Dreams of power

Chapter 22:

The next week was a boring one. All the lights and cameras were now on John Kerry. Everyone was asking him questions about Iraq and war and poverty. Of course, the first couple of days after Election Day the news was covering Marik and how he was only two votes away from being in the White House.

Kerry and Edwards were as busy as ever dealing with people and their questions. When he gave his acceptance speech he rarely spoke of anything news related. All he said was how good it felt to finally assume his rightful place in America. He was on every channel almost every day. He was going to have to get used to all this extra attention.

Sanders had gone back to Los Angeles. Although he had kept passing out and was thinking about therapy, his life was starting to get back to normal. Even though he lost the race with Marik and Malik he was getting a little publicity from the small time government elections. You know, mayor and governor... he was getting by.

Kaiba had, as he said, returned home. Even though he house was in the same town as Marik and Malik, he tried to forget all the things that happened during that eleven months. Now that he was back he could concentrate on Kaiba Corp more, instead of trying to win an election. Although he forced himself to forget Marik and Malik... sometimes traces of their adventure would creep into his mind and he'd find himself with a small smile on his face.

Yami and Yugi were absolutely thrilled about the outcome of the election. They were tired of being thrown into closets and beaten up. Every now and then they'd call Marik and rub it in just a little bit more. But that stopped immediately when Marik put a horse's head in their bed. Since then... they kind of kept quiet.

As for Marik and Malik...

"Aw! We almost had it, Malik! Almost! It was so close... so, so close..."

"Come on, Marik. Get over it already. It's over."

Marik had been moping around the house for the past week. He just couldn't get it through his head that he and Malik had lost. Malik had that fact down, but his yami has always been... dramatic. So, to try and help his yami, Malik got rid of everything that reminded Marik of the past eleven months. The 'How to Become President' book they used before they got Kaiba and Sanders. The buttons and flags... all that was thrown away.

Actually, when the election was over and Marik and Malik came back for good... the neighborhood came back to reality. All the signs were taken from people's front yards, doors, and car windows. They put everything away. And as soon as all the spectators forgot the excitement of the election... they treated Marik like they did before he became famous... like a seventeen-year-old boy that terrorizes old people and makes daily life a living hell.

Malik was the only one that new how to control Marik during times like these. "Marik, forget about it... it'll only make you more upset." He said, sitting next to Marik on the couch.

"I can't forget about it!" He leaned back, "It's gnawing at me every day. Just two more votes... can you believe that? Two more votes and bam, we wouldn't ever have to worry about anything. We could've taken over easily and..."

"Do you really think it would have been that easy? To take over the world after winning one election?"

"Duh! Where have you been? America's got a great army and we would've used it to conquer the world!"

"We're lucky we got as far as we did in that race."

"Luck? How can you say that? All that was pure talent. Besides... it takes practice to win an election. No one wins on the first try."

"You kidding me? This was John Kerry's first time. And look at him... he's sipping guava juice in the oval office. It's sickening."

Marik tasseled his hikari's hair, "There's the Malik I know. Jealousy is a beautiful thing."

"... Do you think Kaiba and Sanders were the reason we got that far?"

"Kaiba? Maybe... his money was sure helpful. And Sanders just fainted all over the place."

"Do you think Kaiba hates us now?"

"No way. Kaiba's just a big softie at heart. No way in the world he'd hate us. Besides the fact that we're his only friends... we're just too damn adorable."

Malik giggled.

"But..." he sighed, "It still would have been nice to be on the White House right about now..."

"Aw, come on, Marik. This election is over. Everyone, including Kaiba, has probably forgotten the whole thing. You should too."

"Have you?"

"Well... no. But that's because awful-no, horrible things happened to me!"

"..."

"I almost got shot... twice. I was forced to kidnap someone. I was forced to videotape Bush and Michael Jackson. I was knocked out by a frying pan! And... I had to go on T.V way too many times to count. And you know I'm camera shy!"

"So, in short... you had the time for your life and you want to do it again."

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Yup." He sighed, "I wish it could've happened differently... I would have never told Kerry to vote if I knew the polls would be so... close."

"Well..." Malik smiled, "You know there's always next election."

"Huh?"

"Next election."

"Hey, I didn't even think about that!"

"That's what a vice president is for, silly. To give the president ideas so he'll look good."

"Vice presidents are the best idea ever." He winked.

"But, since the next election is along way away... we might as well go back to our old way of trying to achieve world domination. That'll get you're mind off things."

"Our old way?"

"You've forgotten already? Yugi and Yami came back from D.C yesterday. I think they're at the Game Shop."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about them. Right, so let's go."

Malik followed his yami off the sofa and out the door. As Marik turned around and locked the door a sign on the ground caught his eye.

He looked down and saw a blue and red sign that said, 'Go far with Ishtar'.

Malik, who was half way down the driveway, saw what Marik was looking at, "Come on, Marik! That millennium puzzle isn't gonna steal itself!"

"Right, I'm coming." He started to walk, 'Malik's right. I don't know what I'm moping about. After all... there's always 2008."

THE END...