Qrow awoke. Groggily, he managed to start opening his eyes. He blinked, this time being much harder than when he had found himself waking up in the woods. As the blurriness began clearing, he started to see walls around him. Then he could make out a staircase in front of him. Blinking again, he could now see he was in a stairwell. A moment later he realized that it was the stairwell leading up to Jonas' apartment. He rubbed his eyes with right his hand to get a better look but quickly moved it away in disgust. Something had smeared across his face and into his eye. Hurridly, he used his other hand and rubbed the stuff away. Whatever it was, it was vicious and felt disgusting. Blinking again he got a better look at his hand. It was covered in vomit.
Groaning awkwardly at the sight, Qrow let the hand drop back down to his side. He was sat up against a wall on the small part of the stairwell landing between the two doors on opposite sides. His head lulled onto his shoulder. Looking down at his right side, there was a streaming stain across his shirt and the top of his trousers, and a half-dried patch of the stuff sitting on the carpet by his legs. Feeling the side of his mouth, he was sure he'd find more, which he did. Sighing, he braced himself to stand up and did so with some effort, careful not to stand in any of the vomit. Eyeing the numbers on the doors, he was glad to find that he was on Jonas' floor. From what he had seen outside there were six apartments in this building, numbered irregularly from bottom to top (Jonas' was number eight). Gingerly he made for the doorknob with his clean left hand and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. Before entering, he peered out of the small window to the front of the building. Intermittent beams of sunlight were passing through outside. Perhaps it was cloudier today.
It was a minute or so after standing up and opening the door to the apartment that the blood rush from standing up left his head and he started to feel the hangover. Once again with his left hand, he cradled his forehead in Jonas's hallway and let out yet another, deeper sigh. Closing the door, he made for the bathroom immediately. As he shuffled towards the sink, he struck his foot uncomfortably on something; it was a metal bucket, that he could only assume Jonas used for bathing standing up like a shower. Exclaiming, he shook his foot out angrily. Between this and his drunken clumsiness the previous night, only some of which he could remember at that moment, he was getting tired of knocking on things. It was almost like his entire situation in life, wandering aimlessly with only some direction on a journey with plenty of trips and falls. At the edge of the sink, he relaxed a little. Turned the tap on and immediately rinsed his hand off before carefully removing his shirt and throwing it to the grounds across the room. He washed his face as thoroughly as he could and ran a hot bath as he had a couple of days before.
After undressing and soaking for twenty minutes or so, he climbed out and wrapped himself in a towel before trying to find somewhere for his ruined clothes. His boots had been the cleanest thing he was still wearing. It was as he did this that he thought about how well he must have been taking the drinking. Not only had he found his way back to Jonas' apartment and only then thrown up, but from what he could remember, not at one point in the night had he not been looking for a drink. Unable to find anything in the way of a place for keeping washing, Qrow resolved to wash the stuff in the vast kitchen sink and clean up some more afterward. As he did so, still in the towel and eager to remove any traces of vomit before he changed clothes and relaxed a little, he wondered where Jonas was. Looking at the clock on the opposite wall, it had just gone eight in the morning. Thinking back to the plan they had made in the woods yesterday, Qrow concluded he had already gone to the police to find out what he could on the missing persons register. It was a good idea, Qrow thought, but a nagging thought told him that it might be worthless. If it was the case that he wasn't from Germany, or anywhere close by since he spoke English. And that he was from one of the English-speaking countries that Jonas had mentioned, would there be anything else in Germany for them to find out about him if he wasn't a missing person recorded here? It would leave a dozen more loose ends potentially anywhere in the world. He tried to shut the thought out, but it kept at him.
Eventually, as he finished washing the clothes and wrung them out, leaving them to dry on the back of the kitchen chairs, he wanted to try and get his mind off of his doubts. He wasn't going to join Jonas as per what he had suggested and thought it best to wait until trying to find a way to Mauber's for their day of questioning. Putting on the change of clothes Jonas had left for him on the first day by the door to the lounge, he went in and scoured the small floor-level bookshelf which Jonas had pulled his rudimentary atlas from. His interest was piqued as he took in the variety of books that were there. They were all, as the atlas had been, written in German. But they were all of varying sizes and colors, and so were presumably different in their content. But it was upon finding a small book at the end of one of the rows that Qrow became very interested.
Kneeling down, he picked the book out and looked it over. It was a small, pocket-sized notebook with lined paper inside, colored in a dark navy blue which almost looked like it had faded to black. Opening the cover, he was surprised to find it had English handwriting. On the inside and the first page, there were some pen scribbles and rough writing. Starting from the top of the cover, he began to read.
At long last, the Red Cross decides to drop something too close to G Company. And among the treats were these journals. I'll be writing in English for my own sake. Having any of the guys read what I have to say to myself would feel equal to a death sentence...
Qrow closed it. This was a diary of Jonas', he thought. It had to be. Probably one he was sent during his time fighting in this ongoing war with the Nazis if the language was to be taken as anything. If that was the case, it probably wasn't for him to see. Not without permission at least. To temper his want to read further despite this, he hurriedly flipped through it and placed it back on the shelf before looking for something else. He looked at the atlas Joans had shown him before and wanted to see if there was one with more detail. He flipped through a few books of similar sizes to it, before coming across one that was a little smaller than it. Sure enough, inside were colorless illustrations of maps on some pages. Immediately he took it up and went sat down on the one armchair in the room, opposite the couch where his bed was. The book was entitled: "Beobachtungen Zur Geschichte des Freistaates Bayern" and was written by someone named Mathias John Bruken. Inside the cover, it was dated 1950, so nine years before now Qrow thought.
Flipping through to the first map, it seemed pretty useful. It was similar to the more geographic-looking one Jonas had shown him in the other atlas, but this time there were borders. Right in the middle of the continent was a monstrous-looking country labeled "Deutsches Reich", which Qrow could tell was Germany. Jonas had called it Deutschland before. Next to it to the west was another large country labeled "Frankreich", just as all the other countries were labeled in German. This map was also labeled at the bottom with the year 1929. A section within Germany also had defined borders. This was Labelled "Freistaat Bayern". Jonas had told him also that this was Bavaria, but not Ost Bayern, or eastern Bavaria as seemed to be absent in the book. He looked at the year again. 1929 was 30 years before now, things had probably changed.
Flipping eagerly to the next map, things seemed to change drastically yet instantly. One great border now seemed to envelop the entire continent from east to west. The Frankreich country was cut in half, and the border extended all the way to the east into what was labeled, confusingly, "Union der Sozialistischen Sowjetrepubliken". Even one of the panhandle-looking countries above the continent and past a small ocean was included. But most confusing to Qrow, this entire massive country was still called "Deutsches Reich". But he quickly noticed something else. Among the paragraph, at the bottom of the two-page spread map, a few words jumped out at him.
"Diese Grafik zeigt den größten aufgezeichneten Umfang des Deutschen Reiches (als de jure unehelicher Staat)."
He tried to find a translation for the last few words and noticed a footnote written in English. Finding the words Deutsches Reich again, he compared what was written on the map with the rest of the footnote. It said: "Illegitimate state" in English. Quickly he flipped to the next map, which didn't show many changes to the German border except in the east. He flipped again to the next one. No change.
After coming to the seventh or eighth map, a considerable way into the book, Qrow finally saw something different. All of the lands in the East were colored differently, and the German border had receded all the way back to where it had been on the first map, save for in the south close to the Meditteranean German territory seemed to remain. Mauber had mentioned the name of this ocean offhand when talking about where he used to holiday, and Qrow had picked up on it. Frankreich was still split in two, and the panhandle country named "Norwegen" still seemed to be part of Germany. But the greatest difference was in the center of Germany.
Between the bulbous front of the country to the west and the point in the east where its territory had tapered off into a V shape on the first map, a new border cut the country in two. The west was still named Deutsches Reich, but the east was: "Freies Deutschland".
'Free Germany.' Qrow said to himself.
He began putting it together in his head. The Nazis, whoever they were, must be in Deutsches Reich. And East Bavaria and Bergwand must be a part of Free Germany, to the east of the border. He looked at the map closer to confirm this. Sure enough, a small label read "Ost Bayern". On the opposite side of the border from this label, a city in the west was labeled "München". Thinking back to what Jonas mentioned on his first day awake, Qrow remembered he had mentioned a place called Munich. A place they seemed to be trying to get back in this war. Closing the book, he sat back in the chair. In his head, it all made a lot more sense now, but it was still strange. These Nazis, despite seeming to be ostracised by the Germans here, had kept the name of the country on the first map. And if the other maps were to be believed, they had controlled or perhaps even conquered most of the continent. There were still things missing here, he knew it. It was good to know, but he soon started to think about himself again. Where the hell did he fit into all this? Why he had woken up in Germany instead of an English-speaking country? Rubbing his forehead, he sighed. It wasn't the first time he had gotten into a state like this since waking up. It made him feel hopeless, beyond frustrated. He tried to put his mind elsewhere.
Deep in thought, something suddenly crossed his mind. Putting the book away and getting up, he dashed into the kitchen and began searching his wet trousers. Finally, he took something out of one of the pockets. The piece of paper from the night before. It was soggy, but he unfolded it and found the writing still there. Part of him had wondered if it had even been real. But he quickly remembered all of it. Listening to the men talking, feeling the boy dash past his leg, finding the note, and the boy just vanishing. The same boy he had seen just outside the apartment. This wasn't making him feel any better. What the hell did "leave us" even mean? It was like he was being taunted, like the help he was seeking was worth nothing if someone wanted him gone. The fact, he thought, that it was probably just a meaningless gesture by an immature kid didn't take away the strangeness of it.
Qrow tried to steady his breathing and stop looking at the words, which he was able to do, albeit frustrated. More than ever, he felt alien to where he was. He felt isolated. The drink the previous night had worked for a bit sure, but it was lurid enjoyment. Nothing added up, and they had gotten nowhere. All Mauber had was a bullshit theory. All Jonas had was a vague plan. And even then, how was he meant to make sense of anything else that had happened? How the cuts on his feet had disappeared, what his dream had been, the fact that the bear had been right on top of him...but had done nothing.
Qrow sulked down, just the way he had found himself out on the landing. Part of him wanted to bawl his eyes open. He wanted to crawl up and forget all of this. He wanted to break. Yet, he didn't.
Sitting there, the note still folded and wet in his hand, he made a fist around. Getting back up. He put his boots back on and made for the door. This wasn't it for him, not yet. There were still answers out there.
...
On the landing, Qrow was met with an unexpected sight. Crouched down over the carpet was a middle-aged man, his legs sticking through the open door of the opposite apartment. Wearing a leather apron, he was rubbing away at the wall with a soapy bristled brush which he seemed to have dipped in a bucket of equally soapy water. He was cleaning the vomit stains. As the door to Jonas' apartment opened he looked up and caught Qrow's eyes, his eyebrows furrowed and he glared.
'Wissen Sie, wer das getan hat? He said. Qrow's mind raced as he stood in the doorway awkwardly.
'Nein... Deutsche.' Qrow said. The man's eyebrows lowered and he sighed, annoyed.
'Who...who did this?' The man eeked out. Every word quivered through his accent as he pointed to the stain on the carpet, which he was yet to clean. Qrow pursed his lips. A moment passed, and Qrow couldn't help but notice how the man seemed to suddenly relax. He shook his head. 'Next time, make sure you go outside, please.' Qrow, somewhat embarrassed, quickly made his way down the stairs, not taking another glance at the man.
'Jonas must pick better damn company.' He heard the man splash the brush into the bucket. 'Der Krieg muss sein geringes Feingefühl zerstört haben.'
Outside, the overcast clouds he had seen intermittently through the window had now covered the sky completely. The street was only mildly busy, were a few, mostly older people walking on the pavements. He broke into a jog to get to Mauber's. On the way, he passed the top of the hilly street with the iron railings which had broken his pace before. A sign next to it said "Straße des Herzens". Not long later, he turned onto Mauber's street and made his way to the end of where the practice was. Knocking hurriedly on the door, he waited for an answer. Mauber opened it and saw Qrow, a little sweaty and breathing heavily.
'Almost exactly on time.' Mauber grinned.
'Did we talk about a time?' Qrow asked.
'Oh, I can't remember.' Mauber waved his hand dismissively. 'What matters is you've come just as I've finished...'
'Can I come in?' Qrow interrupted. Mauber looked a little surprised.
'Of course.' He stood aside and Qrow stepped in. The curtains were open this time, which made the front room of the practice and the counter look more lively, with sunlight reflecting off of the bottles and containers on the back shelves. 'Qrow, is everything alright?' Mauber asked, as he followed Qrow in and closed the door.
'No. I mean, yeah but...' Qrow almost began pacing as he spoke. 'I've had a thought. You need to know some things.'
'Like what?' Mauber's eyes widened. 'Have you remembered anything?' He seemed to adjust his suspenders as he anticipated Qrow's response.
'No. These past few days, some things have happened to me as we've been doing all this. Things I can't exactly explain.' Mauber raised his eyebrows. 'They've been happening since I woke and they've been on my body and in my head in some cases.'
'What do you be on your body, have you been injured? Why didn't you tell us? I mean, no...I looked at you myself, you've always been unhurt, not a scratch. Even after yesterday'
'That's it!' Qrow said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Mauber. When I woke up, when I walked down the mountain I wasn't wearing any shoes.' Qrow pointed at his feet. 'I cut the soles of my feet up real bad, I think I was bleeding more than I noticed. But when I had a bath at Jonas' place that night, it should've been painful, right? But I didn't feel anything. Nothing at all. And when I looked at my feet again, they had already completely healed.'
'In a matter of hours?' Mauber said, placing his hands on his hips. 'That's impossible. And you're not lying?' Qrow placed his hand across his chest.
'I'm sure. I've got no way to explain it. But it happened again.'
'When? Mauber asked.
'Yesterday, when I was getting attacked by the bear.'
'We thought it missed you. That those swipes just, didn't connect. And that it didn't have enough time to bite you before Jonas hit it.'
'They did though. I could feel all of em'.' Mauber looked like his jaw was going to drop. 'I've never been surer of anything. I could feel the damn thing stand on me as well, the weight of its legs right on me. But...' Qrow lifted up his shirt. 'No bruises. It's like I could feel the pressure, but it had no impact.' Mauber stood there, stunned.
'I believe you.' He said, Qrow looking surprised. 'I swore I could see those claws connecting with something, but I just convinced myself they didn't when I saw you had no cuts and that you weren't bleeding.' Qrow lowered his shirt.
'What do you think it is?' Qrow asked.
'You think I have an answer to that?!' Mauber said. 'This is a damn miracle! I...how?' Mauber was taking it all as fact, he knew Qrow would have no reason to lie considering his situation and lack of memory or intent. Qrow could see him becoming more and more confounded.
'Stay here.' Qrow said before vanishing up the stairs of the practice. A moment later he came back with something in his hand, a steel butter knife.
'Qrow!' Mauber yelled upon seeing it. 'Don't even think about it!'
'Come on, Mauber! This is the only way we can know, besides...' Qrow placed his empty hand up on the counter so that his palm was facing upwards. 'I'll be just fine.'
'Don't!' Mauber yelled, rushing forward.
Letting out a yell, Qrow brought the knife down to his palm at speed. He shut his eyes tight, readying himself, his entire body tensing up. A moment later he felt something brush against his palm.
Quickly opening his eyes, he almost recoiled at what he saw. The knife, still in his offending hand, bent in the middle. The blade pointed straight up, and the rest of the handle crumpled. Mauber reached the counter just at the moment the blade was impacted. As Qrow steadied himself, they both saw something across his palm at the last moment. The dull field of red energy glistened across his skin for just a moment, then disappeared.