(A/N: Hi everyone. Been several months since the last chapter. Fire Emblem Three Houses sucked out all my spare time for a grand total of 370 hours logged into the game and I was working at Sony since August 20th, so I really didn't have all the time I wanted to write.

But, I'm back, and you've all waited long enough. Let's jump right back into the fun. The stage is set and the curtain is up Mai Vs Celeste is go. Let's get wild!)

While Mai and Celeste began their face-off, Joey and Byakuya were sitting comfortably in a VIP room, complete with refreshments—though mostly just Tim Horton's doughnuts and coffee, soda, and seemingly all you could eat pancakes and syrup.

As Byakuya slowly sipped his coffee with a tablet in his lap, reading a news article about the local culture, Joey was predictably stuffing his face of pancakes and doughnuts and promptly washing them both down with more coffee than any sane person should have.

Byakuya did his best to ignore it. Uncivilized behavior such as this deserved to be ignored, but Byakuya eventually couldn't help but see Joey's actions out of the corner of his eye and be repulsed by it. Put off on his coffee and news, Byakuya simply called out to Joey, "Do you enjoy making a mockery of the human race with table manners that repulsive?"

Joey answered him with a mouth full of dough before swallowing it all down. Then he simply said, "What? I'm hungry."

Byakuya resisted the urge to sigh deeply, though it was a very powerful urge. "Joseph," he then said calmly. "Be honest with me, do you believe the heart of the cards guarantees you victory against me?"

Joey shrugged. "I dunno."

"You…don't know?"

"I don't really think of it like that," Joey said, turning his chair to face Byakuya. "I don't think of dueling as a competition and being the best like you seem to. I always think of it as just havin' a good time and wantin' to be the best me. Sure I wanna win, everyone does. And sure the Heart of the Cards will get me out of a pinch if things are dicey, but it doesn't mean it's this all powerful skill that lets me win duels with my eyes closed. If that were the case, I woulda taken Kaiba to the cleaners back in Battle City."

"Fascinating," Byakuya said, adjusting the rim of his glasses. "You mean to say that your faith in this invisible ability is based not on your desire to win, but by the adrenaline flowing through you that drives your competitive streak in the heat of the moment."

"Huh? Uh…I guess," Joey said. "I dunno. Stuff like that's too complicated. I just believe the Heart of the Cards cause that's what I was taught and Yug and his grandpa would never steer me wrong. I trust 'em."

Byakuya folded his arms more tightly. "You talk as if the sentimental value of those around you increases your dueling ability."

"I mean, it certainly helps me have more faith in myself."

"Ridiculous," Byakuya replied contemptuously.

"And that is why you're gonna lose," Joey said, wiping his nose with his arm, sniffing. He gave Byakuya a serious look. "You don't duel for anyone other than yourself. You're all alone with your money. Do you have any family you care about? What about your mom or your dad? Maybe a sibling or a friend."

"A Togami has no equal, only superiors and inferiors."

Joey sighed, shaking his head. "There's just no gettin' through to you."

"But, I am nothing if not open-minded. If the Heart of the Cards is what bridges the gap between my skill level and perfection, I will do all I can to master it. You have to hold up your end of the agreement and not lose in the finals. I will not allow it."

"Not exactly your call to make, Togami."

"Hmph. Another question then, and be honest. Celeste or Mai, who are you more interested in facing? You will only get your opportunity to rematch one of them."

"Mai or Frenchy? For this tournament?" Joey thought hard about it. He thought about everything he'd been through with Mai since Duelist Kingdom. He thought about how'd they'd started off as enemies and how she slowly opened up to him and his friends. Heck, in recent weeks she'd become just another friend.

And then his thoughts drifted towards Celeste and their long-standing scuffle in Battle City. How she ridiculed him at every turn, and how she manipulated everyone during his time being a puppet on Marik's strings. He remembered her duel with Yugi, how she always had a sharp tongue whenever she spoke. And with that, Joey knew his answer.

"Frenchy," he said with the most serious look on his face. "Mai's become a true pal. I feel like she and I could throw down any time, but…Frenchy's turning into more like a rival. I beat her once, but she acts like this high and mighty Queen like she owns the ground she walks on. I'm not gonna let her make fun a me. I'm gonna show her that Joey Wheeler ain't nobody's fool!" Joey didn't realize he'd stood up to make that declaration and then slowly sat back down. "But I ain't opposed to facing Mai," he said with a smile. "Cause that just means she did my job for me," he gave a thumb's down, "Knockin' Frenchy down a peg I mean."

"Interesting," Byakuya said. "Then I do too hope that she will be the one to win because should you win our duel, Joseph, she seems the one that will push you harder into a corner and invoke your competitive spirit, thereby allowing me to more easily observe the phenomenon you call the Heart of the Cards."

Joey sighed. "Everything's always gotta be about you, doesn't it?"

"Naturally," Byakuya said with a smirk. "I am Byakuya Togami after all."

Joey just sighed deeper. Frenchy, Mai, finish your duel so I can take Rich Boy here down a peg, cause he's really asking for it.

Back out in front of the cheering crowd, Celeste looked at her hand of six cards before making a swift decision of how to begin her first turn. Clasping half her hand, she began by placing a magic card in the spell/trap reader. "I activate the magic card Vampire's Domain!" She exclaimed as the spell card flipped face-up for all to see, showing the silhouette of a vampire in a red hood with a scythe on top of castle battlements. "Here's how it works. Every turn, at the cost of 500 life points, I'm allowed to summon an extra monster, as long as that monster is a vampire monster. And so, now I summon the paltry Vampire Familiar. Then, I'll sacrifice 500 life points in order to bring out Vampire Grimson!"

The very monster silhouetted on Celeste's continuous spell card was now featured prominently on her field, except its scythe was facing the opposite direction. The pale-skinned zombie had 2,000 attack points and 1,400 defense points. Celeste's life points then dropped to 3,500.

"Be careful when facing vampires," Celeste said as Grimson's only visible eye under his hood glowed. "Lest your servants become mine. And another thing, whenever one of my vampires deals damage to your life points, I gain that many life points instead."

"Not a bad opening move," Mai stated. "Anything else you plan to do?"

"Just this, I set two cards face-down onto the field, then I end my turn."

"Celestia Ludenburg empties almost her entire hand on the first move! A risky maneuver! Can the lovely Mai Valentine counter such a complex maneuver?"

"I can and I will!" Mai exclaimed as she drew the top card of her deck. "I draw!" Mai looked at the cards in her hand. Perfect, she thought. "Sorry, Celeste, but your trap cards and your spell card just became useless. I activate Harpie's Feather Duster, which will destroy all of the spell and trap cards you have on your side of the field."

Celeste grit her teeth. She had expected such a maneuver from Mai eventually, but the first turn of the duel?

A massive harpie wing dusted Celeste's field and left her defenseless with only her 2,000-attack point Grimson for company.

"Next, I'll activate a field spell Rising Air Current!" Mai declared. She placed the field spell in the corner of the card reader as holographic winds blew out from under the two women, ruffling Mai's coat and Celeste's skirt lightly. "This field spell increases the attack power of all wind monsters by 500 points, at the expense of lowering their defense points by 400." Mai held up a card, its back to Celeste. "But that won't be a problem," she said with a smirking and then said forcefully. "For next, I'll summon the undisputed queen of the skies: Harpie Queen!" She showed Celeste the monster as she then played the card face-up on the reader.

A Harpie monster with a turquoise colored ponytail appeared. She had 1,900 attack points and 1,200 defense points. Then, with Rising Air Current's effect, as the winged beast floated in the air, her attack points increased to 2,400 and her defense lowered to 700.

"And now, Harpie Queen, attack and destroy Vampire Grimson!"

With a cry, Mai's monster darted towards Celeste's and raked its claws across the handle of Grimson's scythe, cutting through it and then into the monster's clothes, shredding it and distorting the hologram before it exploded, causing it to scatter into a thousand shards of light. Celeste's life points then dropped to 3,100.

"Next, I'll set one card face-down," Mai said, placing it in the spell/trap zone as the face-down hologram appeared. "And ending my turn."

Celeste looked at the sole card in her hand. Careless. She should've waited until Mai's hand was emptier before placing two of her best trap cards as bait for a Harpie's Feather Duster. Now Mai had a huge advantage and the sole card in Celeste's deck was of no help on its own. A smirk crawled across her face.

I guess this means, she thought as she went for the top card of her deck. It's up to luck now! She pulled the top card of her deck to her hand, hoping for something good. Fate must've smiled upon her because it was exactly the card she needed right now.

"First I summon Vampire Lady in attack mode!" The beautiful, blue-skinned woman appeared on Celeste's side of the battlefield with her elegant 1,550 attack points and 1,550 defense points. She floated in the air, resting her chin on the back of her hand and crossed her legs inside her purple, tight dress.

Mai chuckled, practically downright amused. "And what is that supposed to accomplish, besides be a snack for my Harpie Queen?"

"On its own, not much, but I aim to take out your Rising Air Current with a field spell of my own. I activate Vampire Kingdom!"

"Wha…"

By the current tournament rules, only one Field spell could be on the battlefield at a time and the new one took precedent, Celeste's castle rose up behind her, almost clipping into the ceiling and the stands.

"Now, for starters, Harpie Queen loses the 500 attack point boost you gave her."

Harpie Queen's attack points adjusted to 1,900.

"And thanks to Vampire Kingdom, my vampires gain a boost of their own, 500 points to be exact."

Vampire Lady's attack points jumped up to 2,050.

"Now, my faithful servant," Celeste said, raising her arm up into the air and then she pointed her braced index finger at Harpie Queen, "Attack Harpie Queen now!"

Vampire Lady began by hypnotizing Harpie Queen, immobilizing her and then sucking her blood through her neck from behind as the color in Harpie Queen's face drained and her expression turned to one of pure terror before the hologram shattered.

Mai suffered 150 points of damage, bringing her life total down to 3,850.

"There's more, Vampire Lady's effect now activates. You must send a card type of my choosing directly from my deck to the graveyard and then shuffle your deck. And I choose trap card!"

Mai growled, taking out her deck and sending Shadow of Eyes to the graveyard.

"And it only gets worse for you," Celeste said. "Thanks to Vampire Kingdom, whenever you send a card directly from your deck to the graveyard, I can select any card on the field, in this case, your face-down card. Then," Celeste said, ejecting her own deck and revealing another Vampire Familiar in her hand. "I can send any Vampire monster from my deck to the graveyard," she said, putting the card in the designated zone. She then pointed her finger at Mai's face-down card. "Then I can destroy the card I selected."

Mai gasped as her face-down card blew up quite literally in her face.

"You are now defenseless," Celeste said. "And this duel is only going to get worse for you."

"Celestia Ludenburg turns this duel around with a fateful draw and a two-card combo. Careful, Miss Valentine," the announcer warned.

"Heh, not bad. Not bad at all," Mai said. "But now it's my turn. I draw!" She pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. She looked at the four cards in her possession. This was precisely what she needed.

"I summon Harpie Lady in attack mode!"

Mai's bread and butter monster arrived on the field with a cry and a beat of her wings.

"And next, I'm activating an old favorite of mine, Elegant Egotist!" Mai said as she played the spell card whose card artwork looked like the inside of a Kaleidoscope. "Witness now the trio of terror! Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Harpie Lady split into three, emerging as the fabled Harpie Lady Sisters with 1,950 attack and 2,100 defense points.

Celeste didn't react. Mai clearly had a strategy in mind. She wasn't one for pointless questions. She did, however, grow quite apprehensive, but she didn't show it.

"And next I activate this spell card: Triangle Ecstasy Spark!"

Celeste gasped. Oh. That was going to hurt.

Mai's Harpies gathered into a triangular formation, each emitting a different colored energy of red, blue and yellow.

"How it works is until the end of my turn, my Harpies attack power becomes 2,700." Mai stated as her monsters' power climbed.

"Harpie Lady Sisters!" Mai shouted. "Wipe out Celeste's Vampire Lady with your signature move! Triangle Ecstasy Spark!"

The sisters emitted their high-pitched cries in unison and unleashed a powerful, electrical blast that wiped out Vampire Lady. She never had a chance. Celeste's life points were subsequently cut down from 3,100 to 2,450, leaving Mai comfortably in the lead.

"Unbelievable! It's a back and forth contest here, folks! Mai Valentine and Celestia Ludenburg aren't giving each other an inch!"

"Next, I set one card face-down onto the field," Mai stated. "And end my turn."

As a result, Harpie Lady Sisters' attack power fell back down to 1,950.

"It's my move," Celeste stated. "Draw!" Yet again, luck was on her side. "I summon, Vampire Sorcerer!" Celeste shouted, slapping the card onto the duel disk.

A blue-skinned, green haired monster in an overcoat and pointy hat, carrying a staff with a ruby red gem inside of it, was summoned to the field. He had 1,500 attack and 1,500 defense points.

"Now, Vampire Kingdom increases my monster's power by 500 points, just enough to destroy Harpie Lady Sisters," Celeste declared as her monster's power rose to 2,000 points.

Hmm, so you think, Mai thought, glancing down at her face-down card as though the back was transparent, seeing the crystalline artwork stare back at her.

"Vampire Sorcerer!" Celeste declared, "Attack! Hypnotic Flash!"

A red blast of energy was launched from the gem inside Vampire Sorcerer's staff.

"Not so fast!" Mai declared. "Reveal trap card! Mirror Wall!"

Celeste gasped. She had been trying to bleed that card out of Mai's deck.

A crystalline wall erected itself in front of Harpie Lady Sisters, cutting off the laser blast and reflecting Vampire Sorcerer's attack back at itself, causing the hologram to glitch out and Celeste's monster to lose half of its attack points, bringing it down to 1,000.

All too easy, Mai thought. "Harpie Lady Sisters, counterattack!"

Mai's harpies ganged up on Celeste's monster, scratching at it from three angles and destroying it. Celeste's life points fell even further from 2,450 to 1,550, putting Mai more than 2,000 points ahead of her.

Mai laughed arrogantly. "This is the skill that rivaled that of the King of Games? Was he on an off day?"

"Save your taunts for someone they work on," Celeste said, turning her head and curling her finger around a lock of hair.

Mai smirked. "No need to be a sour puss just because you're losing," Mai said.

"I haven't lost yet," Celeste shot back. She scowled. "Thanks to you destroying Vampire Sorcerer, his effect activates and I can add any Vampire card, monster, trap or spell from my deck to my hand." Celeste selected a trap card from her deck of a vampire lying peacefully on her bed and then shuffled her deck back into the duel disk. "And now I'll set said card face-down onto the field!" Celeste declared.

"Celestia Ludenburg makes a desperate stand against Mai Valentine. Wide open for a direct attack except for a face-down card, this next turn could very well decide the duel," the announcer stated. "What will happen?"

She'll lose, Mai thought and drew the top card of her deck. "I activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Say goodbye to your Kingdom, your face-down card, and the rest of your life points!" Mai shouted.

Each sister of Mai's winged trio gained additional, thick, feathery wings and prepared to wipe out Celeste's side of the field.

"Not so fast!" Celeste exclaimed. "I reveal my trap card! Vampire Awakening! This will allow me to summon any Vampire monster from my deck straight to the field! And I choose Vampire Scarlet Scourge!" From a coffin emerging from the ground, Celeste's fabulous and favorite blond vampire appeared on her side of the battlefield with his suave 2,200 attack and 2,200 defense points. "The downside is that my monster is destroyed at the end of this turn, but that's just long enough to get me past the battle phase of your turn. Sure, Vampire Kingdom is destroyed, but at least for now, I am safe. You still have one card in your hand, surely you are fortunate enough to have a boost spell in you hand to overrun my monster, no?"

"I do," Mai stated. "I activate Rose Whip, equipping my Harpie Lady Sisters with 300 attack and defense points! Making them powerful enough to crush your Scarlet Scourge!" Mai's harpies now each had a thorny whip in their hands, their group attack power raised to 2,250 points. "Harpie Lady Sisters! Triple Rose Whip Lash Attack!"

Mai's harpies cut up Celeste's monster and sent it right to the graveyard where it was bound for anyway, but at least Celeste only lost 50 life points, bringing her to an even 1,500 to Mai's 3,850.

Mai snarled. "I end my turn." Mai hated to admit it, but Celeste had played her cards well. Still, Mai had more than double Celeste's life points. It was going to be difficult for her to turn this around.

However, Celeste's buttons were pressed very finely into her like keys stuck in a keyboard. She was driven to win and nothing would stop her.

"Since it's the end of your turn, I must wave goodbye to my Vampire Scarlet Scourge," Celeste said as the hologram dissipated from the feet up. "But now, I'm going to turn this duel around. I draw!" Celeste declared, going for the top card of her deck. Only one monster can save me now, but you would draw it if it was you, right Joey? A spark of dark energy seemed to accompany Celeste's draw as she pulled the top card off of her deck with her two fingers and thumb. Her arm swung out wide behind her as she then moved her arm so that the artwork of her drawn card was in her field of vision. She looked at the 7-star monster in her hand. Exactly what I needed.

"I activate the special ability of my Vampire Sorcerer from my graveyard!" Celeste exclaimed. The spirit of her sorcerer appeared behind her as Celeste removed him from the duel entirely. "By removing him from my graveyard, I can summon any dark-attribute vampire monster I wish without tributing a monster and I choose the elegant, but dangerous Vampire Vamp!" A blue clad, white-haired, tiny-winged vampire monster emerged from a coffin as Celeste slapped the card onto the duel disk. She had 2,000 attack points and 2,000 defense points.

"Did someone forget she no longer has access to her Vampire Kingdom?" Mai asked, smirking.

"Oh no, I didn't forget," Celeste said, smiling sweetly. "I must truly thank you, Mai. You played right into my hands."

Mai blinked. "What?" she responded.

"Vampire Vamp has a special ability. She can suck out the soul of any monster on my opponent's side of the field when she's summoned, but there's a catch. That monster must have greater attack power than Vampire Vamp's."

The attack power of the two monsters on the field compared side by side did not lie. Vampire Vamp had 2,000 attack points and Harpie Lady Sisters had 2,250 thanks to Rose Whip.

Celeste chuckled. "How pitiful for you, if you had erred on the side of caution, you wouldn't be in this position right now, but instead, your favorite monster will be the opening for my counterattack! Vampire Vamp! Take the soul of Harpie Lady Sisters! Vampiric Extraction!"

With a powerful red hypnotic disc emitting from her hands Vampiric Vamp caused the astral essences of Harpie Lady Sisters to rise out of their bodies, which dissipated, and the essence was absorbed into a small fanged mouth opening in Vampire Vamp's chest, the inside of which resembled a black hole. Then, the soul of Harpie Lady Sisters was chained behind Vampire Vamp as she folded her wings and her wings grew exponentially.

"And now that my monster has the very soul of yours, her attack power surges equal to the original attack of the monster she absorbed."

Vampire Vamp's attack power skyrocketed all the way up to 3,950 points to the cheer of the crowd.

"Unbelievable! Celestia Ludenburg has summoned a monster with enough attack power to wipe out all of Miss Valentine's life points. It seems this duel is far from over!"

"Vampire Vamp! Attack! Crimson Blast!"

Vampire Vamp held out her arms and created two small red spheres, one in each hand before combining them into a bigger ball which was then focused into a laser and aimed directly at Mai's life points, the Vampire's wings flappy repeatedly as she was blasted off the ground and slightly into the air by her own attack.

"This duel isn't over!" Mai shouted. "Mirror Wall's continuous effect activates!"

"Maybe so," Celeste stated. "But you're still going to take damage!"

Vampire Vamp's attack blasted a hole in Mai's risen Mirror Wall and blasted the blonde in the rib cage directly just below her breasts. Mai staggered back a bit, clutching her torso as her life points fell tremendously from 3,850 to 1,875, almost even with Celeste's. Vampire Vamp only had 1,875 attack points after a maneuver like that, but Mai was out of cards in her hand and Celeste could attack again without any retaliation if Mai didn't draw a monster. She wouldn't lose the duel thanks to Mirror Wall, but she was not in a good position.

I should never have made that wager, Mai thought.

"What's the matter?" Celeste asked with a wicked grin. "Getting cold feet? Why don't you walk your fat chest out of here and never darken my presence with your leather bound hide ever again!"

This insult, however, only caused Mai to ball a fist and stand her ground. She wasn't going down that easily. Celeste thought she had her backed into a corner, and she was, but Mai could get herself out of a corner.

After all, you could do it, right Joey? Mai thought and went for the top card of her deck. A splash of white light seemed to accompany her draw as Mai pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. She looked at the card in her hand. It didn't do her any good right now. She was going to get her attack points halved next turn, barring any shenanigans from Celeste, but she could take the hit if it meant winning the entire duel.

"One card face-down," Mai declared, setting the card.

"Very well then," Celeste said. "I draw!" She pulled the card to her hand. It was not a monster. She would have to settle for destroying Mai next turn. "I set one card face-down onto the field," Celeste stated. "And now, Vampire Vamp! Attack Mai directly again! Crimson Blast!"

Once again, Vampire Vamp attacked Mai by blasting a hole in her Mirror Wall. The blast and hole were smaller this time as Celeste's monster's attack points dropped to 937 and dropped Mai's life points to 938. Vampire Vamp was in bad shape, a bunch of prismatic cuts were lacerated throughout its body.

Perfect, Mai thought. "I draw!" She didn't need to look at the card in her hand. She already had her ability to win. "I activate Hysteric Party!" Mai declared. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can summon as many Harpie Lady Monsters as I can from my graveyard to the field, bringing Harpie Queen and Harpie Lady back to the battlefield!" Mai couldn't summon Harpie Lady Sisters as its essence was currently being used to power Vampire Vamp.

Mai's two monsters emerged onto the battlefield with their harmonious wing beats and cries.

"Harpie Queen!" Mai declared triumphantly. "Attack Celeste's weakened Vampire Vamp and rescue the soul of Harpie Lady Sisters! Regal Scratch Slash!"

Harpie Queen swooped in and slashed down Celeste's weakened monster. Vampire Vamp shrieked in pain as Celeste's life points dropped from 1,500 to 537. However, Vampire Vamp merely staggered back and ejected Harpie Lady Sisters' soul from her being into Mai's graveyard. And then, she flapped her shrunken wings and rose into the air 2,000 attack points strong.

"What?" Mai gasped.

Celeste was quick to explain. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" she asked. "Since the inception of Vampire Lord, Vampire monsters have always been notoriously hard to kill and Vampire Vamp is no exception. When she's destroyed, if she's sucked out a monster's soul, she can easily expel it in order to return to her original power. And, fortunately for me, her original power was stronger thanks to the effects of your Mirror Wall."

"You…planned this?" Mai gasped.

"I did more than that," Celeste stated. "I'm ending this duel! I draw!" Celeste pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. "First, I activate my face-down card: Dust Tornado! This will allow me to finally blow away your Mirror Wall!"

A twister comprised mainly of dust billowed out of the card artwork of the risen trap card and shattered Mai's trap card, leaving her Harpies exposed.

"And next, I activate the effect of my Vampire Familiar in my graveyard! I can now send my Vampire Lord from my hand to the graveyard in order to special summon Vampire Familiar to the field!"

Celeste's little winged friend emerged on the field with only 500 attack and defense points.

"Next, since I special summoned Vampire Familiar, I now give up 500 life points," Celeste's life points trickled down all the way to a mere 37. "Now I can add one Vampire monster from my deck to my hand," Celeste selected her monster and shuffled her deck rather quickly. "And now I finally sacrifice Vampire Familiar to summon one of the strongest Vampire monsters in the game: Vampire Red Baron!" A vampire cavalier emerged on Celeste's side of the field with a massive lance in its right hand. It had an impressive 2,400 attack points to its name. It was pretty obvious where this was headed.

One didn't have to be a mathematician to know that Mai was completely screwed. Even without Vamp, just Red Baron on its own destroying Harpie Lady could take Mai down, but Celeste was nothing if not thorough and destroyed both monsters just to be thorough.

The crowd erupted into a roar of cheers.

"Unbelievable! With less than 100 life points left, Celestia Ludenburg comes from behind, wins the duel and moves on to the finals!"

"I…lost," Mai uttered, mouth agape.

"Truly a shame, Mai. But I do say, this was fun," Celeste chuckled. "You are quite the worthy opponent, not worthy enough to beat me though. Now off with you to the spectator seats," Celeste said as she passed by Mai, hands folded neatly in front of her waist. "I have a duel to prepare for."

Celeste then exited the stadium, leaving the dumbstruck Mai behind.

The fake Frenchwoman then threw open the spectator break room with a thrust of her palm and stood in it as she gave Byakuya and Joey a sweet smile. "Please see yourselves out, gentlemen, yours truly needs this space to prepare for the finals."

"Whoooa! Frenchy, you won?" Joey asked.

Celeste chuckled, mentally patting herself on the back. "A contest such as this is hardly a challenge for one such as I. Mai is likely still mentally running in circles, trying to figure out where she went wrong."

"Then I will see you in the finals," Byakuya declared.

"Not if I can help it," Joey responded.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Byakuya said with an arrogant tone. "I am Byakuya Togami and a Togami is perfect in every way." He gave Joey a very condescending index finger. "I will not lose to the likes of you, Joseph."

"Put yer finger away before I snap it," Joey remarked, giving a competitive glare. "Cause I ain't gonna lose ta you, Togami! I beat ya once! I'll beat ya again!"

"Yes, indeed, the finals can only handle so much pompousness and Mai's stench still hasn't cleared from the air," Celeste stated.

"You're pretty pompous yourself, Frenchy," Joey retorted.

Celeste chuckled, giving her barbed, sweet smile. "Why, Joey, it seems you've learned how to bark quite well for a puppy dog." Her smile grew wider. "But does your bite match up?"

"Why you…!"

"Save your energy for our duel," Byakuya told him. He smirked. "Or don't. It'll make it that much easier for me to utterly crush you."

"Yes, Joey, you have plenty of energy, it's one of your few redeeming qualities. I'd hate to see you lose it."

Joey's eye twitched. Celeste was really getting on his nerves.

"Byakuya Togami and Joey Wheeler! Please report to the dueling arena now!" the announcer said. The same announcement was then repeated in French.

"Guess that's our cue," Joey said. "Let's go!"

Byakuya and Joey walked to leave the break room side by side.

As they were about to exit, Celeste called out. "Oh, Joey."

Joey stopped and turned as Byakuya kept walking and vanished into the hall. "Yeah, Frenchy?"

"You'd better win this duel," Celeste said with a smirk. "If you don't," she rested her chin on her hands, "I shall be ever so cross with you."

Joey gave Celeste a confident smile. "Don't worry, I wanna have a rematch with you too, Celeste. Togami's goin' down. The finals are gonna be you an' me!"

Celeste chuckled, covering her mouth. "Looking forward to it."

And with that, Joey left and Celeste was alone in the break room. She made herself some tea and sat down in a chair. She had complete faith that Joey would make it to the finals. After all, luck was on her side and it was what she wanted.

Last time, Joey, she thought, you and I dueled with strings attached. It truly didn't matter if I won or if it lost. I've changed since then. And this time, I'm going to be like you and put naught but my pride on the line. And this time I will. Take. You. Down."

(A/N: A thousand apologies for taking so long given that this chapter is so short. Next up we have Joey Vs Byakuya, the finals, and quite possibly the arc wrap up will be chapter 92 and then we move straight into Despair Arc Part 1 for chapter 93. It is my hope that this won't last too many chapters since I'm hoping the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix can kick off starting with chapter 100, but we'll see if I'm that lucky. I'm not Celeste after all.

And until next time, which I hope will be much much shorter of a time than 3 months, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human, and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)