Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, but I do own the characters shown in the prologue.
Prologue: A Deal with the Devil
"And that's all for today's shift, folks. Good job. Today was quite a busy day." a tall woman with blonde hair in a black and white business attire announced to her employees. The employees gathered their cleaning materials and their personal belongings and bowed towards their boss. "I'll be the one to close up the museum for tonight. You all may go."
"Thanks madame!" a museum cleaner bowed happily.
The woman handled bundles of cash to each employee. "Here's your pay for today. I'll be paying you all in full by tomorrow." Her attention went to one of the museum tour guides. "Congratulations Rick, you are employee of the month."
The short, burly, tour guide raised an eyebrow suspiciously towards his boss. "Announcing the employee of the month a day early is so unlike you, Mrs. Esterházy."
Mrs. Esterházy gave him a brief chuckle. "Well I must say that I will be giving your pays tomorrow first thing in the morning. Same goes for the rest." she looks at the rest of the employees who were busy cleaning the statues and paintings. She checks her watch. "At eight in the morning right after the opening, I will be dropping by to do so, then I will make my way to the airport as my flight back to Budapest is at 10am sharp."
Rick nodded in understanding of his boss's situation. "I see. Shari still in the hospital?"
Esterházy hummed in confirmation. Shari was her 13-year-old daughter and was caught in a school-related accident that sent her to the hospital. It has now been around a full week since her admission and it was getting difficult for her to not see her daughter in that span of time.
"I'm sorry madame." Rick hung his head low. "You are such a good person... not only to me but to the rest of the employees here at the Esterházy Museum. You don't deserve something like this to happen to you."
His boss gave him a quick nod, followed by a shrug. "Well, it's life, Rick. No one can last in this world forever and ever," she looks up at the bright, full moon that settled in the middle of the darkest, cloudless, starless sky. "Even if it means they can only last for a few years."
Rick followed suit and watched the moon glowing beautifully against the London night sky. "Shari will be in my prayers. May the heavens above grace her with the almighty power of healing. Godspeed."
"Thank you, Rick." Esterházy couldn't help but cast a smile towards the newly crowned employee of the month. Rick had been a dear friend to all of the employees at the Esterházy Museum, and she couldn't help but feel guilty that she only awarded him with said award just that evening. She looked towards the museum, and she could see that most of the employees had already left. "It's getting late, Rick. Best for you to head back home to your family."
"Will do, madame."
As Rick walked away to grab his things and leave for the evening, Esterházy thought that it was best to do the same. She had a flight tomorrow back to Budapest and going back to this museum was the first thing she needed to do next morning.
Or as so she thought.
"Help!"
The cry for help had Esterházy's head jerk up. She was not the kind of person to leave someone alone, let alone in the dead of night. So she ran towards where she thought she heard the shrill cry. And as she stopped herself behind a patch of strawberry bushes, there came a sight that she was soon to behold and burn in her memory forever.
A couple of bandits were running away from a woman. But this woman looks far from ordinary. She was tall, almost taller than she was (6'0 ft) and was wearing in some sort of dark blue cloak that covered nearly all of her facial features and any skin that would slip and show to the world. She had a wooden staff that had an emerald shining and glowing a bright shade of green just on top of it.
Then out came a blast that sent an entire street light enveloping in green flames, sending the bandits screaming and running for their lives as if they were little children who got scared one Halloween evening. When the bandits disappeared into their stolen taxi cab, the peculiar lady turned towards Esterházy's direction.
Oh God.
The woman ran to her as fast as she could. Esterházy, who nearly had no time to react, turned back and began to run but clumsily tripped over a twig (and partial thanks to her 3 inch black pumps). She turned back and almost shrieked in fright as the woman lunged right above her.
"Stop! Please! What do you want!" Esterházy pleaded as the staff was directly pointed towards her, with the green glow about to burst any time soon.
"Your museum." the woman deeply whispered, with an ominous voice that can shook even the most coldest of hearts and the strongest of spines. "Your museum was once my home. And you destroyed it!"
Esterházy got up by pushing the staff away, sending the woman tumbling down instead. "I? Stole your home? Pah!" she spat. "This land, was nothing but a barren wasteland that showed no sign of life! Sure it had some abandoned house on it that looked as if it hasn't been cleaned in decades, but upon having it checked, there was no one living in there and there was absolutely no body decomposing in its floors."
The woman, shocked by Esterházy's reveal, can feel her emotions suddenly melting towards the ground below. "My family? You did not see my family?"
"You lived here?" was Esterházy's immediate question. "Since when?"
The peculiar woman choked up a sob, and the green glow from her wooden emerald staff subtly faded as she did so. Esterházy began to feel immediate regret as if she told a secret that was never suppose to surface.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"How could you?" the woman stood back up and masked her tears. "You humans... are just the same. And you? You are probably the worst one of all... Sarika Esterházy."
Sarika was taken aback. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
The woman did not answer her question. Instead, she shoved her a newspaper, which to her horror, showed a very familiar name.
Shari Esterházy, age 13, attacked by a "witch."
"You..." Sarika's blood began to boil at that very second. "You attacked my daughter?!"
"Your daughter KILLED my daughter!" the woman shouted. "Did you not pay attention to the article?!"
Sarika's eyes began to scroll down the newspaper article. Was Shari not telling the entire truth to her through their phone calls?
According to a witness from three days back, Shari Esterházy and Shreya Yogesh were caught smoking in the garden hill just around a few blocks away from the Budapest Girls' Academy. They were caught into a fight as soon as they were caught by a teacher, and the two girls began fighting. Out of pure instinct, Shari had pushed Shreya off the hill, sending her down to the rushing river that was about 50 feet below. Locals say however, that they did not see a corpse by the river, so everyone assumed that it was washed away.
Three days later, as Shari was seen walking back to where she was currently residing, a green glow hit her her, sending her flying around the block, landing into the concrete pavement. There were several bruises and burn marks on her body according to health officials and her body had several fractures particularly on her lower and upper extremities. She is now in the Budapest Hospital undergoing intensive care.
The woman retracted the newspaper. "And now, you and your daughter will pay. She had paid already, so now the turn is yours. I have no money, and you killed my only family."
"Wait!" Sarika screeched, in hopes for the woman to stop whatever she is about to do. "We could settle a deal."
"What deal?"
Sarika handed her a bundle of cash. "You can keep this." She places it in the woman's hands and closes it. "You need this."
"I need more than this to live! And money is not enough to replace the grief and pain you have given me!" the witch shouted angrily.
Sarika looked glum. "It's the least I could do for you... I'll help you get more money. Right now, I am saving the money I have for all of my daughter's expenses in the hospital."
"What will you do?"
The museum owner looked at the sky above her. "I will... produce a show that could get the highest of ratings and that will earn all the money you need. A show that pit contestants against each other and battle it all out. Audiences love that one, yes. And the prize? I will have to figure that one out..."
The witch shook her. "I am not liking the sound of this nonsense."
"You will help me."
"I will not."
"You have to."
"..."
"And all the money we'll earn? We could use some of that to look for your daughter."
"But she's dead!"
"...If you stop believing."
The witch fell silent. She didn't know what to say. What exactly is this woman up to? But then again, does she have a choice?
"Fine." she extends a gloved hand. "Seema Yogesh."
"You already know me." Sarika shakes her hand to return the gesture. "And now, I believe we must find our cast."
Going back to Budapest would have to wait...
Greetings, fellow reader! I hope you like the prologue, though I do have to admit that the idea of Sarika making the season was a bit jarring but I honestly had trouble of how would I inject the idea of the season in there without changing the plot because I have this plot going on for a while. I thought it would be a great overarching plot for the season but I didn't really think of how would I put it in there in the first place.
But anyway, I would like to send a shoutout to whoever made this SYOC season called Total Drama Knightfall. It's partially where I got my inspiration to make the theme of this season while I was on a Total Drama season theme hunt! Please do check it out if you get the chance!
Now the moment you have all been waiting for, here are the SYOC details!
Total Drama: Nights at the Hazy Museum SYOC Details and Rules
1.) Submissions will be at PMs only! Please also entitle your PM to "TDNHM App - Character's Name" for organization.
2.) Feel free to submit as many apps as you'd like, though please take note that I will only be accepting one (1) app max per person. The cast will only be at 16 contestants total.
3.) Please only follow my application. Any other app will automatically be rejected.
4.) I do not have any prior experience in making SYOCs so please do be patient with me. That being said, please be a good sport even if your character gets rejected/eliminated as toxic behaviors will be avoided as much as possible.
5.) I will post a partial cast update (once I accept around 8 people) then a full cast update. No deadline, but I would prefer if the SYOC cast selection will not go over a month.
6.) Enjoy and good luck! PM me for any other questions!
Total Drama: Nights at the Hazy Museum Application Form
Name:
Birthday & Age: (preferably 18 or older, but no older than 22. no need to put the year for birthday)
Stereotype:
Sexuality:
Hometown:
Backstory:
Overall appearance:
Clothing:
Alternate clothing:
Personality:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Likes:
Dislikes:
What do they think of Sarika Esterházy?
What do they think of Seema Yogesh?
Romance?: (Yes or no, please state their type)
Audition Tape:
Extra info: