This is isn't the full story, though. Mickey gave Aqua something more important than hope: knowledge. Yes, his words of wisdom fell short, but what he showed her in the Realm of Darkness during the time they spent together was more valuable than anything he could have said, and it clearly shows in how all of her convictions are reaffirmed and her faith in herself is renewed not after he *says* "You'll be ok," but after he helps her see that the Realm of Darkness is not something to fear or despise because it is intrinsically connected with the Light-- just like she is. All of her self-hatred, her doubt and her guilt, is a reflection of the darkness inside of her, and what Mickey helps her to see is that, simply put, the thicker the darkness, the stronger the light burning bright within it.
Aqua had that knowledge at the end of BbS. Terra and Ven's keyblades literally came and saved her just as she was about to give up. The game technically ended with her saying, "There's always a way." That didn't stop her from later almost giving up again and was only motivated by Mickey showing up in the knick of time and giving her back her wayfinder.
Aqua has always known that the darkness is eating at her fears and doubts and making them worse. She says it before she even sees Mickey. She's fully aware of what's happening to her. But knowing is only half the battle, as they say. Why are you convinced that after more time passes, she won't once again be willing to give up with no one left to give her the boost she needs to keep fighting? It's unfair to expect her to always be at her best.
I'll reiterate, just because she's in her darkest place right now doesn't mean her light is completely snuffed out. I'm sure even Terra's light is still burning despite his current situation. Despite everything Riku went through, his light still burned too. Being norted is not the end of the world, her current situation is not that different from what Terra and Riku already went through. (the bad guy, whether it be Xehanort or The Darkness
â„¢, eating at their insecurities until they succumb)
Nobody had ever given her tools to see that before-- Eraqus taught her to hate the darkness, which meant hating the part of herself that is darkness; Terra made that conditioned fear literal, acting for her as a cautionary example of what happens when the darkness is not suppressed completely, and embedding within her the seeds of fear that even the power she wields for good causes can only bring sadness in the end (hence she declines to perform a ceremony for Sora). But as she traveled through the RoD, she got to know the dark intimately: it forced her to face her own inner darkness, and absent the knowledge she gains while fighting alongside Mickey, she couldn't see it for anything but that toxic shame and those feelings of failure within herself. Not so at the end of 0.2. The darkness isn't something she fears at that point: she recognizes it as part of her complete person, and chooses to keep the Light inside of her burning. It's an intentional and unmistakable shift in perspective, from "I'm losing this fight," to, "I am Master Aqua."
Shrugging that off as just another step on the path to defeat is reductive. Nomura can still write her that way, sure, but I won't pretend it's some genius attempt to provide nuance. It's just angst porn.
Nothing Mickey said is even close to 'the darkness is not as bad as you think' or 'darkness is just a part of you, don't fear it.' This is pre-Kingdom Hearts Mickey. This Mickey still thinks darkness is all bad. He doesn't change his mind until way later when he watches Riku go through every stage.
Mickey has given her the temporary strength to keep going and be the light within the darkness to guide their way (which again, she can STILL be. I think that's how Mickey and Riku find her in the first place and that probably encourages them that Aqua can still be helped).
Aqua faces her inner darkness, and she came away from that thinking, "I'm losing this fight. It's found it's way in. Are my days coming to an end?" Yes, her "I am Master Aqua" is badass and shows off her renewed strength to fight a little stronger, but it's no different from her, "There's always a way." statement which was just as strong after she thought about all her friends. "There's always a way" was so important that they plastered it on some merch and yet we saw what happened after she said that.
Aqua didn't just fall, she was beaten down until she had nothing left. This isn't an on and off situation, it's a steady decline, a decline anyone else would also go through. A decline Ansem the Wise probably succumbed to (except he possibly just faded away like she would have).
You're tired of hearing me say it of course, but this is the Dark Realm. When even the main villain warns people from staying there too long... I mean come on now. "You're too late." has a lot of weight for that reason. Her being down there for too long has always been a concern. It'd be silly if she came out of the dark realm a-ok. She's not a princess of heart immune to the darkness, she's just as vulnerable as Riku, Terra, Sora, Ven, and everyone else. It was to be expected darkness would do something to her, that was never a question.
I'm on the fence about the nortification, but Aqua falling to darkness and struggling with it has always been high on the possibility list. The strength of her light and the light of her friends is what will keep her from being lost forever.
This doesn't work because even in her darkest moments, Aqua has never shown any indication of passing the blame for her situation to anybody else. We went through the entirety of 0.2 and all she ever did was internalize feelings of negativity, which is consistent with her tendency to put everything on herself and try to take the world onto her shoulders. When she sees Ven and Terra, or Mickey, there's no hint of resentment, only concern for their safety and well-being. Trying to graph Riku's KH1 plot onto Aqua isn't very believable or rewarding.
"No one will save you. And no one wants to." is something Phantom Aqua said.
It's not necessarily blame. It's further self hatred. "Why are you here? It can't be because you want to help me. I don't want your help." is totally a twisted statement I can see coming from her. There was a trope name for it that I can't remember in which the 'captive' refuses to be 'rescued'.
I'm not slapping Riku's story onto Aqua. Riku's story is like Terra's story, which is not Aqua's story. Arguably, Aqua's struggle with darkness is MORE personal compared to them. She wasn't fighting anyone else down there except herself (and pure darkness). No one was manipulating her feelings trying to make her do bad things or make her believe the darkness is her only way out (which is why I'm not interested in the idea that Aqua would willingly sign on to Xehanort's plan ever. It had to be forced like Sora)
This new story possibility has little to do with Xehanort. The way to help her is not to defeat Xehanort, but address her own personal issues. It's not Riku's story. Or Terra's. Or Sora's. Though I guess it's more similar to what Sora went through except 10 times worse (and again, not because of some bald dude's manipulation).
To summarize my blabbering on: You can't make assumptions on what Aqua has concluded about herself. No where does she state she has accepted darkness is a natural part of her or welcomed. Neither has Mickey who only comes to that conclusion about 10 years later. Aqua was struggling with her insecurities. Aqua is strong and powerful, powerful enough to last down there a decade before her resolve starts to crumble. Luckily, Mickey saves the day and gives her a boost she really needed, but as we've seen before, who knows how long that lasted. Aqua is a human being. "The closer to the light, the larger the shadow" or whatever. She's tired, depressed, and vulnerable. I think it's unfair to expect she'd make it out of the dark realm relatively unscathed and doesn't make sense lore wise. I don't think this hurts her character, and if written correctly (who knows if that will happen), this can be a very personal plot line for Aqua different from our other darkness inflicted pals.
