Xo: So, this is based off of a memoir I had to write for my English class. It's supposed to be insanely cryptic and confusing with a whole bunch of underlying meanings. Have fun trying to figure it out!

Notes: Overanalysis is recommended and if you're close to the meaning, I'll let you know! Also, "you" are Yugi.

Warnings: Psychotic Atem.

o~o~o~o~o~o

You feel it long before you finish it. The power blinds you, stuns your unprepared eyes with its terrible glory that could strike fear into even the stone hearts of men. There is no running from it, you realize. You are trapped within its light, it is unknown to you and you fear it. It overwhelms your senses, takes over your mind with its horrible vibrancy.

The shadows curl around you, holding your in their tightening clutches. Where they come from, nobody knows. You are the one trapped by them, held down where you cannot get away. Held down where there is no hope. You wait. Wonder. Are you lost in the impenetrable darkness? There is but one shot, one opportunity. Would you take it if you could? Can you? It is in your mind, haunting you.

And so you wait. Watch. Wonder. When will it take you? When will it ever let you go?

He clings to you. "Please." He begs. "There's nothing but me."

Can you leave him behind if you could? Can you let go of what you worked so hard to create and embrace an uncertain future?

"There's nothing for you without me. No where for you to go where I won't follow." He reminds you in his beautiful, deep, voice. "There's nothing but me."

You glance around, but there is nobody there. Nobody but you, alone in a cold room. What are you seeing? What are you hearing? What is it hanging over you shoulder, your cross to bear? What is the weight upon your chest that makes it so hard to breathe?

"You won't succeed." He reminds you. "There's nothing but me."

You can't shake him, can't get him to stop whispering in your mind. How he wants you. How he desires you. How he lusts for you. Fingers crawl down your spine.

"Stay with me. Stay where you know you belong." He murmurs so softly, a velvet tickle in your ear. "There's nothing but me."

What does he mean? Don't you belong? You don't understand. What does he want from you? What have you lost? What is this thing that you somehow hold in your hands but cannot see, cannot feel?

"There is nobody to be. No one to create." He grips your shoulders and yet, when you pause to glance, to question, there is nobody there. "There's nothing but me."

Who is he? Who are you? How would you know? Change? What is change? Why is this happening to you? It was just a puzzle! A game to play and now he's playing you. What is there now What now?

"There is no new day. Nothing for you." He slides his fingers up and rests them upon your neck, over your veins, admiring the flutter of your heart. "There's nothing but me."

Faces. Faces. Where are all the familiar faces? He touches you, holds you, won't let you go. They left you! Left you alone with him! Left you trapped inside your mind where you can't get away. He wants you. Wants you all to himself.

"There's nothing for you." He repeats. "Nothing but me." He pushes you, pushes you up against the wall.

How will you escape? Do you want to? What is this thing that holds you in place?

You stand. Wait. Wonder. Where are you? Who are you? How did you get here? Why are you here? The confusion takes you over, you try to hide from it. You're not ready yet. Not ready to let go.

"Let go. Come to me." He whispers lovingly. You wonder. Who is he? "I am you."

Who are you?

I am you.

The pieces. A puzzle. You loved it, cherished it. It was your heart, your soul, your mind. It's ruling you and there is no where to run, no where to hide. Why did you slide the last bit together? You can't remember.

Love. Friendship. Future.

What future?

No future.

Fear consumes you, a burning fire in your veins. It screams at you: "Come! Come! Come!" A sick chant that haunts you.

"Give in."

Give in to what?

Give in to me.

You duck, try to run, try to escape but you know the truth. You are helpless. Worthless. Weak. Pathetic in his arms for you cannot break free of your self-induced cage. You set him free and now you have trapped yourself within him. Love means nothing to him. Possession. His. Friendship is nothing. They will never come for you. They will never know what happened to you. He will not ever let you tell them. There is no future, only now. And there is no now.

His fingers play across your throat like silk against the softest of skins. "Don't you see? We are meant to be together." He murmurs. Oh, how he wants you! "There's nothing but me."

So afraid. It's all fading away. The sounds are gone, the light is gone, you are gone. Gone to a place where he will keep you forever. A place of no return and no escape. Only you see the cage coming, the glass of the place of eternal sleep will he will hold you, pray to you. No now. Not ever.

A dream, please let it be a dream! You beg. Who are you begging? Who will save you? Why can't you just wake? Why can't you just rip it apart and free yourself from him? Save me. Save me. Save me from the darkness that he is. Save me from the helplessness.

"Everything is alright. You're here with me..." He caresses you so gently, you blood boiling in your veins. "There's nothing but me."

Hold. Hold on. Hold on tight. It's a ride, a thrill so terrifying that you can't get back off. The sound of his voice, the feel of his skin, burns you and yet chills your soul. Death. You are dying inside. You can't escape it. You can't escape him. It is forever broiled into your mind, into your soul as a white hot scar that will never let you rest.

"The truth is that you had nothing until me. No tomorrow. No day. No night. Just one thing. Just me." He kisses your neck. You shiver. "There's nothing but me."

Your eyes snap open, gasping, breathing. You are agaisnst the wall, palms flat. He's coming! Coming for you! You aren't ready. You don't know what to do.

What is happening to you? He tugs at your mind softly. What is going on? You've lost yourself in the ruby of his eyes. How he hangs over you, clings to you like a lonely shadow and you are the light that defines his darkness. Why? Why?

He tugs harder.

He holds you. Touches you. Wants you. He can't be satiated.

"There's nothing but me."

Ra, how it's dark. How it's so dark. You are all alone. They will never rescue you from his clutches. They believe his perfect lies. You once believed them too. Now it's too late to get out. No where to go. No where to stay. No where to be. You have been forsaken.

"Nobody can take you away from me. You're mine." He mutters in your ear. "There's nothing but me."

No reason. What reason? You look within, within who? Within you. Find it. What is it? You don't know. You're scared to know.

"Empty inside. You're empty without me. Let me fill you." A stroke upon your pallid cheek. "There's nothing without me."

Empty inside. Where is it? What fits inside?

Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?

Who are you? What has happened to you?

Find it. Find it. Find it.

What is it? Why? What are you searching so desperately for?

Love. Love. Love.

Space. Empty space.

"Nothing for you without it. Nothing for me without it." Fingers come closing in. "There's nothing without me."

How could you have missed it?

You doubt. You doubt everything.

"You cannot leave me." He coos, breath upon your ear, burning with a fiery desire. "There's nothing without me."

You fall away, fall away to another world. Yourself. You lost yourself in the world of demons in the night, the world of nightmares. You can never wake up.

You thirst for salvation. You need it.

Reality. He is here, holding you, clutching you to him. You are weak. What do you do? Do you fight, survive? Do you give in? He kissed your cheek, a reminder.

Don't go. Don't leave me.

You stand, shaky. Weak. Pathetic. You can't give in. Can't give in to his evil. You can wake back up.

A brush against you skin.

You'll never get rid of me. I am you. Stay with me.

Fight. Fight on. Somehow. Someday. You raise your hand. He takes it. Fingers weave together. The world moves on without you, time nothing but a shooting star, a short moment of glory and then eternal darkness. You look into those bloody eyes and lean in.

"Take me away from here." He closes the distant. His mouth on yours, everything you once desired. Everything you live for. The taste of hot desert sand and exotic spice will forever haunt you. His touch frees you from your eternal damnation. He sets you free.

He takes you away, away to place where time cannot touch you. Locked within your mind, forever asleep so that nothing can mar you. You are his. Only his.

How it ends the agony within.

o~o~o~o~o~o

Xo: The writing style is fairly similar ti Just Me but in a longer format. These two aren't related at all. What Atem actually does to Yugi is up for debate. Haha, you can ask if you're confused! I think my English teacher thinks there's something wrong with me... I really need to write some real fluff. I have a short story in mind for that. (I tend to write extremely emo one-shots. Depressing, isn't it?)

Updates on the other stories are coming up, so brace yourselves!