Aqua

Aqua is one of the main protagonists of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. She was a Keyblade wielder years before Sora was. Like Terra and Ventus, it is her dream to become a Keyblade Master, a dream she is the only one of the three to accomplish.

Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Aqua, alongside Terra, was one of Eraqus's pupils. Like Terra, Aqua also had a dream of becoming a Keyblade master.

One day, a suspicious man named Master Xehanort arrived and gave Eraqus a new apprentice to work with, a boy named Ventus. Terra called out to Aqua and told her that a new apprentice had just arrived. Aqua and Terra tried to converse with Ven and asked him about why he wanted to train to become a Keyblade master. The questions troubled Ven to the point that he couldn't take the pressure. He fainted and shocked Aqua and Terra.

Eraqus told Aqua and Terra that the reason Ven fainted was because he had lost his memories. Aqua decided to look after Ven, in case he woke up. Many days passed and, despite Ven being unable to awaken, Aqua did not abandon him. One day, Aqua saw Ven open his eyes and regain consciousness. Overjoyed, she quickly informed a worried Terra and Master Eraqus.

Since that day, Aqua developed a very close relationship with Ventus, acting much like his older sister and becoming very protective of him. Over the years, Aqua, Terra, and Ven forged a strong bond with each other.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
One night, Ven, Terra, and Aqua watch a meteor shower together. After commenting that Ven and Terra would make the weirdest brothers, Aqua gives them each a good luck charm called a Wayfinder she made herself, saving one for herself.

The next day, she takes the Mark of Mastery exam along with Terra, and becomes a Keyblade Master, although Terra fails due to his inability to control his darkness. After Terra and Ventus left, Aqua was the last apprentice to be sent by Eraqus to bring Ventus back to the Land of Departure. Before she left, Eraqus wanted to ask Aqua to keep an eye on Terra, to make sure he is alright, and stays safe from the darkness in his heart. If Terra's heart would become too close to the darkness, Eraqus needed Aqua to bring Terra back immediately.

Aqua meets Terra in the Castle of Dreams, where she learns that Master Xehanort is looking for hearts of pure light, but she is comforted to hear that Terra had learned there that believing in a dream has the power to hold back the darkness. However, her faith in Terra is shaken when she arrives in Enchanted Dominion to learn that, according to Maleficent, Terra willingly helped steal Aurora's heart for her. Aqua later catches sight of Terra in the Lanes Between and pursues him to Radiant Garden, but loses track of him there.

Aqua meets Mickey Mouse and the young Princess of Heart, Kairi, who touched Aqua's Keyblade in fright, unintentionally performing a Bequeathing. Aqua and Mickey protect her from a group of Unversed, and in return, Kairi gives Aqua flowers, which becomes the Keyblade Destiny's Embrace. Aqua also places a protective charm on Kairi's necklace to help her in the future, believing that their meeting may not have been a coincidence. This charm would later transport Kairi to Destiny Islands where she would be with someone who would always protect her, while Ansem believed it was because Kairi, as a Princess, was naturally drawn to the Keybearer.

Aqua later meets up with Terra and Ventus, but the reunion is short-lived as they team up to battle a massive Unversed. They manage to defeat it, but things take a turn for the worse. Terra and Aqua begin to argue about Master Eraqus's orders, revealing to Terra that she was sent to watch him. Hurt by this, Terra leaves, and Ventus calls Aqua awful, claiming that she has let her new status as a Keyblade master go to her head. He then leaves to find Terra, as Aqua stays to contemplate.

After meeting Merlin at his house, Aqua goes to the town square and encounters the enigmatic Vanitas, who taunts her by inquiring about Ventus and if he has gotten stronger. When Aqua asks what he means, Vanitas attacks, and the pair fight a vicious battle. Aqua emerges victorious, but Vanitas simply leaves via Corridor of Darkness, making an ambiguous comment about her being his backup plan. Aqua then resolves to stop Vanitas to protect Ventus and Terra. Ventus then appears, asking to go with Aqua. At first she is harsh with him and he appears discouraged. She softens and tells him she doesn't want to put him 'in harm's way', and departs not long after.

Aqua's faith in Terra is restored upon her visits to Olympus Coliseum and Deep Space. In Olympus Coliseum, Aqua learns that Hades attempted to trick Terra into being his warrior of darkness, but Terra instead saved Zack when Hades decided to use the warrior instead. In Deep Space, Aqua learns from Dr. Jumba that Terra considered his Wayfinder a precious reminder of their friendship, and had even inspired Experiment 626 to start making friends.

While in Neverland, Aqua encounters Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, joining them on their treasure hunt. They later find their treasure chest, filled with wooden swords and Ventus's wooden Keyblade. Peter Pan tells Aqua that Ventus left the toy there as he no longer needed it. Aqua then senses someone nearby and goes off to investigate. She then encounters Vanitas again, this time with Ventus's cherished Wooden Keyblade. The dark enigma cruelly mocks Aqua's actions and snaps the toy weapon in two. Greatly enraged by this, Aqua battles and defeats him again, but is left exhausted by the fight and passes out. While unconscious, she reminisces about the first starry night she spent with Terra and Ventus. She soon recovers and leaves Neverland.

At one point Aqua and Terra come to Destiny Islands and meet two young boys by the name of Sora and Riku. Aqua sees the strong bond between the two friends and advises Sora to help Riku if he ever falls into darkness; though she initially intends to grant Sora the power to use the Keyblade, she decides against it upon discovering that Terra had already done it for Riku, not wishing to put the two innocent children through the ordeals she and Terra have faced.

Aqua later encounters an unconscious Mickey drifting in space and takes him to the Mysterious Tower, where she hears of Eraqus's death from Yen Sid and heads to the Keyblade Graveyard to meet up with Terra and Ven.

A short conversation with Ventus takes place there, one where he states that if he does become the χ-blade, he wants the two of them to "put an end to me". Aqua appears horrified, but Master Xehanort makes an appearance and tells about the history of the Keyblade War. Afterwards they attack, and a great battle takes place. Xehanort holds Ven over the edge of a cliff where Aqua can see, he freezes the boy and drops him; however, she manages to catch him. After fighting Braig and then Ventus under Vanitas's influence, the X-blade is destroyed and she is flung into the Lanes Between, unconscious. Mickey finds her and Ventus drifting there and brings them both to Yen Sid's Tower, where it is revealed to her that Ventus has lost his heart. She takes Ven back to the Land of Departure and places his sleeping body in a throne. She takes Eraqus's Keyblade and transforms the world into Castle Oblivion to keep Ventus safe. Afterwards she says her goodbyes to Ven, fondly stroking his hair, and leaves. She then tracks down the possessed Terra to Radiant Garden.

Failing to bring Terra back to his senses, Aqua fights and defeats Xehanort; subsequently, Xehanort stabs himself in the chest with his own Keyblade in an attempt to lock Terra out as a horrified Aqua looks on. As Terra-Xehanort falls through a portal into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua dives in after him, but quickly realizes that she will be unable to save them both. Instead, Aqua sacrifices her armor and Keyblade to save the dark being that had once been her dear friend, sending him back into the Realm of Light while she remains behind. Now stuck in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua is attacked by several giant Heartless and decides to just allow them to destroy her, but is saved by Terra and Ventus's Keyblades. She is then reminded of the people she is connected to. With renewed trust in her friends, Aqua looks at her Wayfinder.



Aqua's Wayfinder begins to mysteriously glow. As she travels in the realm, she sees a large circle of light form above her, only for a powerful column of darkness to shoot out of it in front of her. Her Wayfinder stops glowing. Seemingly unshaken by this, she presses forwards and encounters several Shadows, Neoshadows, and Darkballs. After traveling deeper into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua senses something stalking her, and comes face to face with a large Heartless that attacks her. To prevent it from attacking her, she uses a Fire spell, only for it to leap over her. Getting a closer look at it, Aqua determines it is not an Unversed and takes a battle stance to fight it. After destroying the Heartless, Aqua continues walking, eventually coming to a clearing and looking up. Surprised, she recognizes the Castle of Dreams surrounded by clouds of darkness.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Realizing that the Castle of Dreams has been swallowed by the darkness, Aqua roams the Realm of Darkness to uncover the source behind the strange occurrences. Furthermore, she also notices that time does not pass in the Realm of Darkness, and therefore does not know what is happening in the Realm of Light. In the remains of the Castle of Dreams, Aqua encounters an illusion of Terra. Realizing that the denizens of the world have not fallen to darkness, she resolves to press on. Arriving in the remains of Dwarf Woodlands, she encounters an illusion of Ventus and battles a phantom of herself inside the Magic Mirror. After breaking out of the Mirror, she pursues visions of Terra and Ventus in the remains of Enchanted Dominion, battling hordes of Darksides in the process. To her surprise, Terra speaks with her, explaining that he has become part of the darkness. Xehanort uses Terra's connections to Aqua to force her to reveal Ventus's location, but Terra battles Xehanort, forcing Xehanort to summon dark hands to drag Aqua further into the Realm of Darkness.

Aqua prepares to become one with the darkness, but she is rescued by King Mickey. After Mickey explains his mission to save the Realm of Light from the Heartless, the two locate the Kingdom Key D behind the door in the secret place in the remains of Destiny Islands. Aqua and Mickey realize they are on the opposite side of the Door to Darkness. Aqua and Mickey prepare to help Sora and Riku seal the Door to Darkness. When a Demon Tide attacks Riku, Aqua sacrifices herself by staying on the darkness side of the door to save him. The Demon Tide thrusts her back to the island shore, separating her from Riku and Mickey because the door in the secret place has been sealed and has disappeared from Mickey's side. While fighting the Demon Tide, Aqua vows to guide other lost souls lost in the Realm of Darkness. After its defeat, Aqua rests on the shore, watching the sky. Once Sora saves the worlds, Aqua remains in the Realm of Darkness and not Destiny Islands, as she is not originally from the island.

After an unknown amount of time which is roughly eleven years outside the Realm of Darkness, Aqua eventually finds herself at the Dark Margin with a cloaked figure, leading to Blank Points.

Kingdom Hearts II


Aqua's armor and Keyblade reside in the Chamber of Repose, a room constructed by Ansem's apprentices under Radiant Garden for an unknown purpose. Xemnas visits the armor often, calling it "friend" and talking to it for long periods of time. This has piqued the curiosity and suspicion of Xigbar, who often eavesdrops on his conversations, and once shared this story with Zexion, stating that one time he heard "another voice" respond to Xemnas. In The World That Never Was, Sora encounters Xigbar, who mentions "other Keyblade bearers", referring to Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.

Blank Points
Aqua wanders into the End of Sea, where she meets Ansem the Wise, who was cast into the Realm when his machine exploded. He reveals that in the Realm of Light, it has been almost eleven years, and he explains the events that have occurred in Aqua's absence, including the actions of Sora. Knowing that Sora will rescue her and her friends, she sheds a single tear, while uttering Sora's name with renewed hope.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Aqua is alluded to by Data-Naminé as one of those connected to Sora's heart and need his help, appearing as one of Data-Naminé's mental images. Later on, after Mickey informs Yen Sid that they have located Ventus's heart, Yen Sid concludes that Terra is the only one left to find, as the two had already located Aqua.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Mickey mentions Aqua when he suggests that he help Sora and Riku inside the Sleeping Worlds by following his heart's path, as Aqua told him long ago.

When Sora arrives at The World That Never Was, he is caught by the Organization and placed within a nightmare in which he chases after memories of Riku and Kairi. When he catches up to them at the Contorted City, the phantoms suddenly take the form of Terra and Aqua, while Sora himself takes on Ventus's appearance. Sora is confused, but the phantoms grasp his hand before turning back into Riku and Kairi and walking off again. As Riku attempts to wake Sora on his own side of the dream, Sora recalls when Aqua came to Destiny Islands, and nearly wakes up.

However, Ansem appears within Sora's dream at the last second and thrusts him back into the nightmare. Xigbar and Xemnas reappear within the nightmare to taunt him and lead him into despair by explaining the inevitability of their plan and playing on his insecurities, but a defiant Sora proclaims that while he may not have been chosen by the Keyblade, he will always be proud to be there for his friends, including Aqua and all the others.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-
After Riku brings Kairi to the Mysterious Tower, Mickey tells the story of how he found Aqua and teamed up with her to find the Kingdom Key D and seal the Door to Darkness. A frustrated Riku demands to know why Mickey didn't tell him sooner, but Mickey clarifies that he had to respect her choice, his claims bolstered by Yen Sid's insistence that had Riku found out sooner, he and Sora would have staged a fruitless rescue mission. Yen Sid then assigns Riku and Mickey the mission to rescue Aqua.

Kingdom Hearts III
In the Realm of Darkness, Aqua and Ansem the Wise are still sitting at the shores of the Dark Margin deep in conversation, when Ansem, Seeker of Darkness appears before them. He asks Ansem for information regarding a girl. A Keybladeless Aqua tries to defend Ansem the Wise, demanding the evil Ansem to leave. Ansem summons his Guardian to attack Aqua. When the Guardian subdues Aqua, Ansem the Wise gives himself up to save her. While Ansem agrees, he has his Guardian conjure an energy orb of pure darkness, and launch it at Aqua's heart. The force from the blast knocks Aqua into the ocean between realms. The orb's dark mass begins to spread across Aqua's body as sinks deeper into the ocean, leading to her transformation into Anti-Aqua.

Later, Riku and Mickey re-enter the Realm of Darkness to find Aqua, and end up on the Dark Margin. They are both attacked by the Heartless, with Mickey becoming subdued by them. Anti-Aqua appears before them, picking up Mickey's Keyblade. Mickey recognizes her, but she says that he was too late. Aqua proceeds to tell him and Riku of the endless despair and loneliness she had endured within the Realm of Darkness, and how she had been foolish to think someone would ever come for her. She proceeds to send a Demon Tower at Riku, but with the help of Sora, he is able to defeat it. Aqua attempts to strike Riku as he rushes to Mickey's aid, but Sora intercepts and fights her himself. After being defeated by Sora, Aqua is freed from the dark influence that was placed on her heart, but once more falls into the ocean. Just as she is about to give in to her fate once more, Sora reaches his hand out and pulls her out of the ocean.

Aqua awakens on Destiny Islands, and sees Terra and Ventus standing above her. However, it is really only Sora and Riku. The King, Donald, and Goofy are also with them, and the King tells her that she is on the Destiny Islands. Aqua ponders when it fell to darkness, only for Riku to tell her that she is in the Realm of Light.

Instead of resting up at Yen Sid's Castle with Mickey and Riku, Aqua has Sora, Donald, and Goofy accompany her to Castle Oblivion as she needs to find Ventus. Using the Master Defender, she unlocks Castle Oblivion's Keyhole, causing it to shift back into the Land of Departure, much to Sora's amazement. They all enter the reborn castle, and find a sleeping Ventus in the main chamber. Aqua rushes to her sleeping friend, embracing him and apologizing for taking so long. Aqua quickly realizes that Ventus' heart still hasn't returned to him, as she is still unable to wake him. At that moment, Vantias walks in, commending Aqua for being able to keep Ventus hidden for all this time. Sora and the others try to attack, but Vanitas teleports to the top of the throne Ventus is sleeping on. Aqua is quick to attack Vanitas, who blocks her attack with his Void Gear, telling her to back off. Sora tells Aqua that he'll take care of him, but she forces him to stand down by creating a force field so she can fight alone and keep Vanitas from getting to Ventus.

Though Aqua puts up a good fight, Vanitas re-focused his attention to Ventus and fires a Firaga attack on the force field, successfully cracking it. Aqua throws herself in front of his second Firaga blast to keep the force field up, badly weakening her. As Vanitas moves in to finish her off, Ventus's heart reacts within Sora, and gives him the instructions to release his heart. Vanitas is about to destroy Aqua when Ventus's heart finally returns to his body, and he immediately breaks through Aqua's barrier and attacks Vanitas. Outnumbered, Vanitas disappears into a Corridor of Darkness. Aqua recovers from Vanitas's attack, assuring the others she's okay. Reunited, the five heroes head back to the Mysterious Tower.

Returning to the Mysterious Tower, Mickey apologizes for not being able to find Terra yet, but Aqua is certain that she and Ventus will be able to get him back. Riku also thanks Aqua for saving him when he was in the Realm of Darkness the first time, expressing regret for being too inexperienced to help her back then. Aqua is impressed that Riku and Mickey were both made Keyblade Masters, but also notes that Sora has not changed since they last met, leading the latter to scratch his head in confusion. When Yen Sid acknowledges Lea and Kairi as Keyblade wielders, Aqua immediately recognizes Kairi as the same girl that she cast a spell on when she visited Radiant Garden.

The night before the final battle, Aqua and Ventus go out of the Mysterious Tower to star-gaze. Ventus tells Aqua that while he was sleeping, he would have dreams of her, Terra, Sora and the others. He also expressed remembering weird animal creatures. Aqua says that she's been places too, but she can't wait until things are back to the normal. The two both pull out their Wayfinders and hold them to the sky.

The following day, Aqua joins the rest of the heroes as they go to the Keyblade Graveyard.

Ventus sees Terra in the middle of the wasteland, but Aqua immediately realizes that is not Terra. Her suspicions are confirmed when Terra's hair goes from brown to white, revealing himself to be Terra-Xehanort.

Design


According to Tetsuya Nomura, she is approximately 18 years old.

Aqua has a tall and slender figure, about as thin as Ventus and standing a few inches shorter than Terra. She has blue eyes and medium-length blue hair, mostly parted to her left. She wears a black and navy blue, high-collared halter top, a black corset with two pairs of white laces and black shorts. She has two pink straps intersecting over her chest, with a silver badge similar to badges also worn by Ven and Terra over the intersection. On Aqua's arms are white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves. She also wears a small, segmented piece of armor on each of her upper arms. She wears black stockings reaching about halfway up her thighs, leaving a small area of bare skin. There are two strips of blue cloth draped over each of her hips, along with a smaller, white strip of cloth tied around her waist and draped in the same manner. Her silver boots are pointed and armored, with a sharp "hook" on the outer side of each.

By touching the piece of armor hanging on her arm, Aqua will become full clad in her Keyblade Armor. In , Aqua's armor is mostly colored in shades of silver, black, grey and blue. Notable additions include a silver breastplate resembling an upside-down crescent moon and a dark-visored helmet. Her helmet, like Ventus and Terra's, bears two prongs on either side, with her silver ones wrapping around the sides and angling diagonally downwards. Her cape is that of a dusty-rose color. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Aqua's armor remains largely unchanged, though she loses her cape and grey becomes a more dominant color than black or blue. She also gains more armor near her upper legs and hips.

During the development for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Aqua's outfit was altered, as considered her exposed back to be too revealing, ultimately resulting in an outfit that is neither too conservative nor too revealing. As well, her eyes and hair were originally darker.

Artwork of Aqua from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep ' s promotional artwork shows her hair spiking near the back of her head and falling just past her neck, as opposed to the spikes being splayed to the side and the back stopping short of the base of her neck.

Her name is Latin for "water", while Kairi's name in Japanese means "sea". The only connection between the two is that Aqua met Kairi in Radiant Garden in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and put a protective spell on her necklace, which later brought Kairi to Destiny Islands. Kairi, by accidentally touching Aqua's Keyblade during this time, also inherited the Keyblade from Aqua. The official Japanese website refers to Aqua as the "Dancing Waters Forming Bonds" (絆繋ぐ舞水).

Personality
Aqua bears some similarities to Kairi and Sora, primarily in her sisterly affection for her closest friends, especially towards the younger Ventus. This is displayed by when she makes lucky charms for them, does everything in her power to protect Ventus (despite his apparent discouragement whenever she tells him to go home), her confidence that Terra will overcome the darkness, and when she strands herself in the Realm of Darkness in order to save him, an act which could potentially doom herself forever, showing she is incredibly selfless. Aqua is shown to be very sociable with children, quickly befriending Kairi, Sora, and Riku.

Aqua is remarkably calm and dead-set on her goals, and only threats on her loved ones seem to make her lose her composure. Although, like Sora, Aqua is comically insecure in a romantic sense, so when Zack asks her out on a date, she becomes completely flustered and desperately tries to compose herself. She also quickly changes the subject when Hercules asks why her face is red.

Aqua is typically modest, referring to herself as a trainee (only calling herself "Master Aqua" before she fights Terra-Xehanort, even then only as an intimidation tactic) and acting very respectful toward elders and authorities, such as Master Eraqus, Queen Minnie and the Grand Councilwoman.

Like Eraqus, Aqua is also strict, stubborn and overprotective, which sometimes makes her seem condescending. She always worries about Ventus because of his age and lack of experience, ordering him to go home whenever she finds him without giving him a chance to prove himself.

Despite her flaws, when the situation demands it, Aqua's overall skill, determination, intelligence and kindness make her the most reliable and competent out of Eraqus's apprentices, and unquestionably worthy to be a Keyblade Master.

Keyblade and fighting style
Aqua is described by Tetsuya Nomura as being "tricky". In terms of physical ability, she is the most balanced out of the three main protagonists of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, with decent strength, speed, agility, and range. She is neither the slowest nor the fastest of the trio, but her thin frame makes her a difficult target. Unlike Terra and Ventus, she blocks using Barrier, effectively giving Aqua a 360° defensive zone.

Aqua has very few exclusive s, consisting of Barrier Surge, Wishing Edge, and her most powerful attack command, Magic Hour. Her personal finish commands include the Magic Pulse series, Heat Slash 2, Ice Burst, and her ultimate finisher, Teleport Spike.

Magic
While she's more than capable physically, her prowess lies with a more magic-oriented fighting style, being versed in all forms of it. Aqua is second only to Master Xehanort in terms of magic amongst Keyblade users, displaying superior skill to both Terra and Ven as well as later Keyblade users such as Sora and Riku. Aqua has a wide variety of Magic Commands. She has her own special variations of the Fire, Ice, and Thunder spells. Fire spells include Triple Firaga, Firaga Burst, and Raging Storm. Ice spells include Triple Blizzaga,, and Ice Barrage. A Thunder spell she can use is Thundaga Shot. She can also use Seeker Mine, and has a few unique magnet spells like Energy Magnet, Munny Magnet, and D-Link Magnet.

Miscellaneous
Beside a variety of these abilities usable by all three or two of the protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Aqua has access to two unique Command Styles and three exclusive Shotlocks. Her first exclusive Command Style is Spellweaver, which hovers her Keyblade in midair, swiftly attacking enemies while enhancing her magic capabilities as well. Her second style is Ghost Drive, a second level style which allows her to warp around enemies, attacking them at high speeds while using after-image illusions and tricky movements to her advantage.

Her exclusive Shotlocks are Bubble Blaster, Prism Rain, and Lightbloom.

Aqua has access to the evasion technique, Cartwheel, as well an offensive variant, Firewheel. She can also use Doubleflight, allowing her to jump once and jump again in midair. Lastly, she can use Teleport, allowing her to warp behind an enemy, dodging its attack.

D-Link
Aqua becomes a D-Link for Terra and Ventus after they receive Aqua's handmade Wayfinders. While in link with Aqua, the player can utilize powerful magic attacks.

Weapons
Aqua's exclusive Keychains generally share a water-theme and are primarily focused on magical strength; in fact, her Brightcrest is one of the most magically-powerful Keychains in the game. Her Keyblade is of medium length, between those of Ventus and Terra. Aqua starts off with her personal "Rainfell", but after visiting Destiny Islands, she obtains a more powerful version of it named "Stormfall". However, after falling into the Realm of Darkness, she sacrifices her Keyblade and Keyblade Armor to save Terra, and is forced to use "Master's Defender", her former Master's Keyblade, which she had retrieved earlier. Small petals appear when she summons her Keyblade.