Nivanfield

Nivanfield is the slash ship between Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans from the Resident Evil fandom.

Canon
After Chris’ time during Resident Evil 5 (2009), he decided to go back to working in a team, wanting to pass on his knowledge and skills to a new generation for when someone like Albert Wesker—his nemesis—shows up again. After the defeat of Wesker, Chris began the training of new Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (B.S.A.A) operatives. Among these was sniper Piers Nivans, whose skills particularly stood out to Chris.

Edonia, 2012
In December 2012, the B.S.A.A takes part in crushing the Edonian Liberation Army after they begin using the C-Virus during their war. Chris and Piers serve in the North American Alpha Team, Chris being the team captain and Piers being the first lieutenant, along with their other teammates.

One of their fellow soldiers decided to do recon alone, which lead to them being killed. As Piers and team are looking over their fallen comrade being picked up, Chris comes walking up behind them. He goes off on a powerful speech about team work and how they need to stick together. Piers quips in the speech to mention how “nobody's expendable,” which Chris agrees with. Once the speech is over, Piers calls on for Finn Macauley, a newly recruited solider, to give the team an update on the B.O.Ws, the “J'avo”. With the team up to date, Chris leaves. Finn and Piers are left standing there; Finn finally whispers to Piers, “Is he always this awesome?” Piers does what he can to act annoyed that this is what the rookie asks him, but just before Piers can turn away, he smirks for a moment, almost confirming that yes, Chris is that awesome.

Soon, the team is driving along the roads when they begin to take enemy fire. Chris and Piers run up ahead to take out enemies. Not long after a massive B.O.W shows up, Chris calls to Finn, the team’s explosions expert, to create a path for them. Finn soon reports back that he can’t— as there’s a busted tank-line. Piers finds a fence for him to blow and he and team wait for Finn it place the bombs. With the fence blown, the team finds another obstacle–a train carriage in the way. With the carriage blown the team continues forward.

They reach a bridge with one of their own wounded. Noticing a tank on the bridge, Chris assists Piers in jumping over a gap to the other side. From Piers’ new position, he’s able to shoot the tank allowing Chris to go forward. With the tank successfully down, Chris praises him, saying, “Nice shooting, Piers!” Chris and Piers are on their way to reunite. Upon reuniting, they head back up the way Chris came to push a large crate out of the way to make a path. With Finn and the wounded solider still below them, Chris and Piers hold off more enemies for their “no man left behind” policy. When Finn makes it to them with the wounded, Chris orders him to blow the bridge. With the bridge blown and the enemies for that time down, Alpha Teams heads for City Hall.

Back in the city, Alpha Team comes to see a woman flashing a badge—National Security—with a man at her side. Chris recognizes the woman as Sherry Birkin. Piers takes notice of the man Sherry’s with, as he’s a “wanted insurgent”. Sherry tries to defuse the rising tension by saying the man she’s with, Jake Muller, is under the protection of the U.S. government and that he’s not a threat to the B.S.A.A, to which Jake replies, “Not unless someone pays me to be.” Piers responses with a stern, “What did you just say?” Moments later, everyone is attacked by a giant B.O.W. After the defeat of the B.O.W., Chris asks if he and Jake have met before. Jake quips back with, “You jarheads all look the same to me pal, sorry.” Hearing Jake insult Chris, Piers lunges forward as if to confront Jake personally. Chris manages to hold him back by throwing his arm across Piers’ midsection. Piers throws Chris’ arm down in frustration, but does not engage. Jake and Sherry board a waiting helicopter.

Continuing the mission, Alpha Team heads for City Hall, where they’re met by encased people. Chris, Piers and Finn break from the rest of the team to investigate where they reach an open area where multiple of the encased hatch, becoming a Napad. With the Napads dead, they enter a room where they find syringes laying on the floor, moments later a woman comes out of the shadows. Chris, Piers and Finn are immediately on guard. The woman explains who she is—“Ada Wong”—and what the B.S.A.A are up against. Chris tells Finn to “keep her safe,” while Chris tells Piers discreetly to “keep an eye on her”.

With the woman in tow, they head back to their comrades who are currently engaged in a heated fight with the hatched Napads. Following the guidance of the woman, believing her to be City Hall staff, she leads the team into a cell with built-in lock gates, separating Chris and Piers from the rest of the team. From the other side, the woman tosses a needle bomb into the area with Finn and the others. Chris and Piers are left helpless as they watch their teammates turn into Napads. Chris is devastated and too distracted when he sees Finn turn. The mutated Finn beats Chris, throwing him hard against the wall and ground. When Chris hits the ground with a cracking thud, Piers yells, “CHRIS!” Piers does everything in his power to protect Chris, immediately opening fire on Finn. Miraculously, Piers is able to grip Chris by the collar of his uniform with one hand and pull Chris back, all while firing his rifle in the other.

After the operation, Chris disappears.

Lanshiang, 2013
Six months later, in June 2013, Piers finally locates Chris, who became a moody and violent drunk, in a dingy bar in Eastern Europe. When asked to leave by the female bartender, he refuses. A patron gets up to help the woman when Chris goes in for the attack with a bottle of alcohol. Piers, having been quietly observing, easily disarms Chris and sits him down at a table, commenting that he “never thought he’d find Chris Redfield wasting away in a shithole like this”. Clearly not knowing who Piers is, Chris asks. Piers gives his full name, with Chris claiming he’s “never heard of him”. Piers pulls out his phone, intent on reminding Chris who he is and what he does. He shows Chris images of their deceased comrades with bits and pieces of Chris’ memory flashing. Chris yells, “Enough!” He slumps down, looking exhausted, with Piers venting his rising frustration, saying, “After six months of searching for you, this is what I find.” Following a moment of pent up silence, Chris looks over to Piers’ B.S.A.A patch, slowing saying the name. Piers turns to him, a little stunned, though simply tells him, ''“Yeah. It’s where you belong. Everyone’s waiting.”'' Chris repeats “everyone,” when Piers gives the single, revealing that most of the other bar patrons were with the B.S.A.A as well.

Following Chris’ return to the B.S.A.A, he, Piers and the new Alpha Team head for Lanshiang, China where they assist in a mission. It’s there they rendezvous at a tenement house, dubbed the “Ace of Spades”. As they move, Piers makes the comment that he figured Chris would be a little rusty, though it seems his training is kicking right in. They soon enter into a decrepit kitchen where a fellow man is being attacked by a J’avo. Piers shoots its arm, releasing the man. Following the J’avo’s injury, it mutates further. Chris is stunned at the B.O.W, that he makes no effort to move away, leading to Piers tackling Chris away from the charging J’avo before it can swing at him. Chris starts having a vague flashback before Piers bring him out of it by patting on his shoulder, alerting him to the still living J’avo. With the J’avo dead, Chris, Piers and team make their way through the building where they come to the roof.

They come to a point where they have to cross via wire, as they proceed; a rocket is fired at them, knocking them off. Chris leaps into action, catching Piers before he plummets, and throws him into the balcony beneath them. With Piers safe, Chris then falls, catching himself on a metal beam. Helpless, all Chris can do is make his way across, leaving Piers to handle the on-coming J’avo, Chris saying, ''“Hey, Piers, I’m taking a little fire here! I saved your ass – you wanna return the favor?”'' As Chris and Piers are making their way back to each other, Chris asks Piers if he can get some cover, with Piers telling “no problem”. The two reunite, along with the rest of their team and Bravo Team coming to their aid.

Having arrived to the Ace of Spades, the mission to rescue the United Nations diplomats being held hostage by J’avo is underway. With the hostages out, the building is set to be bombed to eliminate any remaining B.O.Ws. As Chris and Piers are leaving large debris falls in their path, forcing them to find another way out. They manage to find a way out just has a missile is hitting down. On the ground, Chris and Piers round the corner to observe the burning husk of the building. Upon seeing the numerous encased bodies, Chris hunches over in pain as he has another violent flashback, with Piers moving toward him with concern.

Chris is overlooking the burning of the remaining encased bodies with Piers at his side. Chris calls out to Piers, asking what happened to “Ada Wong”. Hearing this, Piers moves toward him quickly, shocked and ecstatic that Chris remembers. Chris asks if she’s in the city, with Piers replying that she’s been spotted following some attacks. Chris stands up, telling Piers that they and the rest of their team are heading out. As Chris walks away, Piers gives a quiet, “Yes, sir.”

As they’re heading out, a snake-like B.O.W attacks them, taking one of their fellow men. Along the way, they encounter Jake and Sherry with Piers saying how they went missing six months ago back in Edonia. Seeing how Neo-Umbrella is after them, Chris, Piers and team help them by taking out the hostiles surrounding them. With the hostiles out of the way, Piers tries to convince Chris that they need to escort them out of the city, though Chris is hell-bent on finding Ada and terminating any B.O.Ws instead, leaving Jake and Sherry to survive on their own.

Going back for the snake-like B.O.W, Piers attempts to get Chris to “think things through,” but Chris is already dead-set on revenge. They find their fellow man taken earlier, knowing the creature is close, they continue on. The B.O.W attacks another member of their team, with Chris charging forward. Piers yells for him to wait, though to no avail. Piers runs after him, scolding him for “pulling a kamikaze stunt like that”. Angry and frustrated, Chris steps up inches from Piers’ face, telling him, “Fall in line, soldier.”

Not long after, two more fellow men are taken by the B.O.W with the team getting separated. Upon regrouping, another man is taken, leaving Chris, Piers and Marco left. A final battle ensues with the creature being electrocuted to death. In their continued search for Ada, the woman they believe to be her shows up, shooting Marco with the C-Virus via syringe dart. Mutating, Chris and Piers have no choice but to kill him. With Marco defeated, they use the remnants of his C4 explosives to leave the room they’re held up in. Chris slams his fist against the wall in frustration, with Piers telling him they “need to stay calm”. Chris turns to Piers exploding about “how many of our men are dead because of that bitch”. Piers agrees with him, though is also frustrated at Chris’ lack of willing to calm down, claiming that “his personal vendetta isn’t going to get them anywhere”. Tired and angry, Chris can only muster a “shut up,” as Piers asks if he even cares about the mission anymore. Chris slams Piers against the wall with Piers easily pushing him off, questioning, ''“What happened to the legendary Chris Redfield, huh?! What happen to you?”'' Despite the anger and frustration, Piers won’t leave Chris to fight alone, saying he’s going with him when Chris says he’s going after Ada.

Radioing HQ, Chris gets the location of her where he and Piers head for her direction. They come to a warehouse where they cross paths with Leon Kennedy and his partner, Helena Harper, who are also in pursuit of Ada. Leon is persistent in his protection of her, that Chris lowers his weapon. With their guard down, Ada uses a flash grenade to escape. Having been talked down by Leon, Chris and Piers go on in their pursuit of her. The heated tension between the two has since calmed considerably that Chris and Piers are back to their respective roles as partners. Piers takes control of a Humvee with Chris handling the machine gun up top, eliminating any hostiles. Ada manages to lose them in a parking garage. Chris takes the wheel, telling Piers he’s “taking a shortcut,” where following another chase, they proceed to jump to an aircraft carrier, knocking them out of their vehicle.

Resident Evil 6
Edonia, 2012
 * Finn asks Piers if Chris is “always this awesome,” before Piers can turn away and ignore Finn’s question, he smirks for a moment, almost confirming that yes, Chris is that awesome.
 * Jake insults Chris– “You jarheads all look the same to me pal, sorry.” –hearing this, Piers lunges forward as if to confront Jake personally.
 * Piers grips Chris by the collar of his uniform with one hand and pulls Chris back, all while firing his rifle in the other at their attackers.

Lanshiang, 2013
 * Piers tackles Chris away from a charging J’avo.
 * Chris starts having a vague flashback before Piers bring him out of it by patting on his shoulder.
 * Chris catches Piers before he can plummet.
 * Piers asks Chris if he’s okay.
 * As Chris and Piers are making their escape from the being bombed building, Piers falls and Chris helps him up.
 * Chris hunches over in pain as he has another violent flashback, with Piers moving toward him with concern.

Quotes
"Hey, Piers, I’m taking a little fire here! I saved your ass – you wanna return the favor?"

- Chris, after having saved Piers from plummeting, Resident Evil 6.

Fanon
Nivanfield is arguably the most popular ship from Resident Evil. Years later, after the release of Resident Evil 6 in 2012 and one of its halves deceased, Nivanfield continues to gain fan art and fan fiction from new and older members of the fandom. On AO3, Nivanfield is the most written ship within the Resident Evil - All Media Types tag; Chris’ most written, as well as Piers’ most written.

Many fans believe Piers was in love with Chris. Not only for the fact that he sacrificed himself for Chris, but for how he searched endlessly for him for six months, protected him from Jake Muller’s insults/aggression, and all around protected him from the war they were in.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Chris/Piers tag on FanFiction.net
 * Chris/Piers tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

DEVIANT ART

FORUMS

Trivia

 * Capcom sent out an email about Chris in Resident Evil 6 — one of the choices being about Piers.
 * July 1st is “Nivanfield Day,” as it’s the date of Piers’ death, the day he sacrificed himself for Chris. Fans of Nivanfield often create fan works for this day.
 * Piers is the first (and only) male partner Chris has had. (Jill Valentine, Jessica Sherawat, Sheva Alomar, then Piers Nivans)
 * Piers once sent an email to Chris’ sister, Claire Redfield, asking if she had any photos of a younger Chris Redfield, saying, “Just between you and me, if you have any pictures of the Captain when he was younger, I’d sure love to see them! I hear he was very different back then, but he won’t show us anything...”

Gallery

 * Nivanfield/Gallery

Variations

 * Nivalenfield refers to the ship between Jill Valentine, Chris and Piers