A/N: Time for Chapter 6!
Back at the house, Vladimir was sitting at a table with BlackGargomon and Taomon.
"Okay, so if we're going to have people meet here, what should we discuss?" he asked.
"Well, we could compare notes..." Taomon began. "But somehow, that just doesn't feel like enough to stop The Heartbreaker."
"Hmm...maybe if we helped them understand what kind of digimon a WaruMonzaemon is, we could give them new ideas for increasing security," BlackGargomon said.
"The Heartbreaker may not be like all WaruMonzaemon, though," Taomon said.
"It'll at least give them a general idea of what his species is capable of doing," Vladimir said. "But the question is, how will we do it?"
BlackGargomon shrugged. "I'm sure there are books or videotapes or stuff like that...hey, wait a minute! There's a video store in town! Maybe they have what we need!"
"And if they don't?" Vladimir asked.
"I have an encyclopedia about different digimon species," Taomon said. "If we can't find a videotape, we could always use that."
"Okay, I'll go see if I could rent a good tape at the video store," BlackGargomon said, getting up and heading for the door.
Vladimir watched him, and something came to his mind. "And if you see Dati and Hovis, could you check to see how they're doing?"
"No problem!" And with that, BlackGargomon was out the door.
Meanwhile, Dati and Hovis were walking through town.
"Okay, I think we've given flyers to almost everyone in town," Hovis said. "Ready to go to the video store?"
Dati took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment. "I think the owner might have calmed down by now, so..."
Before he could finish, they heard BlackGargomon's voice. "Hovis! Dati!"
"We're over here!" Hovis replied.
BlackGargomon ran up to them. "I was looking all over for you so I could..." He trailed off as he caught sight of Dati.
"What?" Hovis asked.
"Uh..." BlackGargomon began. "Is that you, Dati?"
Dati nodded. "I digivolved."
"Cool! Anyway, I wanted to see you so I could tell you something important. You see, we decided that if the digimon in town are going to join our cause, we should give them an idea of what a WaruMonzaemon is like, so they know what they're up against. So I decided to rent a tape at the video store. I'm just telling you this in case you came back to the house while I was out."
"Actually, we were just about to go to the video store," Hovis said.
"Still delivering posters?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Great, we can do both of our jobs!" BlackGargomon said. "So let's go!"
As Hovis and BlackGargomon began walking off, Dati raised his hand. "Well, uh..."
BlackGargomon stopped and looked at Dati. "What's wrong?"
"Someone told us that the owner is being a little...aggressive in selling his merchandise," Dati said. "What if he gets aggressive with us?"
"He's probably calmed down by now," Hovis said with a shrug.
"I hope you're right."
The three digimon began walking to the video store.
"For the third time, broski, I don't have any money!"
"You sure about that? Couldn't you check your UFO or something?"
A porcupine with metallic quills and fur that was dark blue and off-white sighed as she sat behind a counter. She stared at the shelves of videotapes and rested her head in her palm.
When will he learn?
She looked to her left as Vademon emerged from behind the back shelf and made his way up to her. "Sorry to leave, girl, but no matter what I say, he thinks I'm lying!"
"Don't worry, I believe you," the porcupine said. "Now go before he gets even more insane."
An orange monkey with black sunglasses and a black leather jacket peered from behind the shelf. "Aw, come on, man! We haven't had any real customers in a while! Are you sure you don't have any money?"
The porcupine facepalmed and stood up. "Look, Eteman, he's told you three times that he doesn't have any money!"
"What if he's just saying that?"
"What if he isn't?"
Eteman walked out from behind the shelf, revealing the rest of his attire: yellow pants, a brown belt with a Monzaemon (yellow teddy bear) plush on the side, and brown cowboy boots. He walked up to the others and rested his arm on the counter. "Well, why would he come into the store if he wasn't gonna buy anything? Hmm?"
"Maybe he just wanted to browse," the porcupine said.
Before the dispute could escalate even further, a bell above the front door jingled, signaling the entrance of Dati, BlackGargomon, and Hovis.
"Quick, get out of here," the porcupine whispered to Vademon, who immediately did as he was told. Once he was out, the porcupine turned to the trio. "Welcome to our store. Did you want to rent a video?"
"Yes, we did..." BlackGargomon began, trying to remember the porcupine's name. "...Togemugumon, was it?"
"Togemogumon, actually," she replied. "Hey, wait a minute. Weren't you here a few days ago?"
"Yep," Dati said. "We were just going on a tour of the town then. And I'm the Tanemon from before. I just digivolved today."
Togemogumon was about to respond, but then Eteman cut in. "Wait a minute! You've been here before? When did this happen?"
"It happened when you were out getting some fresh air, remember?" Togemogumon replied. She turned to their customers. "And just so you know, this is Eteman, my boyfriend. He runs the video store, and I'm his second-in-command, so to speak."
There was only one thing on the trio's minds right now. "Ete...man?"
"Uh-huh," Eteman said as he began to make various bodybuilder-like poses. "'Cause I'm the manliest Etemon around, of course!"
Togemogumon scoffed at this. "Yeah, well, he's the self-proclaimed manliest Etemon around, at any rate."
Eteman stopped posing and gave Togemogumon a dismayed look. "Whaddaya mean, honey? You don't think I'm manly?"
Togemogumon rolled her eyes. "Well, for one thing, I haven't personally met any other Etemon, and you don't seem to have any proof that you're the manliest one. Maybe I'd believe you if you showed us all an award from the manliest Etemon contest or something. But then again, if being manly means harassing and making fun of potential customers, then I guess you are the manliest Etemon around."
"Wha...?" Eteman said as his jaw dropped. How was he supposed to respond to that?
Fortunately for him, Togemogumon saved him the trouble by talking to the customers. "But I'm getting off topic here. I know you three don't want to see us duke it out, and you just came here for a video. Did you have anything specific in mind?"
"Yes, do you have any informational videos about WaruMonzaemon?" BlackGargomon asked.
"I think we do," Togemogumon said. "Follow me."
While the two went off to find a good video, Eteman (having recovered from his girlfriend's sick burn) grinned at the sight. "Finally, some real customers! You two have no idea how hard business has been for the past week! It's like, no one wants to come here anymore. You guys have any idea why?"
Hovis retrieved a flyer from his backpack, and Dati handed it to Eteman.
"I think people are afraid of The Heartbreaker, this thief on the poster, and so they're trying really hard to stay safe," Dati said as Eteman studied the flyer. "I'm pretty sure no one wants their stuff to get stolen."
"Huh...is that what this is all about?" Eteman asked. "I never heard of any thief!"
Suddenly, Eteman clenched his fist and glared at Hovis and Dati. "What if you're just making him up?"
"What? What are you talking about?" Hovis asked.
"You're spreading all sorts of lies about some thief, and that's why we haven't been getting any business! Everyone's too scared to come here, and it's all your fault!"
"What do you mean?" Dati asked. "He's real! We just met him earlier today! I digivolved in a fight with him!"
Eteman folded his arms. "Hmph. That's what you want me to think. You're just trying to cause some mass hysteria with your stupid lies."
"But they're not lies!" Hovis said. "You know the band Castle in the Air? Why don't you ask them about The Heartbreaker? Or how about that Vademon from earlier? Or Biyomon and Sheepmon from Wool and Wings? Or heck, just ask BlackGargomon over there! No matter who you ask, they'll tell you all about him!"
"Oh great, now you gotta lie to everyone else," Eteman said. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that this picture's a lie, and that you're The Heartbreaker!"
Hovis growled. "Why, I oughta..."
"You oughta do what?" Eteman asked, getting face-to-face with Hovis. "I'm an Ultimate! You wanna pick a fight with an Ultimate? Especially since you're just a Rookie? You got a lot of guts! But you better not try to start a fight with me, or else-"
"Or else what, Eteman?"
Eteman saw Togemogumon standing nearby, arms folded and glaring daggers at him. BlackGargomon was peering from behind a shelf.
"Would you believe these people?" Eteman asked, pointing at Dati and Hovis. "Going on and on about some 'Heartbreaker' like there's no tomorrow! How much you wanna bet they're lying?"
"Oh yeah? What if they're telling the truth?" Togemogumon replied. "What if there really is a thief going around? What if you just offended two more customers?"
"Well, if this thief is supposedly at large, why haven't we heard about him until now, huh?" Eteman asked. "I mean, you'd think he would've tried to go for our videos at some point, right? So why hasn't he?"
"Maybe he doesn't want our videos right now," Togemogumon said. "Just because he hasn't gone for them yet doesn't mean he'll never go for them."
"You trying to scare me, girl?"
Togemogumon sighed. "At least I'm trying to think rationally and figure things out instead of jumping to conclusions!"
She turned towards Dati and Hovis. "Look, I'm really sorry you're having to hear all of this. I realize it's bad form for us to be arguing in plain sight, so why don't you two and BlackGargomon pay for the rental and get out of here before things get nastier?"
"Did he find the tape he needed?" Dati asked.
"Yep," BlackGargomon said, holding up a videotape called "The Wonders of WaruMonzaemon". "Just got to pay, and we'll be out of here!"
With that, BlackGargomon paid for the rental.
"Just remember to turn it back in by this time next week," Togemogumon said. "If you don't, you'll have to pay late fees."
"Gotcha! Thanks for the video!" BlackGargomon said.
"And thank you for doing business with us," Togemogumon replied.
"Here's a flyer about The Heartbreaker, by the way," Hovis said as he handed Togemogumon a flyer.
Togemogumon took the flyer. "I'll make sure to keep this in mind." Unlike some people...
After she and Eteman exchanged goodbyes with the trio, Togemogumon waited for them to be out of sight. Once she couldn't see them anymore, she set a "back whenever" sign on the desk.
"What are you doing?" Eteman asked.
Togemogumon walked to a door in the back. "Eteman...we need to talk."
Eteman blinked. "What's going on?"
Togemogumon pushed open the door to the office room and said, "I think you know what's going on. Now get in here."
Eteman did so, and Togemogumon closed the door. They each took a seat at the desk in front of them, and Togemogumon said, "Well, go ahead."
"What?"
"Go ahead and explain why you've been acting this way for the past month."
"I just wanted us to get some more revenue," Eteman said.
Togemogumon glowered at Eteman. "Uh-huh. Then why don't you explain why you're forcing random passersby into the store and not letting them leave until they rent something? Or why you laughed at that Cyberdramon who came in last month?"
"He wanted to rent a movie about flowers! Flowers!" Eteman said, as if the very concept was incomprehensible.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Togemogumon asked, shrugging. "He can rent a movie about flowers if he wants to. I don't see the big problem with it."
"But flowers are so..."
"Wimpy? Well, you know, just because someone's interested in flowers doesn't mean they're a wimp. Not every tough guy has to look and act the part."
"Yeah, well, it helps if they do!" Eteman said. "I mean, if I acted like a pretty boy, would you take me seriously when I say I'm a tough guy?"
"Well, I wouldn't judge you until I saw you fight somebody," Togemogumon said. "But we're getting off track here. The point is, you've been acting like a jerk for the past month! Did owning a store get to your head or something? You wouldn't let that Mummymon girl leave, you kept bugging that Vademon, and you accused two of our customers of being liars! And this all happened today! You really think this kind of behavior is gonna keep customers coming back for more? You think they're gonna say, 'Hmm, that video store where the owner acts like a jerk? Hey, yeah, that place is awesome! We should go there all the time!' I don't know who you're trying to impress, Eteman, but if you're trying to impress me, it's not working. In fact, I think the only person you're impressing is yourself."
"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Eteman asked.
"Take a vacation."
"What?"
"You heard me. Take a vacation," Togemogumon said. "It'll do wonders for both of us. I'll run the store and try to rebuild its damaged reputation, and you can take some time off to get back to a logical frame of mind."
"You want me to go on vacation...without you?"
"Look, someone has to run the store," Togemogumon said as she took Eteman's hand. "Don't get me wrong, I still love you. But I don't love how you've been behaving lately. I'm asking you to do this 'cause I'm concerned. I think you're getting a bit too worried about the store, and that's taking a toll on your emotions."
Eteman sighed. "Maybe you're right. But where should I go?"
"Why don't we research different locations?" Togemogumon replied. She went over to her computer and switched it on.
Deep down, Eteman hoped that Togemogumon had the right idea.
"If it turns out we got the wrong tape, I'll eat my hat," BlackGargomon said as he inserted the tape into his video player.
"You don't even have a hat," Taomon said.
"Well, maybe he'll buy one and then eat it," Vladimir said.
BlackGargomon pressed play, and the five digimon took a seat in front of the TV. After sitting through several previews and commercials, they were finally able to watch the tape. Fortunately for BlackGargomon, the eating of hats would not be necessary, as this tape was definitely an informational tape about WaruMonzaemon. It only lasted a half-hour, but it provided them with important information.
Once it was over, BlackGargomon looked at the others. "So, what do you think?"
"We could use this," Dati said. The other three digimon agreed.
"That's good!" BlackGargomon said. "So, what should we do now?"
"Well, Dati and I finished handing out the flyers," Hovis said. "Should we start putting them up around town?"
"Why don't you wait until tomorrow?" Vladimir replied. "From what I've heard, you two have had a very eventful day today."
"Good point."
The five of them spent the rest of the day discussing what had been going on, and what they should do for the meeting. Dati hoped these plans would be enough to stop The Heartbreaker in his tracks.
A/N: But what happened to Eteman, you may ask? That's a story for another day...