Chapter 8

### Appearing

Undine, Heartful Punch, Tessa, Rue, Will, Zoe, Bud, Vedika, Harley, Cassidy, The Purple One, Alchemical Air (flashback)

### Referenced

The Woman in White, Team Alchemical members appear as hallucinations, Team Melty in doll-form

Beginning in the early hours of Tuesday, September 10th, Undine and Heartful Punch debrief at the end of their patrol. Heartful Punch asks Undine if they can team up together. HP explains that she fights alone because she couldn't deal with her teammates coming to harm because of her, which was her own form of being a coward. HP wants to face her fears by teaming up with Undine. Undine agrees to team up with her.

Later, Tessa arrives at her school where Rue, who had been injured the night before, teases her about her interest in Will.

At Future's Promise, Undine and Heartful Punch agree to meet for lunch with the rest of the training club before running into Zoe, who seems to have some issue with talking in front of HP.

At lunch, the Magical Girl Power Training Club members discuss Undine and HP's teaming up and the dream survey they all received. They discuss the dream they each had, and Undine tells them about her dream. However, Undine doesn't remember her conversation with The Woman in White that she had in her dream, and notes that her memories of her dream seem to be cut off. While their friends are discussing their own dreams, each noting the sense of incompleteness that they feel, Undine notices that HP seems to be disturbed about something, but HP insists it is nothing.

Meanwhile, Tessa and Rue eat their lunch, and Tessa is dismayed by the poor quality of her school lunch compared to the lunch at Future's Promise.

In the evening, Undine and HP go to train. Their training is watched by a hidden figure that appears to be dressed in an orange magical girl outfit with a scissor decal on her waist.

During their patrol, Undine is able to sense a gigantic monster in the distance that breaches the Inner Barrier, breaks into a house and attacks its residents. Undine is able to push the monster out and comfort the family, whose son has suffered a minor injury. Heartful Punch arrives soon after and the two begin fighting the monster together. However, Undine is unsure of what to do to help HP and feels useless, the same way she often felt with Team Alchemical. She is momentarily distracted by The Purple One, who may be controlling the monster. This allows the monster to grab her ankle and lift her into the air.

Undine is swung into a building by the monster. Heartful Punch, seeing that Undine is in danger, tries to save her, jumping up and shattering the monster's arms. Undine shouts for HP to escape and leave her behind, knowing that the monster, who is incredibly strong, will overpower her. The monster uses its regenerative ability to grab HP in its many arms and lowers her into its mouth as Undine watches, paralyzed. In addition, Undine is subjected to harsh words such as "You're a weakling" from the visions of her former teammates.

Undine freezes, but is encouraged by Heartful Punch's voice, who reassures Undine that she'll think of something. Drawing upon all her power, Undine shouts that she won't let her friend be killed. She summons an immensely powerful water jet, similar to Tessa's power blasts, and blasts the monster to shreds, releasing Heartful Punch from the monster's grasp.

## Interstitial and Guest Comics

Mid-chapter, there is a guest comic drawn by Rennie Kingsley, which revisits Heartful Punch's interview on the show Daylight Highlight, this time focusing on her fighting style and her scarf.

In the interstitial Anemone uses her doll collection to discusses magical girl costumes, how they come to be, how they can match, and how they can change. For more information, see Magical Girls.