of the escape pod opened, waiting for someone to get in. Chris bumped his fist against the wall in happiness as he turned to Piers, bending over at him with an outstretched hand.

"Come on, Piers. We`re gettin` out of here," he said. Piers hesitated for a moment, staring at Chris` hand, then he closed his mouth and grabbed his hand with his gloved left and let Chris pull him to his feet. They both struggle a few meters towards the opened door as Piers took a step back, pulling his hand out of Chris` grip, shaking slightly.

Chris almost lost his balance, but steadied himself as he looked at the badge Piers had left in his hand. His mouth was open and he gave Piers a quick disbelieving look as he noticed Piers` attempt to push him into the pod. Chris Redfield wasn`t the heroic Captain which everyone respected for nothing. He reacted quickly, too fast for Piers, grabbing his hand immediately as Piers touched his chest in order to push him hard.

He tightened his grip and pulled Piers with him into the pod, where they both fell to the ground. Piers was stunned by the action, not knowing what had happened as he landed on his Captain, his eyes half closed as Chris kicked the button to close the door. Piers` eyes shot open as he heard the noise of the door closing. He tried to get up before it was too late, but Chris` grip on his hand was too strong and he couldn`t stand up in time.

The door shut right in front of his face as he stood there in front of it, stunned, in a state of disbelief, desperate and slightly sad. Everything happened too fast for his weakened body, he didn`t even notice that Chris had pushed the button until the lights turned in red when the pod got ready to move from the corridor.

The pod trembled hard enough that Piers stumbled and balanced himself with his left hand on the wall while Chris sat up, relieved that he could save his partner from suicide. Piers winced in pain as he turned his gaze towards his Captain, his anger and despair written in his face.

"What... d...d...did y...y...you ...just do?!" Piers managed to say between his pained breaths as he fell down on the ground again when the pod was pushed into the deep ocean.

He let out a loud grunt and sat up against the wall, avoiding contact with his Captain. Chris stood up and looked out of the large window. It was dark, very dark. He frowned when he could see the underwater facility on the ocean floor.

"W...why..." Piers mumbled, still shocked by the fact that Chris saved his life. His fear of mutating grew greater as his body began to tremble with the intensity of his emotions and the more intense pain of his mutating body.

Chris turned to look at him and frowned. "What? You ask me why? Piers you tried to kill yourself, god damn it! And you thought I could let it happen? Who do you think I am?!" he answered angrily.

"W...Why? Y...you don`t k...know w...why? H...holy...s...shit C...C...Captain, Y...you can`t save m...me a...anymore!" Piers said and grunted as his arm was pulsating more and more.

Chris took a step towards his partner, opening his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but was stopped as they both heard a shattering sound from the underwater facility. Both stopped and looked out of the window. Haos had broken free and was swimming towards the pod. Chris gritted his teeth together and mumbled "Damn it!" when the monster gripped the pod in its large hands, shaking it.

The lights in the pod went off. Chris clung to the cables of the ceiling while Piers steadied himself with his left arm and back, pressing his body against the wall behind him. Haos stopped shaking the pod and put its head to the window, roaring at the two small figures inside it.

"God Damn it! When will you finally die?" Shouting was all Chris could do. If he fired at it the water would force its way through the holes into the pod and the pressure would shatter it into pieces. Again the situation was too fast to react to, but this time Piers reacted faster than Chris.

Putting his mutated arm on the wall while he shouted at Chris, "Get off of the walls!"

Chris blinked at him and quickly removed his hands from the cables, trying to steady himself with only his legs as Piers charged his remaining energy to let out a big flash which went through the wall, through the cables and through all the metallic things in the pod to the outside water, where it found its way through the giant hands of the creature to its whole body, cooking it in the water.

Haos let go of the pod, wincing in pain as the electricity forced its way through its body, breaking it`s bones, burning its flesh, exploding its veins, leaving a cloud of blood flowing out of countless wounds as it began to sink to the ground. Panting heavily Piers stopped his electricity, giving Chris a chance to steady himself against the wall and look out of the window at the scene in front of them.

He could see the underwater facility exploding behind that giant thing, the pressure of the explosion sending the pod faster in the direction of the surface. The lights of the pod turned on again and Chris began to relax. Piers leaned back on the wall, looking around the pod for a gun since he lost all his weapons in the battle against Haos in the facility.

Chris sighed and attempted to walk to his partner`s side.

"Don`t c...come any c...closer!" Piers shouted at him.

Chris stopped for a moment, staring in his eyes. "Piers, everything will be okay, you'll be okay. Let me help you," he said calmly, trying to inch closer to him.

"D...don`t! Y...you can`t h...help me, C...captain," his breathing quickened with every step Chris took closer to him.

"You`re in pain, let me help you, Piers" Chris continued to come closer.

Piers sat up quickly, pressing his body against the wall as he felt a wave of pain filling his whole body, heating the mutated arm up. His organs throbbed against his ribs and he winced in pain, dropping his head on his chest. He could feel the mutations within him continuing, changing everything.

Chris` despair grew by the second. He wanted to help Piers, he really wanted to take all the pain of his lieutenant onto himself, "Piers, let me- "

Piers screamed out loud, falling to the ground as his arm changed further. The many outgrowths of his arm fused into four digits that resembled lengthening knifes more than fingers. The swollen flesh of his upper arm and forearm shrank slightly into reddish muscle while newly formed organs began to grow larger, pressing against his bones.

"PIERS!" Chris shouted, stopping in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder as the sniper pulled it away.

"Don`t touch me!" Piers shouted. He seemed to have gotten some strength back as he was not stuttering anymore.

Chris didn`t listen at him, not in a situation like this. He knew how Piers felt, he knew that he only wanted to avoid hurting his Captain. And he knew that he had to help him, no matter how. He put his hand on his shoulder, helping Piers ease into a sitting position in an attempt to make him comfortable.

Even his struggling and trembling against the help didn`t bother him. All Chris wanted to do was to listen at his heart, acting on emotion as he tried to help him, tried to show him that he wasn`t a monster or a Jàvo, that he was loved.

"Piers listen to me. You are a great man, the best soldier I got. I really like you and I can`t let you die here!" he tried to explain, but the lieutenant didn`t listen at him.

"Please fucking kill me, Chris! I`ll tear you in shreds if you keep being so stubborn!" Piers said angrily, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Shut up! Will you fucking listen to me! You know I can`t do it! We will make it through this! Don`t give up!" Chris shouted at him.

Piers stared at him angrily, his eyes showing desperation, sadness and fear at the same time, "Stop that, Chris!" he said and clenched his eyes shut because of another wave of pain flowing through his body.

A cracking sound was heard as Piers leaned forward again, tiny lines of blood coming out of his mouth and Chris realized that the cracking sounds came from his bones.

He didn`t know what to do. He could do nothing against the mutation, against the pain, against the desperation and fear in those hazel eyes. The claws of the right mutated arm dug into the ground while Piers tried to keep in control of himself, clenching his eyes shut.

The environment was becoming a lot brighter, they would reach the surface soon. Chris stared at the pitiful figure in front of him and grimaced because of the pain that was filling his heart. Piers` grunting and moaning became louder as his body began to change faster than before. Spikes slowly began to grow out of his back and with them, a dorsal fin.

He could see tears forming in those hazel eyes which reflected so many mixed emotions. He could read the thoughts out of them, the fear of mutating, the fear of killing, the desperation to keep the control, the anger that he wasn`t already dead, the sadness that he would end like that, the love and respect he felt for his leader.

Piers body heat increased so much that Chris could feel it burning his hand, but that didn`t keep him from hugging his partner. He grabbed the remains of the vest on Piers` left side and pulled him into his huge arms, the hot skin leaving the smell of burning clothes. Piers was shocked and not able to react at first, unable to realize what his Captain was doing. His pain disappeared for a moment.

Chris clenched his eyes shut, feeling his skin under his clothes begin to hurt because of the intense heat, but he ignored it. He wanted to show his partner that he truly needed him, needed him to stay alive. He couldn`t bear the thought of another man dying under his watch, He swore to himself that nobody would die under his command again after all the years men had died believing in him.

Not anymore, he couldn`t stand another lost soldier, specifically one of his best men and a loyal soldier. The spikes along Piers' back were pulsating against the big arms, which are wrapped around the lieutenants' body. Chris let go of Piers right before the hot spikes could burn the flesh of his arms as he grabbed him by both shoulders, forcing Piers to look directly into his eyes.

"We'll make it, Piers. I won`t leave you behind, I`ll never leave a man behind" he said firmly, tightening his grip on the shoulders.

Piers swallowed, realizing that he couldn`t change Chris` mind because of his stubbornness. He nodded slightly, letting his head hang as he grabbed Chris` hands, pulling them away from his hot shoulders.

"...I heard you, Chris. Please don`t touch me..." he murmured, wincing as the pain returned.

Chris could only look at him in sadness, trying to get his mic ready to inform HQ, but it didn`t work.

Piers moved a little, pulling on his trousers slightly.

"Do you...have to...to piss or what are you doing?" Chris asked unsure and Piers shook his head slightly and huffed in response, freeing a growing finned reptilian tail. After that he let out a relieved grunt.

Chris frowned, "We will get a cure. You know they`re already working on a cure. They'll help you. Just stay in control."

Piers only closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall with his left shoulder, hoping that they would reach the surface soon so that the B.S.A.A. could come to rescue Chris and put him down. Breathing was getting hard. He felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the air, but he remained silent so Chris wouldn't notice.

Chris was still trying to reach HQ and a cracking sound finally came out of the earpiece. "HQ? It`s Captain Redfield of Alpha Team! Please answer if you hear me!" he shouted at the microphone but didn`t get an answer. He slammed his fist against the wall beside him, still trying to contact them.

"This is Chris Redfield, calling for help! HQ answer me!" he yelled and the cracking sounds got louder. Piers opened his eyes and looked at Chris' sad and angry eyes. The pod began to tremble again when it reached the surface, bobbing up and down in the water.

Chris steadied himself on the wall while Piers did nothing, getting up from the ground only to sit down once again. Chris pushed himself against the door, pressing the button to open the door. When it opened, he tried once again to contact HQ.

"HQ, this is Redfield! Answer me!" he shouted.

The crackling sound changed as a male voice answered him, "Captain Redfield, this is HQ. What happened? We didn`t get any information from you for hours!"

Chris let out a relieved breath as he tightened his grip on the microphone of his earpiece, "Yes, we`ve been in trouble. We need a chopper and immediate medical attention. One man is badly injured, please hurry!"

The voice remained steady, the people in HQ were well trained to keep calm, "Copy that, we`re sending you a chopper from the Chinese B.S.A.A. base, hold on!"

Chris sighed, looking around the area.

Piers winced, his mutating lungs making it impossible to breath.

Chris noticed the twitching and moved next to him, leaning over him. "What's wrong? Do you feel worse?" he asked worried and got no response, Piers didn`t even lifted his head.

He put a slightly burned hand on Piers' shoulder, gently shaking him.

"Piers, answer me! What's wrong?" he asked, fear filling his chest when Piers closed his eyes. "PIERS!" Chris shouted at him and after he didn`t get any response he grabbed Piers by the face in an attempt to get him to respond.

When Piers twitched Chris noticed that he hadn't been breathing the whole time. Panic began to rise while he quickly lay him down, opening his mouth and pressing his lips on his, trying to force oxygen in his lungs. It didn`t work, Piers' lungs didn`t respond to the act, the electricity that was forming around his body fading.

"NO!" Chris put a hand on Piers' mutated chest, feeling a heartbeat which got slower with every passing second. He looked around, trying to find an oxygen bottle and that was when he found himself staring at the fins on Piers` back and tail. "That`s it!" Chris said loudly, grabbing Piers by his shoulders to drag him a few meters to the edge of the opened escape pod.

"Piers, everything is going to be alright" Chris said, holding onto Piers' head and carefully guiding him into the water in the hope that way he would be able to breathe. At first Piers didn`t make a move but then his fingers and claws began to twitch slightly as his back rose, the spikes moving to the left and right as he gulped in the water.

Chris watched Piers` chest falling and rising while his head was underwater and he sighed in relief. After that he let go of Piers' head and sat down beside his body, stroking the warm skin between the spikes of his back.

"Damn it, that was close..." Chris mumbled and Piers lifted his head out of the water.

After some coughing he began to speak, "...Thank ya, Captain". He wanted to add something but he knew that Chris wouldn`t take it for good, so he kept silent.

Chris grimaced angrily, "Why didn't ya told me that you couldn`t breathe anymore! Do you want to fucking kill yourself? After all I told you? That`s not very smart Piers".

Piers didn`t say a word and sat down on his, twitching as he grabbed his tail and pulled it aside so he didn`t sit down on it.

"Just fuckin` talk to me, I'm trying to say that you`re not what you think you are. You`re still my partner and help will come for us in a few minutes. You`ll see. Please promise me that you`ll try to survive. You can see that you`re still in control. We can fight this whole thing and then you'll be the next Captain of Alpha Team".

Piers turned his head to look at him, angrily. "Don`t dare to fucking retire...The world needs you, it always needed someone like you. You did so much for them and you should continue it, that`s your future!".

Chris shook his head, "No Piers, I`m too old for this".

The electricity appeared again over Piers' skin as anger rose up in him.

"No Chris, you`re not too old! You`re in top shape and nobody is as good as you. Nobody`s like you, so protective, strong, full of emotion and with morals like you have. Besides, nobody wants someone like me," he gestured at his mutating body, "as their Captain".

His lungs began to burn painfully as his body demanded more water so he went to his knees down at the water, putting his fingers of his left hand together and filled his palm with water, swallowing it as he would breathe air.

Chris stood up, the shadow of his body falling across Piers` sight as he leaned forward and put a hand on Piers' left shoulder, frowning. "I`m saying this for the last time: I need you and you will never disobey my orders again. Did you hear me, soldier?"