Dueling Critters - A Smiling Critters X Yu-Gi-Oh AU

by TrevBev45

We all know The Smiling Critters. But what if there exists a world full of them exist they play a card game? What if there exists a world where a friend group of the critters we know of went through a sacrifice one of their friends have made and 2 of them must fix it through that card game? Mysteries along the way? Yes, that too.

83. Chapter 82

Chapter 82: CatNap Vs Trey: The Ability To Keep Going

Trey meanwhile was in Poppy's apartment with PixieFly and MysteryMoth as they were discussing more on the mystery surrounding the double kidnappings.

"So we all know their names are Icky Licky, Maggie Mako, Rabie Baby and Simon Smoke." Trey said, "But we're still figuring out where they're located. They can be anywhere."

"Yes, that's true." MysteryMoth said,

"By the way, Poppy, any updates on DogDay and CatNap?"

"...Not yet." Poppy replied,

"That fight must have taken a toll on you." PixieFly said,

"Same for DogDay's behavior all of a sudden… I don't know what caused him to act so strange…"

Poppy's phone started to ring.

"Oh, who could this be?" She wondered as she looked at who's calling, "CatNap?"

"CatNap is calling you?" Trey asked her,

"Yeah, hold on, sorry guys."

"No worries, madame." MysteryMoth said, "Take your time."

Poppy went to her bedroom to call CatNap in private.

"Yes, is this CatNap?" She asked him,

"Yes, it's me." CatNap replied on the phone, "Is Trey here with you? I want to talk to him."

"Hmmm… I suppose you wanna chat with him about where you stand currently. Did you make up with DogDay?"

"Nope, not yet."

"...Alright. You may come to Sunshine Valley to meet with us right now."

"Got it, thanks."

"You're welcome."

Later, CatNap arrived in Poppy's apartment as he was greeted by Poppy and the others.

"I'm here." He said,

"Welcome, CatNap." Poppy said, "You may make yourself comfortable."

CatNap sat on the floor.

"...Ok, whatever floats your boat." Poppy said, "We won't judge."

"So, what do you wanna talk about?" PixieFly asked him,

"I want to try and help you guys." CatNap replied, "But without DogDay involved. I know he's been acting strange, but I think that might have something to do with the double kidnappings. Someone else must have been behind his change of behavior for a moment."

Everyone else was shocked.

"Huh, that's an odd prediction." Trey said,

"It is…" MysteryMoth said, "So there might be someone connected to not just the double kidnappings and the murder, but also to changing DogDay's behavior for a short period of time…"

"I know I don't have evidence, but…" CatNap said, "It's only a feeling."

"It is one of your predictions…" Poppy said, "But we can't tell if it's gonna end up coming true or not."

"That too."

"Anything else on your mind?" Trey asked him,

"I want to keep going with you guys. I want to help out and put this case to bed. I want to help my friends because they've been through it all when someone mind controlled his emotions, more specifically me, Bobby and Crafty…"

"...I can try and help you with that."

"How so?"

"Do you have your deck of Duel Monsters cards? I want to ask you some questions."

"Yeah, I do… We always bring it with us."

CatNap then gets out his deck and gives it to Trey.

"Thank you." Trey said,

Trey then started to browse around CatNap's deck, one card at a time. The same goes for CatNap's Extra Deck. That is, until Trey got to the card that surprised him.

"Huh, interesting." He said,

"What is it?" CatNap wondered,

Trey showed CatNap Guardian Chimera, which surprised CatNap.

"I didn't know you had a Guardian Chimera as well." Trey said,

"I…" CatNap said as flashbacks occurred to him a year ago when he went insane in his duel against LabRat during his time rescuing DogDay before The Hour Of Joy got to them, while using Guardian Chimera to try and finish him off, but his emotions and LabRat's brains got the best of him. When the flashbacks ended, CatNap sighed, "I forgot that I still have this card… It left a bad taste in my mouth…"

"What happened?"

"It's a long story, but… My emotions got the best of me while I was batshit insane during a duel against someone related to The Hour Of Joy… I tried to save my best friend, DogDay, from that asshole, but… It was too late…"

Everyone else was shocked.

"The Hour Of Joy…" MysteryMoth said, "How times affected when that almost occurred…"

"We're sorry to hear." Poppy said,

"Yeah…" PixieFly said,

Trey sighed heavily.

"I do apologize for my curiosity on your cards." He said as he gives CatNap his Deck and Extra Deck back,

"It's fine…" CatNap said, "I'm probably not gonna change my ways through my emotions anyway…"

As CatNap turned around, Trey cleared his throat and stopped him.

"Wait." He said to CatNap, "Perhaps I can help you face your fears. With Guardian Chimera in your presence, you're probably afraid of making up with DogDay."

"Now that you're saying it…" CatNap said, "That is true… But, how are you gonna help me?"

"Through a duel. I'll have you know, I am a pretty lackluster duelist, but I'm not afraid of showing off my power."

"...You know what? Sure, I can duel you…"

"Right, let's make our way to a dueling field outside. There should be one on the safe side of Sunshine Valley."

"There is." Poppy said, "And I know where."

Later, they've all arrived and settled down for the duel between CatNap and Trey to occur.

"Now then, CatNap, let's hope this duel can help you get through what's currently troubling you." Trey said,

"I hope so too…" CatNap said, "I gotta face my current fears."

"That is correct. And by the way, I'm not that good of a duelist myself, but I'm not afraid of going all out."

"Let's see about that."

The two critters activated their Duel Disks after their Decks were in and shouted, "Duel!" to start their duel together.

Turn 1

CatNap: 4000

Trey: 4000

Trey was first.

"I'll go first." He said,

"Go ahead." CatNap said,

Trey then played a monster.

"I summon Gazelle The King Of Mythical Claws in Attack Position." He said,

Gazelle The King Of Mythical Claws was Normal Summoned in Attack Position with 1500 ATK Points.

"And when Summoned, I can add a Level 5 Fiend monster or a Chimera Fusion from my Deck to my Hand." Trey said,

"Chimera, huh?" CatNap wondered,

"Yes, it's a pretty basic yet interesting deck for someone as basic as myself."

"You're a chimera critter, which makes it ironic."

"That is true. Anyways, I shall add a Chimera Fusion from my Deck to my Hand thanks to Gazelle."

Trey then added Chimera Fusion from his Deck to his Hand and then revealed another monster in his hand.

"Next, I activate the effect of my Cornfield Coatl from my hand." He said as he discarded it to his Graveyard, "By discarding this card, I can add another monster that mentions Chimera Fusion from my Deck to my Hand.

"Oh, searching for the nitty-gritty, huh?" CatNap asked him,

"Correct, however, this is only part 1 of you facing your fears."

Trey then searches and reveals another monster called Big-Winged Berfomet and adds it to his Hand, from his Deck.

"Now, the time has come." Trey said as he played Chimera Fusion from his hand, "It's time for me to activate my Quick-Play Spell, Chimera Fusion!"

Chimera Fusion was activated, which prepared CatNap for what's to come.

"Alright, bring it on." He said to Trey,

"Very well." Trey said as he revealed Big-Winged Berfomet from his hand, "Using Chimera Fusion, I shall fuse Gazelle The King Of Mythical Claws from my field and my Big-Winged Berfomet from my field! Since I need to include a Beast or Fiend monster as Fusion Material, I'll just use both!"

A Fusion Summon has started between Gazelle The King Of Mythical Claws and Big-Winged Berfomet as Fusion Materials.

"Now, I Fusion Summon, Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts!" Trey shouted,

Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts was Fusion Summoned in Attack Position with 2100 ATK Points.

"Now when Chimera is Fusion Summoned, I can send a random card you have in your hand to the Graveyard at the end of this turn." Trey said,

"What?" CatNap said,

"You heard me. Once my turn is about to end, I'll send a random card from your hand to the Graveyard. Just one card."

"...Fine, have it your way."

"...I don't want you to unleash your rage at me."

CatNap realized it as he snapped back to reality.

"Shit…" He said as he sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, sir, I…"

"No worries." Trey said as he set a card in his Spell/Trap Zone, leaving him with 2 cards in his hand, "I set a card and I shall end my turn."

"Ok, now you send a random card from my hand to my grave."

"Yes."

Trey closed his eyes and pointed at one card in CatNap's hand that he was holding up.

"That one!" Trey said as he opened his eyes, "What could that card be?"

CatNap looked at the card Trey pointed and revealed it.

"Branded Opening." He replied as he sends it to his Graveyard,

"I think I've sent the right card." Trey said, "Who knows, but it's your turn."

"Alright, here I go, my turn!"

CatNap draws to start Turn 2 and looks at his hand of 5 now.

"Damn, he just discarded my copy of Branded Opening." He said to himself, "What do I use now?"

CatNap then realized something.

"I think I know what to use." He said,

CatNap then sets a monster.

"I'll set a monster." He said as he then set a card in his Spell and Trap Zone, "And then I'll set a card face-down."

CatNap sighed as he looked at his hand of 3.

"I hope Trey can let me wait a bit." He said to himself, "Because I think I know what to do."

"CatNap is in a pickle, isn't he?" MysteryMoth wondered,

"Branded Opening lets him go for gold in searching for a Despia monster." Poppy said, "So whatever CatNap is doing, he wants it to work, I suppose."

"And we'll just let him do what he does in his duel." PixieFly said,

Trey draws to start Turn 3. He looked at the card he drew and puts it aside in his hand.

"I guess I don't need it now." He said, "I'll just go ahead and start the Battle Phase, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." CatNap said as he braced himself,

The Battle Phase started.

"Bring it on!" CatNap said, "I'm ready for whatever your Chimera has!"

"Very well!" Trey said, "Chimera will attack your set monster!"

Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts roared as it went to attack CatNap's set monster, which was Despian Tragedy, who had 400 DEF Points. Chimera destroyed Despian Tragedy and sends it to CatNap's Graveyard.

"It looks like Despian Tragedy's effect won't trigger when destroyed by battle." Poppy said, "He must find a different approach."

CatNap sighed heavily.

"Don't get too frustrated over a destroyed monster." Trey said, "I'm sure you have a trick up your sleeve."

"You're right, I need to focus." CatNap said as he took a deep breath,

"That's right. Focus. As for I, shall end my turn."

"Thanks."

CatNap draws to start Turn 4. He looked at the card he drew and smiled.

"Perfect." He said,

CatNap then placed the drawn card in his hand and got serious.

"Let's do this!" He said, "I'll activate my Trap Card, Branded Banishment!"

Branded Banishment was activated.

"Ah, here we go." Trey said, interested,

"With this, I can Special Summon a Despia monster a Level 8 or higher Fusion Monster from my Graveyard!" CatNap said, "So I'll bringing back Despian Tragedy!"

Despian Tragedy was Special Summoned onto the field from CatNap's Graveyard in Defense Position.

"Continuing on…" CatNap said as he revealed the card he drew, "I'll activate my Spell Card, Branded Fusion!"

"Oh!" Trey said, shocked, "You have luck on your side!"

"Of course I did! I'm gonna use Despian Tragedy from my field and Fallen Of Albaz from my Deck as Fusion Materials!"

Despian Tragedy was sent to the Graveyard from the field while Fallen Of Albaz was sent to the Graveyard from the Deck, both as Fusion Materials for another Fusion Summon.

"I Fusion Summon, Lubellion The Searing Dragon!" CatNap shouted,

Lubellion The Searing Dragon was Fusion Summoned in Defense Position with 3000 DEF Points.

"Excellent, you've Fusion Summoned." Trey said, "Are you gonna use Lubellion's effect to Fusion Summon once more?"

CatNap started to think.

"I…" He wondered, "I…"

CatNap took a deep breath after looking at his hand.

"I'm not going to." He replied, surprising everyone,

"What?" Trey said, "Why?"

"I'll tell you later. For now, I will end my turn."

"...Alright, I shall follow along!"

Trey draws to start Turn 5.

"Hmm… I guess it's time." He said,

"Time for what?" CatNap wondered,

"Watch and figure out what to do next! I activate the effect of Chimera Fusion in my Graveyard!"

"From your Graveyard?"

"Correct, if I control Chimera The Flying Mythical Beast, I can add Chimera Fusion back to my hand."

"But you have Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts."

"But on the field, it's name becomes Chimera The Flying Mythical Beast!"

Chimera Fusion was added back to Trey's hand.

"I see…" CatNap said, "Alright, what are you planning?"

"I will end my turn." Trey said,

"Wh-Ok then…"

CatNap sighed.

"Probably a bad hand." He said, "Whatever, I draw."

CatNap draws to start Turn 6.

"Alright, I'm switching my Lubellion to Attack Position now." He said as Lubellion The Searing Dragon was switched to Attack Position with 2500 ATK Points, "And then I'm going into battle!"

The Battle Phase started again.

"Lubellion, attack Chimera The Flying Mythical Beast!" CatNap shouted, "Searing Flames!"

Lubellion shot out flames at Chimera and destroyed it, dealing 400 points of damage to Trey and draining his Life Points to 3600.

"I activate my Trap Card!" Trey said,

"Oh boy…" CatNap said, "What is it?"

Trey's Trap Card was revealed.

"Time Machine!" He said, "When you destroyed one of my monsters by battle, I can Special Summon it back to my field in the same position it was in before you destroyed it!"

Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts was Special Summoned back onto the field in Attack Position through Time Machine.

"And my Chimera has returned back onto the field!" Trey said,

"Interesting…" CatNap said as he took another deep breath, "Alright, I'm gonna set this card I drew face down."

CatNap set a card.

"It's your turn now." He said,

"Alright, here I go." Trey said as he draws to start Turn 7,

Turn 7

CatNap: 4000

Trey: 3600

"Alright, it's time." Trey said as he revealed Chimera Fusion in his hand after adding the drawn card to his hand, "I activate Chimera Fusion again!"

"Who are you Fusion Summoning this time?" CatNap wondered,

"You're about to find out right now! I'm using Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts from my field…"

Trey then revealed 2 monsters from his hand.

"Alongside Mirror Swordknight and Master Tao The Chanter from my hand as Fusion Materials!" He said,

"Yup, now I know what he's bringing out…" CatNap said as he braced himself, "This is where I gotta face my fears, huh?"

Another Fusion Summon has started as Chimera The King Of Phantom Beasts, Mirror Swordknight and Master Tao The Chanter were used as Fusion Materials.

"A beast of multiple beasts, shall rise from a new Fusion power that will protect the lands of tomorrow!" Trey chanted, "Fusion Summon!"

A familiar 3-headed monster emerges from the Fusion Summon.

"Guard my kind, Guardian Chimera!" Trey shouted,

Guardian Chimera was Fusion Summoned in Attack Position with 3300 ATK Points. CatNap saw Guardian Chimera and turned away.

"No…" He said, "I can't face it…"

Flashbacks occurred when CatNap used Guardian Chimera to attack LabRat, but not only failed to win the duel, but also failed to save his best friend, DogDay.

When the flashbacks ended, CatNap was frozen, struggling to fix himself.

"I… I can't…" He said,

"CatNap, don't give up!" Poppy's voice shouted,

CatNap turned to Poppy.

"Poppy?" He said to her, surprised,

"Don't let the past get to you again!" Poppy said, "You still have the ability to keep going and moving forward! So don't lose it!"

CatNap looked at Guardian Chimera before looking back at Poppy.

"You're right…" He said as he nodded, "I got a friendship to fix, and an unsolved mystery to solve."

CatNap then turned to Trey.

"I'm ready." He said to him,

"Very well." Trey said, "Now, I activate Guardian Chimera's effect upon being Fusion Summoned. I can destroy cards on the field, up to the number of Fusion Materials that were on the field, and draw cards equal to the number of Fusion Materials that were in my hand. So first, I'll draw 2."

Trey then draws 2 under the effect of Guardian Chimera.

"Now, I'll destroy a card on the field." He said as he pointed at CatNap's Lubellion, "Which will be Lubellion The Searing Dragon! Guardian's Wrath!"

Guardian Chimera roared as Lubellion The Searing Dragon was destroyed by Guardian Chimera's effect.

"Alright, bring it on!" CatNap said as he was ready to defend himself from an attack,

"Very well, let's begin the Battle Phase again." Trey said as the Battle Phase started again, "Guardian Chimera, attack CatNap directly! Multitude Guardian Hack N Slash!"

Guardian Chimera roared as it flew to CatNap and struck him down, dealing 3300 points of damage to him. CatNap's Life Points are at 700 now. CatNap hangs on.

"I'm… still standing!" He shouted with confidence,

CatNap's charm started to glow.

"There it is…" Poppy said, "He's found his ability to keep going…"

"May the best critter win." Trey said as he set a card in his Spell and Trap Zone, "I shall set this card face-down and end my turn."

Turn 8

CatNap: 700

Trey: 3600

CatNap closed his eyes as he placed his fingers on the top card of his Deck.

"Let's… do this." He said as he draws to start Turn 8, "I draw!"

CatNap looked at the card he drew and activates it.

"I activate my Continuous Spell, Branded Lost!" He shouted, "I'm able to Fusion Summon without having any negatives in my way! And you cannot activate card effects while a monster is Fusion Summoned!"

"Continue." Trey said,

"I'll reveal my face-down card, the Trap Card, Back To The Front!"

Back To The Front was activated.

"This lets me Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard back onto my field in Defense Position!" CatNap said, "So coming back, will be Lubellion The Searing Dragon!"

Lubellion The Searing Dragon was back onto the field in Defense Position again under Back To The Front. CatNap then revealed another card in his hand.

"Next, I'll activate Polymerization!" He said as he activates it,

"There it is…" Trey said, "He's doing it."

"On my field, I'm using Lubellion as Fusion Material, alongside 2 monsters from my hand! And those monsters are Springans Kitt and Dramaturge Of Despia!"

Lubellion The Searing Dragon, Springans Kitt and Dramaturge Of Despia were used as Fusion Materials for another Fusion Summon made by CatNap.

"Monster of many, help me move forward and leave our past encounter gone wrong together!" CatNap chanted, "Use my loose emotions and unleash it under the truth! Fusion Summon! Let it all out, Guardian Chimera!"

Another Guardian Chimera emerged and was Fusion Summoned in Attack Position with 3300 ATK Points as well. Both Guardian Chimeras on the field roared at each other.

"There it is…" Trey said again as he smiled, "You've found yourself and you've faced your fears of not just that card that haunted you, but also the duel you were in a while ago…"

"It wasn't a while ago." CatNap said as he waved his hair that was covering one of his eyes, "It was a year ago. And this year, I will make things right. I activate Guardian Chimera's effect upon being Fusion Summoned! Like your Fusion Summon, I'll draw 2 cards and destroy a card on the field! But there's a difference! While I have Polymerization in my Graveyard, you cannot target MY Guardian Chimera with card effects!"

"Interesting! You're correctly using Guardian Chimera's effect as well!"

"I am!"

CatNap draws 2 cards under Guardian Chimera's effect and smiles.

"Now, let's destroy your face-down card!" He said, "Guardian's Wrath!"

CatNap's Guardian Chimera roared as it destroyed Trey's face-down card, being the Trap Card, Evenly Matched.

"Ah, good for you, you've destroyed the one Trap Card I needed to continue this duel further!" Trey said with a smile,

"I'm not done yet…" CatNap said, "Since I've used Dramaturge Of Despia as Fusion Material from my hand to the Graveyard, I'm Special Summoning it back!"

Dramaturge Of Despia was Special Summoned back onto the field in Attack Position with 3000 ATK Points.

"Next, I activate my Spell Card, Branded Bond!" CatNap said as Branded Bond was activated, "Which lets me Special Summon Fallen Of Albaz from my Graveyard, so come back, Albaz!"

Fallen Of Albaz was Special Summoned onto the field in Attack Position with 1800 ATK Points.

"Now, when Albaz is Summoned, I can discard a card to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster using Albaz and one of your monsters as Fusion Materials!" CatNap said as he discarded The Golden Swordsoul from his Hand to his Graveyard,

"And I guess you're using my Guardian Chimera as Fusion Material, huh?" Trey asked him,

"Yes, yes I am."

Fallen Of Albaz went over to Trey's Guardian Chimera and absorbed himself and the monster to become Fusion Materials for another Fusion Summon.

"Unleash your wild side and bring the glory back under your name!" CatNap chanted, "Fusion Summon!"

A beast-like dragon emerges from the Fusion Summon.

"Roar, Brigrand The Glory Dragon!" CatNap shoutes,

Brigrand The Glory Dragon was Special Summoned onto the field in Attack Position with 2500 ATK Points.

"And Brigrand cannot be destroyed by battle, and you cannot target other monsters I control with card effects while I control this Fusion Summoned monster!" CatNap said,

"Not bad." Trey said with a smile, "You've managed to find yourself again."

"...I did. Thank you."

CatNap turned to Poppy.

"And thank you too, Poppy." He said to her,

Poppy nodded.

"You're welcome." She said,

CatNap turned back to the duel.

"Time to battle, one more time." He said as the Battle Phase started again, "Dramaturge, Brigrand, Guardian Chimera, attack Trey directly and end this duel!"

Each of three CatNap's monsters attacked Trey one by one while Trey was defending himself to his full potential. Trey's Life Points went down to 0 after he was on one knee. CatNap was the winner. Poppy, PixieFly and MysteryMoth all clapped for the duel they've all watched. CatNap then went over to offer Trey a hand. Trey accepted as he was up on his feet again by CatNap.

"I think you're ready to make things right." Trey said to him,

CatNap nodded with a smile.

"And again, I thank you and Poppy for it." He said,

"Don't lose that ability now." Trey said,

"I won't."