A/N - It's Fanfiction Friday again!

Hey hey hey, Part Three has begun! The adventure now continues into the northern snows of Minecraftia... What will our heroes discover at Snowhaven? Will they get to the End? How can they even defeat Herobrine!?...

Eh. I'll work it out eventually. XD

Read, Enjoy and Review as always!

- AxleMC131

PS: Oh yeah, prepare for a bit of feels in this chapter from Axle, and remember that he isn't based on me, he IS me...

PART 3 – Journey's Beginning

Twenty – Axle's Truth

Wingnuts

Much as the Aether was a beautiful, magical place, I was glad to have my feet on sure ground once more in the Overworld.

The portal spat us all out into a huge tundra, a snowy plain expanding as far as the eye could see in all directions. The sun was still low on the horizon, and the cold instantly chilled my bones. I quickly dropped my bag to put on the coat I had been given. The warm fabric quickly fought back the cold, and I sighed in pleasure. At least the sky was clear and it wasn't snowing.

Everyone else was doing the same around me. Behind me, I heard the portal extinguish itself and as I turned to look, the glowstone frame faded into nothingness. With the exception of Auriel, we were well and truly alone.

Doomesdaye looked around. "Right, which way is east?"

Jay gave him a playful punch. "Where the sun rises, stupid." He grinned, then pointed towards the climbing sun. "That way."

I smiled. Jay would be Jay. "Yeah, that's east." I put my hands on my hips and stared into the distance below the sun. Was that a puff of smoke in the very distance? Or was it just a trick of the early light...

I shook my head. "C'mon guys. Let's roll." And I began striding forwards through the ankle-deep snow.

Auriel walked beside me, and I decided to ask a question. "So Auriel, what's the story of this Snowhaven place?"

The Valkyrie smiled. "It is a permanent military camp. This used to be true Rogue territory, and the camp was originally built by bandits as a temporary hold point. Shortly after it was set up, a force of Minecraftians from a nearby kingdom called Carameta attacked the camp and took it. Since then it has been expanded and fortified and turned into a small, yet respectable settlement."

I nodded as I took this in. "So what will we expect to find there? Knights?"

Auriel gave a half nod. "I should hope so. If the place has been taken back by bandits though, we should try to avoid combat as much as possible." He kept a stony expression. "They are not our concern. If we do happen to get ambushed however..." He let it hang. I understood anyway. We would have to show them who's boss.

The Valkyrie fell silent, and I didn't press for more information. After all, we weren't aiming to stop for long at Snowhaven if we did at all. It wasn't our objective; it was just a landmark.

I slowed down a bit to walk next to Axle. I hadn't had the chance to talk to him about everything the last few days, what with the bandits and the attack and Auriel and Notch...

"You okay Axle?"

He glanced up. Quite the contrast to before we got to the Aether, he looked perfectly calm and happy, if a tiny bit nervous. "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled, then said, "I mean, look at us! We've got the chance to fight back, to save Moohicky and the whole universe!" He made a noise that I almost mistook for a giggle. "Who doesn't want that?"

I grinned back. "True point." I hardened my expression a little. "Are you sure you're prepared? I mean, before we found ourselves, you were our... I hate to say it, but you were our weakest link..."

Axle didn't seem insulted at all by this term. Rather, he smiled at me. "Yeah, I know. I'm weak Wingnuts, and I know that. But it's okay, because now I get a chance to be strong. And I'll do anything for Moohicky."

I patted him on the back. "Yeah, you're loyal, I'll give you that." I hardened my expression. "But are you sure you're ready to face everything...?"

Axle stared at me. "Wing. Before this all happened, what was I like at home?"

I frowned. "Umm... Calm? Peaceful? Helpful?"

"Exactly. I was a very stay-at-home kind of guy. When the rest of you were out mob hunting or something, I was content to sit at home with a good book and a cup of tea. But that has to change now Wing, and I'm glad of it." Axle sighed and gave a weak smile. "This will make me a stronger person, I'm sure of it. At the moment I have points where I'm not sure of myself, or where my anger takes over, or I just want to be a child. I've always been amused by simple things." I briefly remembered Axle swinging that sword from Silvor, gawking at it like it was the most amazing thing in the universe. "But you see, throughout all that pain, I'm doing this for Moohicky. You guys can go and save the world. I have but a single purpose."

The broken warrior looked up, and past the sad expression on his face I saw hope. Hope that he would be able to do this, not for the whole, unknown world. But for one person that he loved with all his heart.

I nodded. "You'll be able to," I said. "With the exception of Chaos, you have the strongest will out of any of us, all because of what you are fighting for." I smiled at him and patted his back again. "You can do it."

He nodded back at me, saying no more.

I made my way back to the front of the group, crunching through the ankle-deep snow. The others were having a conversation between themselves about something bandit related.

"He is stronger than he thinks already." I looked up at Auriel's smiling face.

"What do you mean?"

The Valkyrie winked. "He is fighting for love. Not for the world of Minecraftia, but for Moohickyalah. He is correct about him being strong, but he is stronger than he believes. Love is a powerful force, more powerful than a lot of magics. With Axle here with you, your group is stronger than even Herobrine himself."

Auriel looked towards the rising sun and said, "Keep him safe. He used to be the weakest link in your group, true. But he is no longer. He is the strongest, but he needs to be protected until he realizes it."

The Valkyrie locked my gaze and I got that feeling again of utter trust and happiness. "Defend him. Encourage him. Keep him safe, not from the outside, but from himself. He needs to realize who he is, and that will take time. Until then, you have to keep him from giving up."

I frowned. "How do I make sure he won't just ignore me?"

"He looks up to you, Wingnuts. He will listen to you."

With that, Auriel turned away and walked back to the rest of the group, and I was left processing and putting together everything Axle and Auriel had just told me.