If you watch me on Deviantart, you may remember I did a comic series over this story, or started one…

It was over the original version of this story; when my flashdrive broke, the, already finished, version of this story was lost. I had to rewrite the entire thing but, I think this version is better. I will be taking down the comic after this.

This is the intro the the KH4 story: A New Light, which I will be beginning soon.

The characters are introduced in order of oldest to youngest, starting with Glacies.

I do not own any of Disney or Square Enix's characters!

I only own my OC's: Glacies, Brimstone, Ryô, Blaze, Yuyake, Patria, Pith, Justin, Xally, Hikari, Ignis, Kuro, or any others!

Enjoy!

A Father's Strength

"Glacies!"

"Glacies Petra!"

"Glacies Kairi Petra! Where are you?"

Terra walked briskly into the main hall, where his wife, Aqua, stood, worry decorating her features. "Have you found her?"

"No…" the woman shook her head, "she's not on the grounds."

"Then, she's probably at the riverside training grounds." The two headed quickly towards the 5door.

"I can't believe she ran off."

"It's my fault…"

"Terra…"

The man hung his head in shame. "I only left her alone for two minutes and she disappears. If anything was to happen to her…"

"Terra! It'll be fine. We've just got to find her. After all, we're the only three living on this world… what could happen?"

The river water flowed clearly through the dense forest and tall mountains, with the banks clear of debris. Once area, however, had rocks and logs strewn about: black rocks with yellow flowers and black stick, white-washed logs, and logs covered with blue moss.

One of the black rock piles suddenly fell apart as a little wooden sword knocked it over.

Standing over it was a little girl of three years old with brown hair, streaked with cerulean. She grinned happily before squealing with joy. "Yea! Take dat Heartless!" She knocked over a white log. "Eat dat Nobody!" Her toy sword swung, hitting the moss covered log. "I win Unversed!"

She jumped about, whacking away at her fake Heartless, Unversed, and Nobodies. "No one can beat Keybade Master Glacies Petra!"

The little girl never noticed the dark figure watching her from right out of sight. "Well, well… Lookie what we have here. A little girl all by her little lonesome. Heh, heh, why don't we have a little fun with her?" The figure snapped their fingers and the dark shape of a Shadow Heartless rose from the ground and skittered towards the toddler.

Glacies stopped as she heard something padding in the grass behind her. She turned, giving a little squeal as she saw the Heartless. "A Heartless!" She took a step back before pausing. "I'm Keybade Master Glacies! I can bea' you!"

She took a step forward before swinging the toy sword at the creature. The wooden blade bopped the creature on the head once, twice, three times.

Her audience gave a deep chuckle. "Ha! Dis kid's got guts." He snapped his fingers again and, as the girl's wooden sword came down upon the monster, the Heartless sunk into the ground and vanished.

"I… I did it…?" Glacies looked at where the Heartless once stood, before a wide smile split her face in two. "I DID IT!" She began jumping about with joy. "I did it! I bea' a Heartless!"

"Well, that's enough of that…" The figure snapped his fingers once again.

Glacies gave a startled squeak as a group of Soldier and Shadow Heartless surrounded her. "Wha'?!" Two Shadows pounced, pinning her to the ground. "Mommy! Daddy! Help!"

"Heh, heh. Your parents won't be able to help you." A large hand reached down and pulled the child up by her collar. "You'll never see them again."

The girl struggled helplessly as the figure's other hand came towards her face. "NOO! HELP ME!"

The two parents froze in their tracks as a familiar voice broke through the still air about them. "NOO! HELP ME!"

"GLACIES!" They took off running through the trees, towards the river.

As the two broke into the clearing, they skidded to a stop. "What?!" A horde of Heartless and a single figure stood before them; Terra and Aqua recognized the figure instantly. "Pete!?"

"Huh?" The overweight cat turned his head before leaping away, with his back still turned to them. "How did you find us?"

"Forget that! Now where is she? Where is Glacies?" Terra summoned his Keyblade while glaring at Pete.

"Hmph…" Pete smirked. "Oh, you mean this little brat?" He turned; Terra and Aqua both gasped in shock. Glacies hung from Pete's grip, his large hand completely covering her entire face, smothering her.

"Glacies!"

"Let her go NOW!"

The cat shook the child in his grip. "Oh, I was just gonna take her back to base. With Maleficent alive again and all, she wanted a new little lackey. And who better than your little brat."

"What!?" Terra's glare deepened. "Release her! NOW!" He pointed his Keyblade at the cat.

"Uh, uh, uh… one step closer and this little kid becomes Heartless chow."

Both Keyblade Masters lowered their weapons. Terra kept his eyes fixed on Pete and the Heartless; Aqua's eyes never left her daughter. Her eyes widened as Glacies's struggling stopped and the toddler's consciousness began to slip away. "GACIES! NO!"

Without a second's delay, the woman leapt forward, bringing her Keyblade down on Pete's face. In his surprise, his grip loosened and Glacies fell from his hand. Terra jumped into action, lunging forward just in time to catch his daughter in his arms.

"Gotcha!" Quickly getting to his feet, he summoned his Keyblade in his free hand. "You won't touch her!" The Heartless leaped at the father and daughter but a few slashes from his sword ended the monsters.

Aqua slashed at Pete, "Don't come near my family again!"

"Wahh!" The cat turned around and ran, summoning a dark corridor before running through it.

Aqua dismissed her blade and ran over to her husband and child. "Glacies!" The girl lay in Terra's arms, eyes closed. "Is she…?"

"She's fine." Terra petted the girl's hair. "Pete must've cut her breath off long enough to knock her out." Gathering her up, he stood. "We should get her back to the castle."

"Oh, Glacies…" Tears welled in her eyes as she beheld the fear-filled face of her child.

Glacies coughed before her eyes opened slowly. She stared at the familiar white celling of her bedroom. She heard light sobbing nearby; sitting up, she saw her father sitting by her bed, head buried in his hands.

"D… Daddy…?"

Terra looked up, revealing his tear-streaked face. "Glace...!" He hugged her tightly just as Aqua, alerted by his cry, came into the room.

The girl wrapped her arms around his neck, happy to be safe once more. "Daddy! You an' Mommy save me!"

"Yes," Aqua came into the hug, "You're safe…" The three sat in silence before Terra sniffled lightly.

"Oh Glacies! I… I'm so sorry…"

"Why you sorry, Daddy?"

Terra took a deep breath. "It's my fault that Pete found you… I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm so sorry…"

"No," the child shook her head, "Daddy, you tell me to stay in thone room but I didn't. I wen' to river. It my fault." She cocked her head as she saw Terra begin to sob once more. "Daddy, wha' wrong?" He looked away from her before standing and leaving the room.

Glacies watched him leave before looking to her mother for answers about Terra's strange behavior. "He's fine, darling. He just… he just blames himself for you almost getting hurt."

"He tinks he a bad Daddy?"

Aqua kept silent; she placed a hand on her daughter's chest. "You should get some sleep; you've had too much excitement for today." Her eyes looked sad as she gently pushed Glacies back onto the bed.

A little squeak filled the bedroom as Glacies sat up, eyes wide with terror. She drew in her knees and wrapped her arms about herself. As she sat in silence, a single thought came to her; getting out of bed, she gathered up the blanket on the end of the bed and left the room.

She walked through the halls, the darkness around her not deterring her venture through the castle. Coming to the threshold of the throne room, the child saw a familiar figure sitting in the nearest throne.

"Daddy…" she came close to the throne where Terra sat, asleep. "Daddy…"

The man's eyes fluttered open. "Glace…? You should be asleep."

"Can't sleep… I keep tinking of Heartless and de one who tried to hur' me. I'm scared…"

Terra offered her a gentle smile, "It was only a bad dream…"

"Daddy, can I sleep with you tonight?" She wrung the blanket in her hands, bright blue eyes shimmering in the dark.

"Sure, sweetheart," He picked her up and set her on his lap. He petted her head as he listened to her gentle breathing. His guilt over leaving her alone and, inadvertently, put her in danger came back to him in a flurry.

"Daddy…" Glacies's voice caused him to jump slightly. "Why do you tink you a bad Daddy?"

Terra's eyes widened before they softened. "I let you get hurt, Glace. I feel horrible that you were put in harm's way… I feel… I feel like I failed you."

"Bu' Daddy, you an' Mommy came to save me. Dat proves you no fail'r." She looked up at his face. "I no' stong as you. I scared of the Heartless and dat bad guy… Pete. Daddy no' scared of nothin'."

"That's not completely true, Glacies." Her dad kissed her forehead. "I was scared today."

"You were?"

He pulled her closer, choking back the tears that were attempting to spill from his eyes. "Yes… I was scared that I was gonna lose you."

The little girl blinked a few times before leaning back into her father's embrace. "I love you Daddy…"

"I love you too, girlie." He kissed her forehead once more. As his eyes closed, he thought about what she said. "You always see the best in me, Glace…" He froze as Glacies began to whimper in her sleep as nightmares of Pete and Heartless filled her dreams. His arms pulled her closer and began to rock the toddler. "I've got you…" Terra began to hum a quiet tune.

Glacies relaxed, though, her face still contorted in fear from her dreams. "D… Daddy…"

"I'm here; you have nothing to be afraid of… I'll always be here. You're my strong little girl, and nothing, not even Pete and the Heartless, can break your spirit…"

Ladies and Gentlemen: Meet Glacies. In KH4, she will be 18.

Please review!

Psalm 24:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?"