A/N: Decided to try something new with more of a supernatural touch to it. It's only a basic idea at the moment, so I'm not fully sure where this will end up going. I've seen a few other ghost!Piers fics, but they were all one-shots and never went too far.

Dying wasn't such a scary thing.

It was the darkness that came after.

Piers Nivans had chosen to sacrifice himself for the sake of his Captain. While Chris had floated to safety inside the escape pod, Piers had remained there in that underwater facility, trapped in an explosion that took away his life. Yet, it hadn't been the end he imagined it would be.

Trembling, spinning, suffocating.

All through a blanket of nothingness.

Piercing eyes had fluttered, opening with their original hazel hue in shade as opposed to the mismatched pair the infection had given him. Piers felt... Normal. As though the needle had never broken through his skin, nor had the injection ever been inserted into his blood stream.

Where was he...?

The world seemed to shift around him, places, people, all fading to one large blur as things sped by him. It confused him, shouldn't he be dead? Reality distorted itself, twisting and winding in ways that had his sanity cracking.

Then it stopped.

Just like that, the setting had become a familiar one. An office, located at base. His Captain's office.

The door opened and voices resounded, both of which had Piers spinning on a heel with wide eyes.

"You can't keep turning them all down, Chris."

"Jill, none of them have the skill set I'm after."

Piers had perked up, even held out a hand as his mouth opened to speak; to say something to Chris and let him know he was there, that he was back-

But Chris had walked right through him.

Piers couldn't contain the gasp as it happened, turning again to look behind him at his Captain who settled himself down in his chair. Chris hadn't noticed him... He had phased directly through his body. That couldn't mean what Piers thought it did... Could it? He was there, alive, wasn't he? Yet... The explosion at the underwater facility, Piers had been caught inside of it with no way of escaping. So how was he still there? Unless...

Long legs carried Piers closer, around the side of the desk next to his Captain. He reached out a hand, ready to place it on the older man's shoulder... But instead of the contact he expected, his limb had once more phased through. Piers retracted, backing away with wide eyes. It wasn't possible... It couldn't be real, surely.

"That's because none of them are him," Jill's voice had the ace snapping back to reality, hazel orbs darted between the two who were oblivious to his existence.

Chris snapped at that, "We're done here." It had always been a sensitive subject. July 1st, 2013. The day had haunted him endlessly in his dreams. He didn't need to be reminded of it constantly throughout the day as well.

"Chris-"

"I said we're done, Jill." Chris would have none of it.

The brunette eyed him, a look between something resembling annoyance and something more... Sad, almost. She understood what loss felt like. "Ignoring what happened won't help you get over it. You know where to find me if you change your mind and want to talk." With that, she turned and exited through the same door she'd come from.

Piers allowed his gaze to settle back onto Chris, who slumped in his chair with his hands cupped over his face. "Damn it," He cursed quietly, only slightly muffled behind his palms before they lowered. Chris appeared... Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Unhealthy.

He looked horrible.

"...Captain?" Piers tried, but just as he thought, Chris didn't act like he'd heard the sound. Plump lips dropped into a downward curl; Piers was confused, lost. He didn't know what was happening. "Captain!" The title was spoken louder this time, more hopeful. Desperate.

Still, Chris didn't even seem to notice him... What was happening?

Bow shaped lips pursed together, forming a tight line as Piers reached out toward his Captain, hand extended a second time only to be met with the same reaction as the first as it passed directly through Chris. Piers waved the arm, curled his fingers, and still they touched nothing but air even though his Captain was right there... Chris was solid, sitting in the chair, touching his desk, but Piers... Piers retracted and tried something new by attempting to press his palm against the computer nearby, only to watch it pass through the monitor just as it had with everything else. Piers stepped back, eyes of hazel, no longer mismatched, now even more wide and worried as they gazed down over his fingers.

Piers couldn't even feel his own heartbeat.

Nor was he breathing, because the dead had no use for air.

But his limbs did shake. They trembled at the realization of being caught in between. He wasn't alive, but he was still there which meant he couldn't possibly be entirely dead either. He was stuck in the middle, unable to be seen or heard nor was he at rest.

His right hand flickered, an image of the grotesque mutation from the time of his death revealed itself momentarily, eliciting a soft gasp from the sniper at the suddenness before it faded from view. Piers was confused and at a loss of what to do - what could he do?

Hazel eyes returned to his Captain, who seemed to be staring at nothing in particular. Yet, he was there. At base, on the job. He had chosen to stay with the B.S.A.A. just as Piers had wanted him to. Chris was attempting to keep his position, although the fight was a hard one and the events of China had visibly left their mark. But Chris was alive and physically well, battling against the tides of bioterrorism as he should be. It didn't mean his mental state was flawless, it didn't mean he wasn't suffering. His outlook was proof enough that he was.

Piers lowered his hands from his field of view, plump lips once again curved at their corners into the shape of a deepened frown. Had he done something wrong? Was the existence he was trapped within some sort of punishment? Was he forced to wander due to his newly infected nature? Yet, why did he appear mostly normal, aside from the flicker he'd only recently witnessed? He had so many questions, and no one to answer them.

Chris shifted in his chair, causing hazel to blink and focus outside of the sniper's own thoughts. Chris lifted himself back to his feet and started toward the door with heavy footsteps. Piers, seeing no other option, trailed behind the man as he exited the room out into the hall. Chris made a stop at the locker room to grab his jacket, leaving the rest of his fatigues minus the protective vest in place without a concern as he left with every intention of getting out of that base.

"Chris!" Called a voice from behind, and although the Captain hadn't bothered to turn, Piers offered a glance over his shoulder to see Jill. "Chris, where are you going? We still have files to go over-"

"I'll be back." The Captain cut her off, his voice stern. "We have plenty of time, Jill. I need the break." Chris increased his pace slightly at that, and Jill slowed to a halt to watch him go. Piers eyed her for a few moments as she faded from view, but hazel soon returned to the familiar form of his Captain as they stepped outside. The skies showed no indication of the time as rain poured from above, dampening the mood as Chris carried himself toward his vehicle. Piers paused as he got in, granted only a few moments to wonder if he could actually follow before the car was started. Given no more room for hesitation, the ace swallowed and planted a foot through the door before the rest of his body joined it.

All logic of physics seemed to die when Piers found himself able to take a seat inside. He didn't understand it anymore than he did the idea that he hadn't fallen through the floor like he managed to phase through everything else. Reality had become a distorted mess, confusing and unknown, but as the car pulled out of the lot, Piers wasn't so dead set on questioning the things he would never have an answer to.

Hazel eyes observed the passing images outside the window as they drove in an uncomfortable silence. Of course it would be that way, given his current condition. Chris had no idea he was there, watching. Following. There was only the dull sound of windshield wipers as they swooshed back and forth over the glass, clearing it of the watery downpour that refused to stop. Chris exhaled beside him, the first noise Piers had heard him make outside of breathing since they'd started the drive. Piers glanced back toward the older man as the car slowed to a stop at a red light, observing the way those meaty hands clutched to the wheel.

Piers wished he could have done something.

Chris was tense. He was in pain, although it wasn't physical. He was having trouble coping again, but he tried so hard to stay strong. Piers was proud of the effort, glad that he hadn't resorted to the bottle like back in Edonia.

The car started to move, and Piers went back to staring out the window as the world passed them by. It wasn't until he saw the approaching cemetery that his brow had gained a slight furrow. The vehicle had pulled into the lot, driving through the lengthy roads inside until it had reached a certain spot, and Chris shut off the engine. Brown eyes slid closed tight, and Chris squeezed the wheel in an iron grip, even more strongly than before. Piers wanted to reach out, wanted to help to comfort the older man that he'd fought beside for so long and respected. But with a suddenness, Chris released his hold and opened the car door as his lids fluttered into a lift that revealed brown. The Captain didn't delay any further as he climbed out of the vehicle, and Piers followed behind him.

The rain that cascaded around them only added to the gloom of the situation as Chris trudged through wet grass in search of a particular grave with Piers at his heel. The sniper stopped only when his Captain did, and had he still been able to breathe, his breath would have caught in his throat. Gazing downward, his own name met him from its place carved into stone. Chris collapsed to his knees beside him, soaked from the downpour that refused to aid in washing away the hurt.

Piers should have felt cold, wet, but instead there had been nothing other than a shared pain for the way those brown eyes latched themselves to the written name. Hazel lowered to the wet green of the blades under their feet, helpless.

"I'm trying, you know."

The words had Piers lifting his gaze back to Chris. "Captain..." The ace uttered the word, even knowing it would go unheard as he took a step closer, hovering near the older man's side.

"It's not easy, though." Chris sounded torn. Broken. "You shouldn't have had to do it. You shouldn't have-" The words caught in his throat and he practically choked on them. He was a mess, but the rain washed away the evidence of forming tears as they pricked at the corners of his eyes. "It wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth it."

Hazel eyes closed as Piers listened, unable to offer comfort to the man he'd given his life to save. "You were," He whispered in reply, the voice only reaching his own ears.

"It's been a while. They had me put together another team again, but... I still haven't found a new A.T.L. yet." Chris snorted softly. Sadly. "You set the bar pretty high, and skills like yours are hard to come by." He was rambling now, seeking a comfort from the empty casket below the ground as the words fell from his lips.

Next to him, Piers felt himself break just a little more with every spoken sentence from his Captain. Hazel reopened to find the older man, a shared sorrow evident in their depths.

Chris began to falter, "It wasn't coming back alone that was the hard part, Piers." His voice cracked, skipped from a held back sob that wanted to make itself known. "It was coming back without you." Chris craned forward, burying his head in his hands as his teeth clenched, eyes dripping rivulets that poured down his cheeks with the rain. "I should have told you everything... But I waited too long, I never got the chance. I'm so fucking sorry, Piers." Although it wasn't a direct admission, Piers still understood the meaning behind it.

The vision of hazel started to blur, glazed over with their own tears. The once strong and proud man that Piers had served under was reduced to mush, all because of a decision that he had made for him. The ace always fought hard to keep his Captain safe, he wanted him to live even if Piers wasn't there with him... Chris had earned that right. But what he'd just admitted to, Piers had never known. He never dared to suspect it, even as Chris had pounded away at the glass that separated them in the sniper's final moments of life.

A heavy weight placed itself over his shoulders, and Piers felt his resolve cracking along with his Captain's. His feet guided him another step closer, "Captain-" Piers caught himself as he stared down at the older man. "Chris," He corrected, ghostly tears slipping free to cascade over olive skin. "I just wanted you to be safe. I didn't know, I never thought that-" Never thought that Chris could feel that way about him. Never thought he could want him, no matter how dedicated Piers had been. Chris had just confessed his feelings to an empty casket, yet the words had been heard the way they were meant to be. Piers wanted to be able to do something, wanted to touch Chris. To hold him right then and there, where he needed it the most. Piers had been responsible for his current state of being... But it wasn't what he planned on, it wasn't what he wanted when he sent that escape pod out into the ocean and off to safety.

Piers reached out with an unsteady hand, "I didn't mean for this..." His palm lowered itself over a shaking shoulder, and he felt it. He felt the contact against wet clothing and the contours of solid muscle beneath it. Chris had dropped his hands to turn sharply with widened brown in search for whatever had caused it, but found nothing nearby him. Chris breathed heavily, his heart a pounding hammer that beat away at his chest cavity. The contact was real, it had to be real, but he didn't find anything out of place in his field of view. No people, just the pouring rain and dancing trees that blew from the brush of wind.

Piers was as equally surprised next to him, hazel just as wide as brown as Chris lifted himself to his feet, staring right through the ace as though he wasn't there. "Chris!" The sniper exclaimed, hoping that he could hear as he tried to touch him again. His hand slipped right through like many attempts prior, shattering his hopes as he withdrew. Somehow, Piers had managed to make physical contact with Chris again; even if it hadn't lasted for more than a brief moment. He was able to feel the older man and be felt in return, but what had caused that time to be any different than all the others...?

"Piers?"

The sound of his name had the thoughts disappearing temporarily. "I'm here, Chris..." Piers uttered, voice still just as unheard as it had always been. "I'm here." He repeated, though it was more to convince himself that everything was in fact real. He was trapped.

Chris still couldn't see him.