Capital City is indeed the land of heroes and villains...but little did I ever know how ruthless they truly were.

I had came to the underground arena to participate in the 'Tournament of Champions' on a cold Thursday evening, where one of the fights in the Quarter-Finals had already begun. It was Jay Bird and Merritt Evil...and the two were absolutely destroying each other in the 'Fight-Zone', as it were called by the large sign. The fight-zone was a large, barren area surrounded with plexiglass, which was sustained with some sort of a forcefield to make sure it wouldn't break under the pressure of the powers within.

All I knew was...what I was witnessing was more then just a fight--it was hell itself. The darkest, coldest part of Capital City...it was all within this place.

Sleazy drug dealers walked the stairs of the arena, offering their products to the raging fans, who cried out for blood as they threw various items at the forcefield, trying to distract the compeditor they opposed. Little did I know just how dangerous this would be for all of us...for when I looked up above the dome holding in the raging warriors, I saw a particular sign hanging above...a sign which read 'In the zone...anything goes'.

Anything...even death.

My eyes darted back into the dome, where I watched in horror as the weakened Merritt Evil was brought crashing to the ground by Jay Bird, who then put all his strength into one single, powerful punch...a punch which not only snapped Merritt's spine completely, but punctured through the skin and allowed Jay to put his weight further into it, pushing his fist straight into the insides of the horrified and painstricken Merrit Evil.

I closed my eyes as the blood began to flow, hearing Merrit's screams of pain over the cheering fans clearly. It just wasn't right...it...it was not right at all. No-one, villain or not, should have to suffer like that...and yet there it was before me.

Chris, my own best friend, had just sent me into the bowels of hell...and there was no way I could escape it.

It was one thing to kill a villain to protect the people...but to kill them just to win a simple fight? What justice was this? How could someone call themselves a hero after doing such a thing?

I just...God, I just don't know.

I'm sorry, folks...I guess in a way my ideals with how to be a hero sometimes don't match with those of the others. You see, in Capital City...though the heroes and villains may be at war with one another, we are also at war with ourselves. The ideals of certain heroes often-times clash with others, inciting bloody battles which bring the question to many..."How do we know that our heroes are truly heroes?"

To be honest...I myself still ask that question, too.

Anyway, I suppose I should continue to explain what had happened to me on that night, shouldn't I? Okay then...here I go.

I was the next to be called to the 'zone'.

It was hardly even 20 minutes after I had arrived that I was told to be ready for my fight...and I could feel the vomit building inside of me. There was simply no way I could wish to kill a fellow hero, and I prayed that Souless felt the same. Entering that place, in front of all those screaming fans...well, it wasn't as I felt when I protected my city in the past. I felt so out-of-place there...these people were the street-rats of society, the people who would kill you simply to get money for alcohol and drugs. When I had first came to that place I was expecting a bit better then what I'd seen...I wasn't expecting a grand arena where proud warriors would fight within, but I was certainly not expecting to have to fight in a place like that.

I hadn't even known that Capital City held places like that...it was sickening.

Nevertheless, when Souless entered the zone, he too had that sickly look in his eye. The both of us seemed to share the same ideals, thankfully...and I knew that no matter what, I would come out of this thing alive.

Of course...it's hard to judge things so quickly and still be correct.

It was only 5 minutes into our battle when Souless lost it and began throwing all he could throw at me, his attacks no-longer sporting...but deadly.

He was looking to kill me...I could see that in his eyes. It was a look that truly frightened me...but brought me more determination then ever before.

Our fight continued to rage as the minutes turned to half an hour, the fans forever chanting for blood, chanting for gore...chanting for death--and Souless was more then ready to give them that. He was collapsing before me, his entire moral structure was being torn apart as he submitted his will to that of the people in the stands.

Never before had I seen such a sight...a hero breaking down and becoming a villain before my very eyes.

My staff was blocking so many of his onslaughts--punches, kicks...even psychic energy blasts. Chris was wrong when he told me that this Souless fellow was nothing more then a street magician...he had powers far beyond anything that I had expected. By the end of the match, I'd sustained so much damage I was afraid that even if I somehow managed to make it away alive...I wouldn't get through the next round.

However, when one allows himself to be consumed with hatred...one opens himself to attack. Souless' moves were becoming erratic, and it allowed me to strike him down with my staff one final time.

His body hitting the ground signified my victory...but the fans were not satisfied. They knew my shot did not kill Souless, they knew he was merely knocked out from the blow...and they began to chant for his death. Their chants still echo throughout my mind, 'Kill him!' they screamed at me, 'Kill him!'

Yet I didn't...I walked away.

I refused to let his blood stain my hands, I refused to have to remember the day that I broke my heroic code of honor to satisfy the bloodlust of a few hundred people.

Thankfully...my actions inspired the rest to not bring death to their fallen opponents, and instead simply walk away. By the end of the day, only the heroes remained...the villains successfully dispelled from a shot at whatever the prize was that we would receive upon victory.

Jay Bird, myself, Sugar Smack, and Violent Clown...the four of us made it to the semi-finals.

The four of us made it to today.