I have a rescinded theory from a couple days ago and I’ve been thinking on this one a lot more since the trailer. Enough where I’m gonna voice it.
First of all, I’ve been stewing on this image. Most notably: This isn’t Aquanort. I can feel the questions: I’ve been sitting on the Aquanort theory since the day the Frozen trailer dropped, so why am I changing my mind after seeing this image?
Quite simply: This isn’t a norts work. Even in Terra, the most extreme example of norting, the differences between Terranort and Terra are few.
If you look at the image above, the only definitive change between the two is the hair and eye color, which at the time was really the only definitive change in Aqua and her dark counterpart. (Clothes color is a palette swap and could easily be explained by Xehanort giving her a new outfit.)
However, that isn’t the case in Aqua. In the new trailer, her arms appear to be merging with her outfit, and even appear to at some point be indistinguishable, covered in darkness. We see this in the first trailer as her being initially covered in darkness:
But clearly that hasn’t gone away on her arms or her legs, as they’re still the same darkness as they are in this trailer. So not only can she change her form at will using darkness, but she also uses it to camoflauge her, which is far from a typical nort ability.
But wait, we’ve seen this kind of transformation in one other character:
Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (Xehanort’s Heartless) has the ability to change his body at will and meld it with the darkness. As seen in his boss fights in a few different games.
So then this brings about an answer in its own right. My current theory is that this Dark Aqua in question is not actually Aquanort as we’ve been suspecting for several months, but is, in fact, a Heartless, born from Aqua falling into darkness during her final year in the Realm of Darkness, which would bring it full circle as Aqua’s fall isn’t simply a Xehanort manipulation, but Aqua finally giving into the darkness all this time. Which lines up with the interviews since Nomura has avoided saying Aqua got norted, which he hasn’t danced around with the other members of the True Organization XIII thus far.
However, this doesn’t mean Aquanort won’t still be around. You see, that’s where part two of the theory comes in, and me rescinding my prior theory.
With every Heartless that is formed, a Nobody is also created. And if we look over here:
Not only do we see a new person in an Organization XIII cloak from an angle we haven’t yet seen most people in the new model in, that strand of hair in the top corner, almost looks blue in color. To further the theory, Xehanort has been confirmed turning the former Organization XIII members back into Nobodies in order to carry out his plan. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to believe that, upon stumbling upon Aqua’s empty body, Xehanort simply took the husk and threw his heart into it, turning her Nobody into another vessel for the thirteen darknesses.
So basically, to summarize:
Old Aquanort is actually Aqua’s Heartless still wandering the Realm of Darkness after turning into one.
Mysterious hooded figure is Aqua’s Nobody turned Aquanort.
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