Previously on Hakuna, we saw Leragga's next target in a dying world, and we saw an interesting new friend with a very specific dialect. But before we head back to the grim reality of Terra Inferni, let's take a breath and see what's going on with the halls of Milner High School. After a multiversal threat, school life should be easy, right?
Wrong.
Fade in…
The Quad is bathed in the mid-morning South African sun. It's that peaceful lull between periods where the world feels almost normal. Hakuna is seen lying flat on his back on a concrete block in the center of the Quad, staring up at the clouds and swinging his legs back and forth like a bored toddler.
While he does this, the rest of the BBC—Super, Enzo, Rems, MXO, Freddie, and Bodega—are seen standing in a tight circle around the very block Hakuna is occupying. They are facing one another, deep in a tactical debrief, speaking right over Hakuna as if he were part of the furniture.
Super, crossing his arms and leaning in, breaks the silence. "So, you're telling me that the sheer scale of the corruption wasn't entirely his own influence?" He is, of course, referring to the now-defeated Philosopher.
Enzo nods, his expression serious as he checks his phone for DDF updates. He replies, "Not entirely. The initial intel suggests he had a plan to set loose some low-ranking, bottom-tier demons around the school perimeter—just enough to give everyone a scare and boost his own standing. But the relic he found? It possessed him. It was likely the spirit of Lilith dwelling within the artifact, which caused the radical shift. That's what triggered the mass transformation of the student body into demons."
Rems chimes in, his hand resting on the concrete block as he remembers the haze of the battle. "That still doesn't explain how I became loyal to him against my will. My mind felt like it was wrapped in wet wool."
Hakuna then speaks from below them, his voice muffled by the concrete block. "It was probably his Talent."
The entire group flinches, having momentarily forgotten the Prince was lying right beneath their chins. They all mutter in a confused chorus, "Huh?"
They all look down in unison, staring at Hakuna's upside-down face.
Bodega, who had been balancing on the edge of the block, asks with a look of pure judgment, "Why in the world are you lying down like that?"
Hakuna stands up with a sudden, fluid motion, dusting off his blazer. He replies with a shrug, "Cause I can. It's a free country, and the concrete is surprisingly cool. Anyway, back to the point. His Talent is Entice. It's a passive-active hybrid. It means he was able to convince you that his goals were your goals with little to no effort. It bypasses standard mental defenses because it doesn't feel like an attack; it feels like an epiphany."
Rems flares his energy for a split second, a spark of blue Nzilo flickering around his fists. "So he bewitched me?!"
Hakuna responds, waving a hand dismissively, "'Bewitched' is such a strong, Victorian word. More like... exaggerated peer pressure. He just made his ideas sound like the coolest thing in the room, and your brain jumped on the bandwagon."
Rems' energy dissipates as he looks at the floor, feeling slightly less heroic. "Oh. Well. That's... embarrassing."
Super then says flatly, shooting a look at Rems, "Just be more assertive next time. Don't let a 'cool idea' turn you into a traitor."
MXO, who had been quiet until now, queries with a tilt of his head, "So how does someone with the Entice Talent—a guy who is supposed to be the master of influence—become controlled so easily by a relic? Surely he'd have the mental fortitude to say no?"
Hakuna denotes, his eyes narrowing as he thinks back to the Philosopher's final moments. "My best guess is that Lilith saw his Talent and immediately had a use for it. She didn't crush his will; she amplified it. She gave him the power to Entice the whole world, and he was too arrogant to see the strings attached."
Freddie, who had been leaning against a nearby pillar, asks, "So you mean Lilith has now possessed this new guy? This Musa kid everyone is whispering about?"
Hakuna replies, "Hard to say. The energy signature is totally different."
He then turns his gaze toward the rest of the students milling about the Quad, looking for a specific face. As he then says, "Maybe he was just impressed with what The Philosopher was able to do, and he wanted to emulate that power. A fanboy of chaos, if you will. I don't remember seeing him in the great battle, though."
Enzo then turns to face the school field, which is still scarred with craters and scorched grass from their recent encounters. He then voices, "Sucks that I wasn't there for the finale. From the looks of the landscape, it must've been intense. I missed out on the 'fight of the century' because I was on the other side of the province."
They all turn towards the field, a heavy silence falling over the group as they reflect on the sheer destruction they've witnessed.
Hakuna mutters, his voice dropping an octave, "Yeah, it was... a lot."
Super, ever the pragmatist, asks, "When are they even going to fix that field?"
Hakuna responds, "Don't worry about it. Apparently, the school's 'Special Maintenance' team says the grass will just regrow itself thanks to the lingering Nzilo in the soil. Luckily, we aren't in any sporting season right now, so we have time."
Enzo then says, leaning back, "Since the start of the DDF and the rise of the supernatural curriculum, the school has never participated in any standard sport anyway. Who wants to play rugby when you can shoot fireballs?"
Makes sense. It's hard to keep a scoreboard when the players can teleport. Wait... where's Freddie?
Hakuna, instinctively replying to the narrator's observation, mumbles, "Hmm? Ah! He was right here!"
Super narrows his eyes, looking at the empty space where Freddie was just seconds ago. "Who are you talking about, Hakuna?"
Hakuna, completely ignoring Super's question for the sake of the mystery, then says, "Bros, Freddie just vanished. Like, ninja-style vanished."
They all look towards the empty space with varying levels of confusion. Freddie isn't the type to teleport without a flashy exit.
Enzo asks, already stretching his legs for a sprint, "Find him?"
As the rest of the BBC says in a determined, accidental unison, "Find him."
They all then vanish in a blur of speed!
Rems is seen sneaking through the computer labs, moving between the rows of monitors like a ghost. He mumbles to himself, "He normally comes here for peace and quiet, right?"
He then thinks, scanning the dark corners behind the PC towers, "Hmm, I can't see hi—uhh?"
A pair of legs, clad in the school's feminine uniform slacks, seem to be obstructing his view as they dangle from the top of a server rack.
Vanessa speaks sarcastically from above him, her voice dripping with mock curiosity, "You seem adventurous today, Rems. Creeping around in the dark? Looking for something to steal?"
Rems stutters, nearly tripping over a stray ethernet cable. "Uhh, no! I just—I was looking for—"
Vanessa's sword, the legendary Amahle, appears slowly from the floorboards, the blade rising like a shark's fin in front of Rems' face. She then queries, her eyes glinting in the monitor light, "Do you wish to challenge me with my own sword again? Or have you learned your lesson about touching things that don't belong to you?"
Rems, stepping back ever so slightly until his back hits a desk, mutters, "NOoo! It's nothing like that, really!"
Vanessa interjects, leaping down from the rack with feline grace. "Oh? Then are you engrossed in perverted activities?! Is that why you're lurking in the shadows?"
As she says this, she points the tip of Amahle directly at Rems' neck, the cold steel drawing a bead of sweat.
Rems, now genuinely confused and slightly terrified, says, "What?! No! Why does everyone think that? I'm looking for Freddie! He's gone AWOL!"
Vanessa mumbles, her intensity dropping instantly. "Huh? Freddie? Why didn't you just say so?"
Rems and Vanessa are then seen searching together, checking throughout the many Computer Labs, under desks, and inside storage closets for any sign of the missing boy.
Meanwhile, Bodega is seen running around the school on the many rooftops of Milner. He moves with the agility of a parkour master, leaping from the Admin wing to the Science block. "Nope," he says, pausing on a chimney stack and scanning the parking lot. "Not seeing the boy on the rooftops. He's not playing sniper today."
He then vanishes in a puff of smoke.
Enzo is seen flying through all the corridors of the school at subsonic speeds. He flies so fast that the papers on the bulletin boards fly off in his wake. He is moving with such velocity that he fails to see himself passing Freddie, who is actually standing in a secluded alcove behind the hall... with someone.
Someone? Oh, this is getting spicy.
MXO is seen standing in a very long, very slow-moving line at the tuck shop. I guess he forgot what they were doing. He's staring intensely at the menu, debating between a pie or a burger.
Hakuna is seen standing back at the Quad, his chin in his hand. He thinks to himself, "He's obviously not going to be somewhere he always goes. He's obviously not going to be somewhere any of us goes, because he's hiding. So the best bet is to check... ah! The one place no one goes during lunch!"
He vanishes.
Super is seen walking up the stairs toward the Science classes on the second floor. He thinks to himself, "He'd never expect us to find him here. It's too quiet, too academic. I'm too much of a genius not to see through his little game."
Suddenly, Hakuna runs past him at a speed that nearly knocks Super off the stairs. As he passes, Super's expression darkens into a mask of pure rivalry. "There's no way he figured it out before me," he says, his voice a low growl.
Super then runs to the next floor, his competitive spirit ignited. He gets to the first class of the second floor, kicks the door open, and finds... Hakuna, already searching under the teacher's desk.
"Ugh," Super rolls his eyes, slamming the door.
He gets to the second class of the second floor, opens the door with a bang, and finds... Hakuna, checking the supply closet.
He growls, "Grrr."
He gets to the third and final class of the floor, opens the door with a desperate shove, and finds... Hakuna, staring out the window.
Both Super and Hakuna snarl in mutual annoyance, "AAARGGHHH!"
They are both seen standing back-to-back in the middle of the empty hallway, thinking intensely while facing opposite directions. They both mumble in a low drone, "Hmmmmmmmmm…"
They both think to themselves at the exact same micro-second, "Got it!"
They both then vanish, leaving behind twin sonic booms.
Freddie is seen standing behind the secluded school office building, a quiet spot hidden by thick hedges. He's not alone. He's with a girl.
Everything seems serene and calm. The birds are chirping, the wind is whistling... until…
Both Hakuna and Super land from the sky like twin meteors, destroying the pavement beneath them and creating a massive dust cloud that obscures everything.
"What was that?! An earthquake?!" Freddie wonders, shielding the girl behind him.
Both Hakuna and Super yell out as the dust clears, "Ahaa! I found you—Hah?"
Hakuna then turns to Super and begins to argue, "No! I landed first! I found him first!"
Super retorts, pointing a finger at Hakuna's chest, "No , I found him first! You just caught my draft and followed me down!"
Hakuna retorts back, "There's no way that's possible! I calculated the trajectory while I was in the Science wing!"
As they both begin to argue like children, Freddie attempts to make a quiet escape, ushering the girl toward the parking lot.
Hakuna, his voice suddenly dropping from a screech to a high-strung, analytical stoicism, questions, "Wait a minute... wait a second. Is that... does Freddie have a girlfriend?"
Super, having been caught in the heat of the moment, stops mid-insult and mutters, "Ah? Who? Where?"
Hakuna, after squinting and seeing the girl's face clearly, voices in shock, "Wase?!"
Super snaps back to reality, his eyes widening. "Wait, I thought I already told you about the—."
Before he could finish his sentence and spoil the surprise, Freddie—panicking at the sudden exposure—reaches into his bag and throws a 500-page Accounting textbook with pinpoint accuracy at Super's face.
THWACK!
Hakuna cackles, doubling over in laughter. "Hahahaaahaaaaa!"
Super, while slowly removing the heavy book from his reddening face, reaches out and slaps Hakuna in the back of the head with the same book.
SMACK!
Hakuna jolts, rubbing his skull. "Hey!"
Rems and Vanessa then appear, having followed the sound of the explosion. Rems looks at the scene and says, "Freddie and Wase? Since when?"
Vanessa, having joined in the search and now leaning on her sword, comments, "Interesting pair up. The quiet strategist and the... well, Freddie."
Hakuna, seeing both Rems and Vanessa walking together and looking quite comfortable, retorts, "Look who's talking! You two have been 'searching' together for twenty minutes!"
Rems retorts back, his face turning a slight shade of red, "Calm down, Hakuna. It's not like that."
Suddenly, Enzo flies past them at high speed. Again.
He mutters, "Wait."
He stops mid-air, pulls a U-turn, and then bursts through a nearby wall to join the group. Seeing the discovery of the couple, he then says sarcastically, "Well, isn't this surprising? The one person we couldn't find was busy being a romantic."
Hakuna furrows his brow, looking at the growing crowd. "Alright, are there any more people set to arrive while we're talking?"
Nothing happens for three seconds.
Hakuna then sighs, "Finally. Now, where were we—?"
MXO is seen walking casually behind them, eating a massive, steaming Kota. He mutters through a mouthful of chips, "Hmm? Oh hey guys. I see you've found him—uhh." He looks at Freddie and Wase, then at the destroyed pavement.
Hakuna turns to him slowly, his eyes glowing with a low, dangerous orange rage.
MXO, completely oblivious to the tension, queries, "What'd I miss? Is there a meeting?"
Hakuna relents, his head dropping into his hands. "Ugh! Anyway, Freddie, when did this become a thing? Give us the lore!"
Suddenly, the school bell rings—a loud, piercing sound that signals the end of the break.
Hakuna cries out to the heavens, "Noooooooo! Not now! I need to know more! I need the details!"
Rems grabs him by the collar of his blazer and starts dragging him toward the main building. "We have to go, Hakuna. It's Maths now. You can't fail another test because of gossip."
Hakuna argues, flailing his arms, "Aww, but the details! The origin story! How did he even talk to her?!"
Super then interjects, walking past them with his hands in his pockets. "Get to class, Hakuna. Plus, don't you always say you ignore things that don't concern you?"
Hakuna bargains, his voice high and desperate, "I know! I know! But it's Freddie! He's our Tamatie! We have to know if he's being treated right!"
Super doesn't even argue with that logic. "...Makes sense."
Freddie jolts, his face now matching the nickname he has been given. "Wha—Excuse me?! Tamatie?! I am a grown man!"
Wase finally jumps into the conversation, stepping forward and taking Freddie's hand firmly. "Okay, everyone, calm down. Me and Freddie are in a relationship. We've been seeing each other for a while. That is all there is to it. No more questions."
Hakuna then stands up straight, his dramatic energy suddenly vanishing. He then mumbles, his voice incredibly low and deadpan, "Underwhelming."
All the others mutter in annoyance, "What the—?"
Rems doesn't give him a chance to pivot back to drama; he simply pulls Hakuna toward their next class.
Meanwhile…
On the complete opposite side of the school campus, far from the laughter and the bickering of the BBC, another student is seen walking toward a classroom.
Musa, the student the BBC had been discussing earlier, walks with a measured, rhythmic pace. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes hold a strange, flickering light.
Musa says to the empty hallway, his voice like silk over gravel, "The Philosopher may have been defeated, but the seeds he planted were deep. The world of chaos he envisioned... it must still come to fruition."
He stops at the door of his classroom as other students rush past him, oblivious to the predator in their midst.
He then says, a small, dark smile playing on his lips, "The torch has been passed from one failure to a new success. So... the show must go on."
Fade out…
End of Episode 67.