Match of Wits

Lilamon told the heroes that the palace of the Digimon sovereigns was a long way from their current location. Beyond the meadow was Sheer Valley, home to many dragon-type Digimon. Past the Valley was the Hard Mountains and past that was the palace.

As Mokuba's laptop finished loading, he noticed he had email. It was from Noah. He sent a map of the continent. A flashing mark indicated their current location and a red circle indicated the palace of the sovereigns. It was just as Lilamon said; follow the path of the setting sun, pass through Sheer Valley, and pass through the Hard Mountains.

"Getting there may still take a long time," said Mokuba.

"Don't worry, Mokuba," said Max. "It's not like we're in any hurry to get where we need to be."

"Shouldn't we be?" Serenity asked. "Myotismon is still following us."

"That's true," said Emily. "There's nothing that vampire won't do to try to stop us. He's even going as far as turning Digimon against each other."

"Before you know it, he could do the same to us," Bakura said, worried. "He may try to turn us against each other."

Kaiba scoffed. "I'm too smart to let a Digimon try to pull that on me. You should be too."

Tristan agreed. "We have to be strong for each other and stay together." He looks at Serenity and says, "Just like Serenity and Moonmon. The bravery they displayed back there is a good example."

Duke agreed and held her hands in his. "I agree, Serenity. You were so brave reaching out to Blossomon and when Moonmon was Crescemon, she fought with such elegance and grace! You two are a perfect pair for each other! Your idea of people and Digimon being friends is an inspiring example."

Max pulled Duke away. "All right, that's enough."

"You're not still jealous, are you, Max?" he asked.

She looked at him in anger and said, "I have nothing to be jealous of. But if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a guy who's so full of himself when it comes to girls." Emily agreed, saying she felt the same way.

"I was just being honest," Duke remarked. "And as the saying goes: 'Honesty is the best policy.'"

"Not when you're being flirtatious and narcissistic," Max barked. Joey and Tristan snickered, agreeing that Duke was quite a narcissist. It was also what made some people unable to take the dice prince seriously.

Duke was the only one who took himself seriously. He also knew that the only way to prove himself right was to show off. "Max thinks she's so smart," he grumbled. "Granted, she's clever and full of spunk." He grinned and admitted, "Well, I don't mind that so much. I like that about her. I can be pretty clever too."

He looked down at his digivice. "Friendship, compassion, humility, and kindness. Their traits match them so well. Maybe mine will be honesty because that's what I am. Or maybe charm because of my talent and because I'm irresistible with the ladies."

Max heard him and suggested, "How about pride for being so boastful and full of yourself?"

"Why don't you learn to keep your comments to yourself, Max," Duke remarked.

"Well, why don't you stop thinking about just yourself all the time and start thinking about your friends and comrades," she retorted. "This isn't only about you, Devlin. Try to imagine how most of us feel about this journey and start taking things more seriously."

"What makes you think I'm not," he asked. "I know this place is dangerous and we've got a job to do. I know I have to be realistic-,"

"Then please act like it," she interrupted and turned away.

That night, Duke was having trouble sleeping because he was lost in his thoughts. None of his friends were convinced that he actually was serious about the situation of being here in the Digital World. He showed it a lot throughout the beginning of the journey and he showed concern for his friends.

Monodramon approached his partner. "Duke, you should try to get some sleep," he suggested.

He looked at the purple dragon and asked for his opinion. "Monodramon, be honest with me. Do you think I don't care enough?"

"I think you mean well," Monodramon replied. "But sometimes you get a little too carried away with you being who you are."

Duke sighed and said, "I guess so. It's just that I never had any real friends before and these guys are the first. As for Max, well, I admit I was pretty flirtatious with her, trying to act smooth and impress her, but that was because I had a crush on her."

"Renamon said you were only interested in Max for her beauty," the purple dragon said out loud. "And Max said you're not really in love with Serenity and that you just want to take advantage of her like you do with other girls."

Duke placed his hands over his partner's mouth. "Shut it," he hissed. He wouldn't admit it, but it was true. Duke was always taking advantage of girls' hearts. To him, it was fun, but he didn't realize the seriousness of the heartache he was causing.

Monodramon thought that deep down, Duke wanted people to like him because he just wanted friends, not because he wanted to be popular. He thought that maybe his partner was just lonely and wanted to learn about friendship.

Duke and Monodramon decided to take a walk around the plains. It felt relaxing to be under the night sky and feel the gentle night air. Looking down, they also saw that the ground was losing its greenery and looking more brown and earthly. This meant that they were getting closer to Sheer Valley.

Monodramon broke the silence. "Hey, Duke, I'm sorry for what I said back there, about not really having feelings for anybody."

"Don't worry about it," he told his partner. "You were just telling me what you heard."

"Does that mean what Max and Renamon said wasn't true?"

"Let's call it a half truth," Duke replied. "I do it because I want people to like me."

"But wouldn't you rather have friends who like you for who you are," the purple dragon was asking, "friends who bring out the best in you?"

Duke gave it some thought. He remembered how Yugi was the first person to reach out to him as that kind of friend. He was trying to be the friend Duke needed, someone who could teach him about understanding and respect. Even the rest of Yugi's friends opened up to him and accepted him. True, they still don't take kindly to his behavior most of the time, but they've come to accept that it's part of who he is.

Finally, he spoke and answered, "Actually, I would prefer those kinds of friends and I'm glad that I do have those kinds." He smiles and adds, "I'm also glad that you're one of them." Monodramon smiled as he heard his partner say that.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake below their feet. They looked and saw a red dinosaur-like Digimon charging towards them. Duke looked at the information on his digivice. "Tyrannomon - champion level. Special attack: Blaze Blast. He's also a dragon-type Digimon, so we must be getting closer to Sheer Valley."

"That is good news," said Monodramon. "But the bad news is he's coming our way."

"We can't go back to the others," said Duke. "He'll follow us and attack everybody. We've got no choice but to hold our ground and fight."

"You got it," Monodramon growled, and began building up energy. "Monodramon, digivolve to… Dinohumon!" He raised his halberd and began slashing at the red dinosaur. Tyrannomon unleashed a mighty fireball from his jaws, but wasn't paying attention to where he was attacking. It was close, but Dinohumon still managed to dodge.

I see, Duke thought as he was observing the battle. He's big, but he's not very bright. Maybe I can cause a diversion. He ran up to Tyrannomon and grabbed him by the tail. The dinosaur noticed him and swung his tail, trying to force him off. He also tried walking in circles. Duke continued to hold on. "Remember to watch your step and avoid sharp rocks," he taunted. Tyrannomon continued to walk around in circles as he was trying to reach for his tail. Finally, the red dinosaur fell over.

"Nicely handled, Duke," Dinohumon cheered.

Duke was feeling a little dizzy, but he managed to smile and strike a victory pose. "Nothing to it."

But Dinohumon saw that Tyrannomon was starting to get up. He also saw fire forming in his jaws. "Duke, watch out," the green reptilian Digimon cried. He pushed his partner aside, allowing Tyrannomon's Blaze Blast to scorch him. Dinohumon fell back in pain from the blazing burns.

"Get up!" Duke pleaded. "You've got to digivolve!"

That was when it started happening. His digivice projected a symbol on the screen and its light began to envelop his partner. "Dinohumon, digivolve to… Cyberdramon!" He took on the form of a charcoal gray dragon with a silver helm over his face and sierra red wings on his back and silver blades on his elbows.

"Cyberdramon - ultimate level," Duke analyzed. "Special attack: Desolation Claw." He looked at his partner in astonishment. "He did it. Let's see Tyrannomon get a kick out of this." He watched as Cyberdramon withstood Tyrannomon's Blaze Blast and cut him down with his Desolation Claw, obliterating him into particles of data.

Cyberdramon degenerated all the way back to Hopmon and hopped back to his partner. "Duke, are you all right?"

"Yeah, more or less," he replied. "Just a little headache. What about you?"

Hopmon groaned and replied, "A little tired."

Duke gently picked up his partner and apologized. "I guess I got carried away again, didn't I?" And they both chuckled. Duke looked down at his digivice. It projected the symbol of wit. "My element is wit," he observed.

"That doesn't surprise me," said Hopmon. "You are cunning and clever. And you should be proud of it. Your sense of cunning helped me to digivolve."

"I'm glad," Duke said proudly. His partner was right. Duke was cunning and proud of it. And with him being who he is around the girls at school and always showing off, he agreed that this was the right element that suited him.