She wore a mask.
A mask that was tough, one that screamed, "Don't you dare mess with me or I'll kick your ass."
"It's not a question of whether can or can't. You just do it."
She had always kept it on for years, to protect Serah, to keep going what her parents had left behind.
She hadn't dropped it, not even when Serah was taken, not when she was made a L'Cie.
" Are you kidding me? She's made into a L'Cie so you pop the question?"
All the regret, all the pain was contained in that mask. And she held it like as if it was the only thing keeping her sane.
Then, Hope came along. A small boy, what did he know?
"You're just going to get in my way."
Apparently he knew more than what he let on.
He was cynical, weak, fragile, he hated Snow, he missed his mother.
"Snow dragged us all into this. You and me, your sister Serah... He's gotta pay."
He wanted revenge.
Just like her.
"Operation Nora. …After my mother."
Her.
He reminded her of herself.
The one behind the mask.
To look onto those strong eyes
I wish time would stop and leave us here in this embrace
And as she stands here, seeing him, all grown up, in that Academy suit which she has to admit looks dashing on him – Oh, Lightning, snap out of it! – her mask drops.
And she hugs him like she did back when he was 14, but tighter and less like a mother and more like a girl.
The mask shatters when he hugs back just the same.
Together we face what's ahead
Unafraid of anything
And that's because you're here with me