What is she most ashamed of? Well, take your pick from all the mistakes she's made before. Chief amongst them is the fight with Ksharta - where she let her fear triumph and made another young girl pay the price. Tragedy though it was, the root cause of all this is that Isabelle was weak. Too weak to stand up to her mother, too weak to believe she could even [i]try[/i], that acquiescence was the only option she had - when in reality she had so many more.

It had taken time to see that, a collective effort of many people - from Asil's encouraging words, to the steadfast support of those like Tomas and Rosa, to even the kind advice from those who should have been her enemies; Marna and ...

[[i]Mirror.[/i]]

[[i]She is looking forward to her match with you.[/i]] she signs. A lone woman speaking to the storm above.

[[i]As I am sure you are too.[/i]]

Isabelle lets some of the frustration she feels work into the signing, her gestures becoming crisper - as Quar had once demonstrated.

[[i]You see, everyone expects you to win here. After all, who can stand against the Aeteline? The mech that singlehandedly held off two empires. Whose biggest setback was being held at bay for a single day?[/i]]

How [i]does [/i]she feel about Solarel?

[[i]Do you remember who I am? Do you even care? About me, or about anything other than that fight? About any[b]one[/b]? Even counting yourself?[/i]]

There's an anger in her tone - born of an old wound, where she was defeated, discarded and forgotten. Just as many others likely were before. She has both moved beyond it and hasn't. One foot stretching forward whilst another stays stuck in the cold, lonely, sterile corridors of that Trak'tho facility.

[[i]This is no way to live! I've watched your matches. All of them, as I'm sure you've watched mine. You fight, but you don't connect. You see opponents only as obstacles. As puzzles to be solved and shelved once completed. You move through this galaxy, carving a one-woman wake on the way to your destination. A goal in front, no care for what's behind, and always alone in the journey. I know this! I was once the same![/i]]

She'd come here with every intention to defeat the Aeteline. That had been her goal. But her mind was in flux - at this apex point, she could tip in any direction. What course she'd set would depend on what Solarel did next. Despite the certainty of her words, she actually isn't sure that she's made the correct guess here - after all, if there's one thing that is evident from her observations to date (beyond the fact that Solarel is a peerless fighter) - it's that she [i]sucks [/i]at communicating.

[[i]If I'm wrong, tell me! What is it you want? The solution to a puzzle? People are not just puzzles. Not just their mechs. People are [b]more[/b]. They live, they love, they change. If you intend to go into your fight with Mirror only seeking a [b]solution [/b]then you will. not. find. it![/i]]

She stands there, waiting for a response. Watching. 

There are things that only become evident to yourself when you lay out your thoughts on a topic to someone else. In Isabelle's case, she feels her own goal crystallise. Revealing itself in her mind as pages being turned in a book. A tale being told towards its inevitable conclusion.

[[i]You are the yardstick against which all others have been measured. But too focused on the single dimension of combat. People are more. [b]I[/b] am more. I am [b]worth [/b]more than just a measurement. And I [b]demand [/b]you see that.[/i]]

[Roll to figure out a person - 5 + 1 + 2 = [b]8[/b] How can I get you to respect or befriend me? What are your feelings towards Mirror?]