Young Writers Society

Maahes gave a nervous smile. While he would never disrespect someone's choice of name, the logic behind Rem's insistence that she be called Rem was deeply unsettling. It was reminiscent of the Goa'uld. Even though she certainly wasn't one, he couldn't help but feel uneasy at the prospect of interacting with her more.

The Scarlet Lord would be a worthy adversary for Rem Qaž jÿn Voiduum, Maahes suddenly thought. Somehow, that managed to be an even disturbing scenario than the current one. He was lucky that he had been caught as Leonardo Cartwright and not his other identity; having to deal with her while keeping up appearances would have been a nightmare.

"What are you two here for, if you don't mind me asking?" he questioned. Seeing that it was the only thing they had in come, it was a start.

A goofy, somewhat crazed smile began to spread on his lips at the question, soon followed by a bitter laugh.

"Only thing they were able to get me in on was property theft, identity theft, assaulting an arresting officer and resisting arrest, perjury..." he'd started counting them on his hand. "...Yeah, I think that's it."

The next week passed with remarkable uneventfulness. Eyes were kept closely on Kazimir after his brawling debut in the mess hall, and he decided it would be best to keep a low profile - or, as low as he could manage with the temperamental Rem as his and Leo's "tour guide."

It didn't take long for them to familiarize themselves with the various duties prisoners were assigned to keep up maintenance on the ship, along with whatever else the guards felt like ordering at their whim. Like when they decided Leo and Kazimir didn't need Rem anymore. And when they decided that Rem was going to be transferred to a different section of the ship - just when things were starting to go really well, and Kazimir was starting to feel like him and Rem... were becoming friends.

That's when they tore her away. And she was livid, though she seemed conflicted about showing it. She directed all of her anger at the guards, saying she was angry because they were monopolizing her life, but Kazimir knew it was also because they were monopolizing her friendships, and isolating her.

It was as if... they didn't want Rem to get to a place where she was healthy again. They didn't want her to regain her fighting spirit again. They wanted to crush her. And Kazimir couldn't do anything but watch them do it, or he'd probably be sent to solitary for who knows how long.

Kazimir sighed, poking at his mushy food as he sat next to Leo in the mess hall. This was where it all began. Where I made a name for myself. It was also where he'd lost a friend...

but he'd have to just get over it. Get over it. Get over it.

He looked over to Leo, pointing his fork at him.

"Hey Leo, you never told me why you're here."

He almost choked on the food he had reluctantly shoved into his mouth. The question had taken him by surprise, and the food itself was something he never wanted to put inside of him. He could already feel his essence struggling to deal with it. But spitting out the meal would only raise suspicion, so he tried to pretend that the choking incident had never happened.

"It's a little embarrassing to talk about," he admitted. The actual act itself wasn't embarrassing, but it was the fact that he ended up here afterwards that made him wish it had never happened. "I was on a planet called Sen. It was my first time visiting it. And, well, they had some pretty bad customs. Ones involving sacrificing orphan kids to appease gods. I'm still not sure if they were going to kill them or just give them me as slaves...They were convinced I was a god because I had come through a stargate. I helped the kids escape to a safer world with people who would gladly adopt them, but the people of Sen caught me in the act and threw me into their jail for 'disrespecting their culture'."

Kazimir's eyebrows raised, and he let out a booming laugh. "Wow, then things really have gone to sh*t, haven't they? Throwing heroes like you in jail. Psh. If a culture's killing people that ain't culture. That's just straight up murder. And of kids no less? PAH!" He stabbed his food with an angry jab, and shoved it in his mouth. He continued to talk with his mouthful. "I've only been here three weeks and I already hate this place with all of my being."

Apophis poked at the food in front of her, bored and annoyed. This place was monotonous, the people were shallow, and she was trapped - none of which were appealing. She had no vessel for entertainment nor the means to make one, which was frustrating in and of itself, not to mention the fact they'd bound her true form because it was too dangerous.

She sighed, her attention turning to the conversation behind her that involved the man from a few days ago who'd gotten into a fight. Kazimir was his name, or so she'd heard.

"Heroes, villains, we're all the same here," she drawled, turning to look at the group, namely Maahes. "It doesn't really matter much in the end."

"That's why we're all dressed in p*ss yellow! So we all know we belong in the toilet!" Kazimir spouted, pointing his fork at the eavesdropper. "Because there ain't no d*mn way the color yellow makes anyone happy here."

"It's better than orange," she says, glancing down at it. "But it's a pretty heinous hue, isn't it?" The snake demon grabs her tray and sits down next to Maahes.

He gave the newcomer a startled look - the mention of the color orange was a clear reference to Earth's prisons. At least, that was what he assumed. He had never visited a planet that shared the same prison uniform, though it was impossible for him to have visited every single world and seen all of their prison systems.

"Are you from Earth?" he asked. Then he paused, realizing he still didn't know her name or vice versa. He held out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Leonardo Cartwright. I go by Leo."

"Apophis," she introduces herself, shaking his hand. "And yes, I'm from Earth. Egypt, actually."

Kazimir nearly spit out his food. "You're from earth?! I haven't met someone else born there in decades." He leaned over the table, looking at her closely. "You grow up there? How long you been out in space?"

"I accidentally stumbled into space about six months ago," she answers. "Then one of my, er...allies got us caught."

Now Maahes actually spit out his food. It had been one thing to suspect that Apophis - which was an entirely different issue in itself - was from Earth. It was another to hear confirmation for it, and then hear Kazimir make a comment that made it seem like he had also come from his beloved Earth.

"You both are from Earth," Maahes slowly said, looking them over in disbelief. "I'm from Earth, too!" It wasn't entirely correct, but it was close enough. Earth had become almost more of a home for him than the Other Place was.

Kazimir managed to swallow, laughing as Maahes spit back onto his plate. "Oh my god, are you serious? Ha! What are the odds?"