First Sergeant James 'Jim' Cross

September 19, 1944

Arnhem, Netherlands

"Come on, let's go!"

"Fall back! This area is lost."

"Go! I'll hold them off."

"Cross, get back here! Cross!"

Jim jumped over some sandbags and made his way over to the unoccupied Vickers Gun. He pulled the charging handle back MG and fired at the advancing Germans. This was a disaster for them. They were under heavy fire from three sides. 1st Battalion disintegrated and his Battalion was falling back. The South Staffordshires were pushed back after a failed attempt to take the high ground and the 11th were overrun despite not being heavily involved.

Jim grit his teeth and gunned down any German he could see. He saw someone join him from the corner of his eye. He looked to his right and saw Private Harold 'Harry' Black. The private looked at him and said "Can't let you have all the glory, Jim."

He raised his Lee Enfield No.4 and fired at the Grenadiers on the far side.

"Harry, cover me. Reloading."

Jim reloaded the Vickers while Harry kept on firing. The Private saw Panzergrenadiers, armed with STG 44s, ran towards them.

"Hurry up, Jim. We got Panzergrenadiers and they look quite mad."

"Got it!"

Jim cocked the gun and fired, halting the Panzergrenadiers in their tracks and suppressing them. Harry reloaded his gun but saw something land by his feet. His eyes widened and quickly grabbed the stick grenade and threw it back at the Germans.

"Return to sender, Jerry!"

Jim heard the Vickers run out of bullets and was about to reload it but found that there were no more ammo boxes left.

"I'm out!"

He grabbed his Sten Mk.2 and fired. The Panzergrenadiers saw that the Vickers was out of commission so they charged at the two.

"Come on, ya bloody bastards!"

"Come get some, Jerry!"

Unbeknownst to them, a Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B was approaching their location. Jim and Harry saw the Panzergrenadiers fall back. Harry smiled "Look at them run off, Jim. We can still get back to Battalion in time for supper."

"I don't think so, Harry." Jim shook his head "It's never this easy. Did you hear that?"

"Tank?"

The smoke cleared in front of them and the two were met with the sight of a King Tiger, it's barrel staring right back at them.

"Run!"

Jim and Harry turned tail and ran for their lives. The King Tiger didn't move but it's barrel followed their movement. Jim panted as he dodged tank traps, sandbags and dead bodies.

"Come on, Harry! Keep going!"

"Right behind y-"

Jim heard an explosion and looked behind him. He saw Harry behind an overturned car. He quickly ran to his side to get him up before the Tiger could reload. As he reached his friend, he was met with a horrendous sight. Everything Harry had below the belt was gone.

"Oh, God. Harry! Come on, mate."

Harry coughed out blood and held out his hand. Jim grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards the crater.

"Come on! Come on!"

"I-it..."

"Save your strength, mate!"

"It... reloads."

Jim looked down at Harry and saw him staring at the King Tiger, the sun shining over it. He stared at Harry and the Private was staring blankly at the tank. Jim closed Harry's eyes before numbly walking towards the tank. His eyes found themselves staring at the bodies he passed by.

'The boys and Jerry. Barely even recognize some of them. Poor sods. Well, I'll be joining them soon anyway. Better to die here than rot in Jerry's labor camps.'

He stopped just as the barrel was pointing directly at him. He threw off his helmet and was prepared to be blown to hell but not before taking one last smoke. He took out a cig and his Pop's lighter before putting the stick between his teeth and lighting it up. Surprisingly, the tank let him finish his smoke before the Tommy threw the cigarette butt away. He opened his arms wide and yelled "Come on, you goosestepping fuckers! I'm right here!"

"What are you waiting for, Jerry?! Come on!"

He then raised his middle finger at the tank "Fick dich, you fucking Kraut!"

He closed his eyes and waited for his end. The last thing he did was drop his Pop's lighter on the ground before pain followed by the darkness enveloped him.

~Line Break~

December 25, 1944

Corporal Anthony 'Tony' Castellano

Bastogne, Belgium

Tony sat on a chair in the shed and played with the lighter in his hands. He only met Jimmy back in Arnhem but they got along great. Unfortunately, the Brit died a few days after he met him. This lighter was all that was left of him. The little thing was found next to a crater. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened poor Jimmy.

"Tony."

Tony looked up and saw Private First Class Daniel 'Gibs' Gibson holding two steaming cup of water. The 101st barely had anything left. Resources were short and so was their ammo. The weather was shit and Jerry demanded their surrender. He's still laughing at what General McAuliffe's reply.

He took the offered cup and raised it "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

The two sat in comfortable silence. Gibs pulled out a picture of his girl. He's been doing that since basic. Hoping to get through this war and have his girl back in his arms. Tony, though, he thought the man was naive but that was probably because he didn't have a girl of his own. Hell, he didn't even have the boys anymore. Turned tail as soon as they got word that he got caught. But he didn't regret getting caught. He got to join the 101st. Then Able Company became his family.

"Let me tell ya, Gibs. I wish I had my own girl back home. Hell, I wish she'd be as pretty as yours."

Gibs shook his head and placed the photo back to his pocket. He took out a journal and began writing down the events of today.

"Don't worry, Tony. I'm sure you'll find somebody. Just... promise me it won't be a whore or something along the line. Alright?"

Tony laughed and was about to drink from his cup when series of explosions boomed across Bastogne. The two jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons. Tony had an M1A1 Carbine while Gibs had an M1 Garand. They rushed to cover inside one of the buildings and head to the third floor to get a better look outside.

"What do you see?"

"Oh, God. They blew up the Medic Station."

Tony cursed under his breath and moved closer to the window. "Jesus... "

He could hear gunfire from different directions. He moved to another window and saw explosions and flashes of light from other sections of Bastogne.

"We gotta regroup. Find Vastano. Come on, Gibs."

Tony made a break for it and ran downstairs. Gibs followed after and the two ran out the building, intent on falling back to the CP. On the way, Paratroopers of the 101st were scattering everywhere. Either finding a good place to dig in or trying to regroup with their squads. Unfortunately for them, a column of Panzers and infantry entered the sector and began firing at the Paratroopers.

"Panzers! Jerry broke through the lines!"

"Fall back! Fall back to the CP!"

"Johnson, move your ass!"

"MG42! Run!"

"Aaaahhh! I'm pinned!"

"Someone tell George to take those MGs out!"

"I'm on i-"

"Carter!"

"Carter's down. Where the Hell's the goddamn medic?"

"The medic's dead!"

Tony and Gibs vaulted over the broken wall and joined the other Paratroopers.

"Name, Private?" Tony asked the soldier who pulled Carter's corpse out of the German's line of fire. The soldier took Carter's tags and turned to Tony.

"Private Lawrence, sir!"

"Any of you got a sniper rifle?"

"George has it, sir. But he's on the third floor of that Café."

The Private pointed towards the building across from them. From the third floor, Tony could see the barrel of an M1903A4 sticking out but it wasn't shooting and the barrel wasn't facing the Germans. He looked at the road and at the advancing German Armor Column before turning to the forest of the Paratroopers.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Me and Gibs are gonna run over there and get that sniper. We'll take out those MG crews. Give us cover fire when we run. Once it's clear, regroup in the café. We'll fall back to the CP or maybe find a radio operator and await further orders. Understood?"

"Sir!"

"Good." Tony nodded and turned to Gibs "On three. One... Two... Three!"

The two vaulted over the broken wall and ran for the café. The Paratroopers stood from their cover and opened fire on the Volksgrenadiers that spotted the two. Tony was the first to reach the building and slammed his shoulder on the door. He quickly ran up the stairs and on to the third floor. He kicked open the door and ran inside but was tackled to the ground.

Tony found himself underneath a Volksgrenadier who was trying to stab him with a knife. Tony gave it his all in keeping the knife back and gritted his teeth.

"Fuck you!"

He slammed his forehead against the German and pushed him off. He punched the Volksgrenadier in the face and pushed him against the open window. Tony took out one of his grenades and pulled the pin before stuffing it inside the German's mouth. He then kicked the German out of the window and watched him fall from the their floor. As soon as the German hit the ground, the grenade exploded. Leaving a bloody mess on the sidewalk. Tony sighed and grabbed his fallen helmet just as Gibs entered the room, an M1A1 Thompson in his hands instead of the M1 Garand.

"Where the hell you've been?"

"Lost my gun after a grenade blew me into the building. Private Sanders gave it to me before his head got shot off. Poor bastard."

"Well, you're fine so cover me."

Tony walked over to the other window where the dead body of a Paratrooper lay on the wall beside it. He kneeled in front of the body and took the tags and ammo before taking the M1903A4 from the window and checking if it was loaded. Satisfied, he looked through the scope and saw Lawrence and the other Paras pinned down by the MG. He then aimed at the MG crew and focused on the gunner.

Tony took a deep breath and held it as he centered on the gunner's cheek. His finger hovered over the trigger and waited. Without warning, he pulled the trigger the same time he released his breath. He quickly pulled back the bolt to eject the spent casing before doing the same until the MG crew was no more. He still had two shots left and took aim at the Volksgrenadier Squad moving towards the pinned down Paratroopers. He fired a shot at an unfortunate Volksgrenadier who turned to face his direction and watched as the bullet tore right between the soldier's eyes. This caused the other Volksgrenadiers to turn to their dead comrade and give the other Paras the opportunity to gun them down from the back.

The Volksgrenadiers fell one by one and Lawrence and his Paras moved out of cover and made their way towards the café. Halfway there, the Paratrooper Squad were gunned down by an approaching Panzer IV's mounted MG42. Tony quickly aimed at the gunner and fired. The bullet struck the left side of the gunner's face and the German went limp. Unfortunately, the Panzer's turret slowly turned to their window.

"Gibs, ru-"

He was cut off as the tank round decimated the window and the section of the café they were in.

~Line Break~

September 1941

Anya Loginova

Outskirts of Moscow

Anya fired a shot from her Mosin-Nagant and struck a Pioneer in the eye. She aimed at another German but felt herself be pulled away by her partner, Dimitri.

"We have to fall back, Anya!"

"Not yet!"

She pushed his arm away and aimed at the Volksgrenadier Squad. Dimitri cursed the woman before grabbing her by the shoulders and forcefully dragging her towards the bridge, their comrades already running past them.

"Let me go!"

"Are you crazy, woman!? If we stay here, we die!"

"Then you go!"

They reached the bridge just in time as the German tanks rolled in. A Panzer-IV aimed it's turret at a Conscript Squad and fired, taking out half of them. Volksgrenadiers walked beside the tank, Sturmgewehr 44s and Kar 98ks roaring loudly as it sent bullets on the Soviet soldiers' backs. Dimitri pulled Anya away as the woman moved to fire her weapon again.

"A sniper is useless to a tank Anya. Fall back, dammit!"

"I'm staying here even if it kills me!"

"Fine!"

She pushed him away and crouched as she took aim. She wasn't really doing this for the Fatherland but for the deaths of her family. If she were to die here, she would die fighting. She didn't sign up just to stay back and look pretty. She joined the army to fight and kill the fascist bastards.

She aimed down her sights and was about to pull the trigger when an explosion roared behind her. She looked back to see the bridge was gone. Along with her comrades. She stood up and numbly walked to the edge of the bridge.

"...Dimitri."

She looked down and saw nothing but debris and bodies. She looked up to her superiors across the bridge and saw Lieutenant Isakovich look down at the debris in sadness. Colonel Churkin patted the Lieutenant in the shoulder before telling him to get in the truck. Anya, and five others, watched the truck leave along with the train.

'They left us. They destroyed the bridge and left us.'

Anya's grip on her rifle tightened before turning around. She didn't aim, she just fired. She wasn't about to let these fascists take her alive or kill her without a fight. The Conscripts with her followed her lead. At least the Germans won't have the satisfaction of killing cowards. They fought tooth and nail until two squads of Volksgrenadiers were wiped out. It was there did the Panzer decided it was time to end it. It drove towards them and stopped a few feet away.

The Soviets stood their ground and fired their weapons, not caring if it did any damage. One of them even threw a grenade but it was ineffective. The Panzer finally had enough of shrugging bullets and fired the MG34 on it's hull at the Soviets. The ones on Anya's left were the first to be shot down, soon followed by the ones on her right. She looked at the bleeding bodies of her comrades and fired her last shot at the tank. The Panzer didn't fire yet and the Germans were walking towards the tank, intent to see what would the lone Soviet woman would do.

The Panzer's hatch opened and the tank commander, a man in his late 40s, jumped down. All the German soldiers raised their weapons and aimed at the woman as the tank commander walked towards her. He raised his hand towards her cheek and Anya shoved it away.

"Oh, this one has some fight in it." He tauntingly called out over his shoulder before turning back to the woman "How does it feel to fight in a war, woman? To see the power of the Third Reich?"

Anya didn't respond. Content in simply glaring at the man. The tank commander laughed and grabbed her jaw and pulled her close.

"We can do this the easy way and enjoy it or the hard way. Trust me, choose the latter and this won't be fun... for you."

'Good luck fucking a corpse, bastard.'

Was her last thought before punching him in the side of the head and stealing his Luger P08. Before the Germans could fire their weapons, Anya placed the barrel of the gun under her jaw and pulled the trigger.

~Line Break~

Tony gasped and his body shot up. His eyes frantically looked everywhere while his mind tried to recall what happened. He remembered taking out the MG crew, seeing Lawrence and the Paras gun downed by a Panzer-IV and staring straight at the tank as it fired a shell and destroyed the room he and Gibs.

'Gibs!'

The room finally registered in his mind and he could see that he was in an infirmary. He looked to the other bed on his right and saw Gibs sleeping peacefully, the picture of his girl, Betty, clutched tightly in his hand. Tony noticed the Sergeant was still in his uniform and no visible injury whatsoever. He looked down on himself and didn't see any bandages or any tears in his uniform. He was pretty sure they shouldn't even be alive after that explosion.

"Finally awake, mate?"

Tony turned to the bed on his left and found the source of the voice. He couldn't believe his eyes. Right fucking there, smirking at him with an unlit cigarette between his lips was First Sergeant James 'Jim' Cross.

"No fucking way... Jimmy?"

The Brit nodded his head and spread his arms wide "In the flesh. So you finally died, yeah?"

"Getting shelled by a Panzer does that ya fucking Brit."

"Oi. If you think that hurt, imagine getting blown up by a fucking Tiger."

The two stood up and hugged. Tony patted him on the back before pulling away. He smiled and looked around before asking "So... this heaven? I'll admit. I was thinking it would be more, I don't know, poofy."

"Poofy?"

"Yeah. Like clouds, ya know? Isn't that what they paint in church?"

"Maybe. So how's the war going?" Jim asked.

"Well after Arnhe-"

"Gah!"

The two turned to Gibs as he shot up from the bed. Doing the exact same thing as Tony did when he woke up. Tony turned to Jim and nodded for him to follow. They walked over to Gibs and Tony brought a hand on the Sergeant's shoulder.

"Hey, Gibs. You're alright. You're dead."

"What?"

"We're in Heaven, man."

"The fuck are you talking about? ...sir."

Tony chuckled and patted him on the back "Just as I said. We're dead. I think. Maybe. I don't know. But I'm pretty sure we didn't survive getting blown to high Hell by that Panzer. The only thing I could think of is we're in Heaven. I mean, that's how it usually works right? You die, you go to Heaven. You die doing something bad, you go to Hell."

Gibs shook his head and looked at Betty's photo before tucking it in one of his pockets "The concept of Heaven and Hell and Death is more complex than that, Lieutenant. I don't really think we're dead."

"What else is there? Jimmy here got blown up by a Tiger and we got blown up by a Panzer. We all died and went to Heaven. What's so hard to understand about that?"

Gibs sighed and ran a hand through his short, brown hair "You know what, forget it. I'm done. How about we just figure out where we are, okay?"

Gibs stood up and made his way to the door, followed by Tony.

"I keep telling you. We're in Heaven, Gibs. Nothing else matters."

"I find that hard to believe, sir."

Jim watched them go and laughed "Bloody Yanks." He turned towards the bed with the last occupant in the room "Oi, lady. You wanna stop pretending to be asleep and get off your pretty little arse or what?"

Anya sighed as she sat up and glared at the Englishman. Guess this man was sharper than the other two. Of course he is. The two were Americans. As Anya stood up, she took time to observe the man.

He was actually pretty tall, and dare she say, handsome. 6 feet tall. Square jawed with a little shadow and rugged features. Unkempt light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He didn't wore his uniform top but rather wore a white short sleeved shirt. Bandages were wrapped around his forearms and hands but she saw no sign of any injury.

Jim coughed, seeing her stare at him for a long time "Eyes up here, luv. So what'll be?"

Anya turned away and looked down on herself. Gone were her baggy, camouflage overalls and was replaced with a white, button up shirt under a blue coat with a red collar and cuffs. A red plaid skirt and a pair of knee socks and brown shoes. The clothes felt nice. Nicer than anything the Red Army had given her. Though the skirt was too short for her liking. It feels like it was too easy for someone to peek under it.

"Well...?" Jim gestured for the door "Ladies first."

Anya snorted and walked passed him but not before replying with a dry voice "What a gentleman."

Jim watched her go, eyeing the sway of her hips and the noticeably short skirt. He wouldn't have mind seeing a bit of eye candy during the war.

~Line Break~

"As you can see, you are not in Heaven."

Gibs smirked as he crossed his arms and looked at Tony smugly.

"Told you."

Tony scoffed and turned back to the old man in front of them who introduced himself as the Academy's Headmaster, Laurence Kluivert. The Academy, Lanseal, was big. Bigger than anything Tony had ever seen.

"How exactly did we get here? Last I checked, me and Gibs got blown up by a tank. How the hell are we still alive?"

"Ah, yes. Class G found the four of you unconscious in the Drill Grounds. Fortunately, Mr. Hardins ordered his squad to bring you to the Hospital. The four of you have been unconscious for almost a day. Luckily, none of you showed any injuries whatsoever. But that begs the question." The Headmaster's eyes narrowed as he stared at the two "Who are you and what are your intentions in my school?"

"Nothing, man." Tony replied. He was just given a second chance in life. No way was he gonna waste it. Besides, the whole place is crawling with students who are taught to be a soldier. Teenagers who can use a gun and shoot 'em down if the Headmaster orders them to "We just wanna know happened to us. Not everyday you get blown up by a tank and live another day. We're just confused... sir."

'Haven't heard him call anyone sir since... Jackson.' Gibs thought solemnly as he was reminded of the death of Able Company's CO. Vastano was a good leader. Jackson trained him after all but Tony never called the new CO sir. He always called him by his last name or Johnny.

Headmaster Kluivert kept his eyes narrowed before demanding "Name, Rank and Unit, soldier."

Tony straightened his body in attention.

"Anthony Castellano. Corporal. Able Company Paratroopers, sir."

Kluivert then turned his gaze at Gibs.

"Daniel Gibson. Private First Class. Able Company Paratroopers, sir."

"Paratroopers?"

"Death from above." Tony replied.

Kluivert hummed to himself before turning around, hands clasped behind his back.

"Follow me to my office. We'll talk there."

The two looked at each other before following the Headmaster down the corridor.

~Line Break~

It was an hour after they left to look for Tony and Gibs did Jim and Anya decided to look for them later and tour the area. The two soon found themselves outside of a large warehouse. They could hear the sounds of metalwork going on from the inside.

"What do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know. I don't work here."

Jim snorted "Cheeky woman."

"Excuse me."

The two turned to the soft voice and spotted a teenage girl with short black hair under a military hat. She was wearing the same clothes Anya had but with a blue blazer over it.

"Are you Mister James Cross?"

"That's right, little miss. Who's asking?"

"The Headmaster wishes to talk to you in his office. He asked me to escort you there. Also, he said that Mr. Castellano has something to return to you."

James hummed in thought before looking at Anya "I'll fill you in later. Take a look around d the place, yeah?" He turned back to the student "Where to little miss?"

"Right this way, Mr. Cross."

Anya watched them go before looking back at the large warehouse. Might as well distract herself 'til they return.

~Line Break~

"Welcome, Mr. Cross. Please take a seat."

Tony let out a puff of smoke as Jim entered the room. With all the things the Headmaster told them and the proof he presented, Kluivert allowed the Paratrooper to smoke inside his office to... calm himself down. Gibs didn't show it but he was worried. Worried he wouldn't get to see Betty, his family and friends back in America. He didn't like smoking. Bad for the lungs the doctor said. But he was having second thoughts after Kluivert's revelation.

Jim took notice of the Americans state and wondered what the hell happened. He took a seat and the Headmaster gestured at the map that laid out on the desk.

"Are any of these familiar to you, Mr. Cross?"

Jim looked down and sure enough, the map was a tiny bit familiar. It looks vaguely like the Map of Europe but it looked like Norway, Sweden and Finland were missing. Hell, even jolly 'ole England was there but instead of seeing the name on the map, the label said ' United Kingdom of Edinburgh'. There were some things that stayed the same though. The Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean were still there.

'What the fuck?'

"The fuck is this, old man?"

"Before you is the map of Europa. And right now, you are in the Principality of Gallia. And as Headmaster of this academy, I formally welcome you to Lanseal Military Academy. But I must ask you this, Mr. Cross, what will you do now?"

Jim looked at the map then to Tony, who was on his second cigarette, then to Gibs, who was writing something down on his journal, lost in his own little world, before looking at the Headmaster.

Kluivert took out two glass cups from one of the drawers in his desk, followed by a bottle of whisky. He poured a bit on one cup before handing it to Jim. The Brit sighed and took the cup.

"Fuck it."

A/N:So this was something that went to my mind after going back to Company of Heroes 1 and 2. I don't know much about Valkyria Chronicles other than VC2. I finished the game back in my PSP and I still love that game to bits. CoH, on the other hand, I haven't finished Opposing Fronts and CoH 2 Main Campaign yet. If you're reading this, expect my characters to have their respective unit abilties. Something I wanna point out, if you're reading this, are character voices. Tony's voice is from the CoH Paratrooper, the one that sounds like Nolan North. Gibs sounds like the Rifleman from CoH 2. Jim is voiced by Adam Howden.