66. Reagan vs Lincoln XI: A Fall

“Nine…”

Taft stopped counting as Lincoln stood back to his full height.

“Are you able to keep fighting?” Taft asked as he studied Lincoln’s tattered body.

“I’m right as rain,” Lincoln remarked, stretching out his arms with a smile. “Honestly, I could have risen around the third count or so, but I wanted to stay and rest for a moment. After all, I knew that if my body trembled as I rose, all who examined me would say I hesitated.”

He looked over to Reagan.

“But I’m done with hesitating…now, is the time for action!”

Taft nodded his head.

“Then let the match…resume!”

Reagan started readying her bow, only for a bloodstained Lincoln to teleport in front of her.

“Did you think I’d stay away and heal my wounds like before?” he grinned, drawing back a punch. “Not this time!”

He slammed his fist into Reagan, pushing her back. Reagan gritted her teeth as the stars around her shifted into their scorpion form.

“Star Wars; Scorpio!” she screamed, piercing her stinger into Lincoln’s shoulders. Reagan smiled, only for Lincoln to smash his other fist into her stomach without batting an eye from her attack.

“Spread as much of your poison as you wish!” Lincoln exclaimed while continuing his barrage. “I’m done playing things safe and easy! No matter how much damage you inflict, no matter how much it costs me; I will continue on! I will never back down. I will never surrender!”

Reagan took a heavy hit to her gut, followed by a fierce uppercut to the chin.

“Fine!” she screamed with a scowl. “If you aren’t going to go back and heal your wounds, then I have no need to hold back my attacks!”

The stars shifted into a pair of stary hooves along her arms together with a set of curly horns atop her head.

“Executive Power!” Reagan screamed, slamming a starry hoof into Lincoln’s head, jerking his body back, “Star Wars; Aries!”

Lincoln turned his head back to face Reagan, but he staggered as his vision started to blur. Lincoln hastily stepped to the side, dodging another strike aimed at his temple, only to take a follow up hit to his chest. Lincoln tightened his jaw from the blow, then twisted his grimace into a sickening grin as he extended his arm to the side.

“Executive Power: Abolition!”

Lincoln’s axe instantly appeared in his hands as Reagan gave a click of her tongue.

“Star Wars; Cancer!” she shouted, shifting into crab form just before Lincoln struck her with his axe.

“Abolition!” Lincoln screamed. “Abolition! Abolition! Abolition!”

Lincoln swung forth with a continuous stream of attacks as Reagan curled deeper into herself, barely keeping her guard against the overwhelming force of Lincoln’s attacks.

Then, just as Lincoln drew his axe back for his mightiest blow yet, a dizzy spell flowed through him. This, combined with the heavy weight of the weapon he held behind him, forced Lincoln to teeter back. Reagan, spotting this moment of weakness, lunged forward.

“This is where you fall!” she screamed.

“No,” Lincoln replied, tightening every muscle in body, forcing his back to hover just above the ground without toppling over. “It’s a slip…and not a fall!”

Lincoln whipped his body out with tremendous force, tearing through Reagan with his axe…his weapon meeting her without any sense of resistance.

“You truly are amazing,” Reagan’s clone spoke as it faded into stars, “which is precisely why I knew you wouldn’t go down so easily!”

Lincoln struggled to turn around from the heavy momentum of his swing as the real Reagan leapt from behind the fading doppelganger.

“Star Wars; Aries!” Reagan shouted as she shifted back into her ram form.

Reagan smashed her forehead into his, releasing an audible crack from Lincoln’s skull as her head collided into his. Lincoln’s axe slipped out of his hands as his body fell over, his eyes rolling back.

Reagan let out a grin, her victory all but assured.

“…a slip…”

Reagan dropped her smile as Lincoln reached out, wrapping his fingers around Reagan’s shoulders.

“…and not a fall!”

Lincoln smashed his head into Reagan’s, throttling her back.

Reagan gritted her teeth, then took Lincoln’s shoulders into her own hands and swung herself forward with everything she had.

“Gahhh!”

“Shaahh!”

The two Presidents smashed their heads into each other, the sound of their crashing skulls reverberating across the stadium. The fighters stayed up for a moment before dropping in unison, neither of them moving a muscle.

“Time out!” Taft screamed, rushing to the fighters while the crowd watched in silence.

As Taft reached the Presidents, one of them rose off the ground. Taft quickly checked on their opponent, verifying that they were indeed unconscious. Taft stood up, then slammed his gavel to the ground.

“The match is over,” Taft spoke slowly, “the winner, is…”

=====================================================================================

=====================================================================================

Hesitated. Abraham Lincoln shook a lot of hands shortly before signing the famed Emancipation Proclamation (freeing the slaves in the South), causing his hand to tremble when he picked up the pen. He then put down the pen, saying "If my name ever goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, 'He hesitated.'" After waiting a bit longer, he wrote down his name, saying “That will do” with a smile.