I'm still alive! And as promised, the sequel to Equilibrium is finally here!

First, I'd like to say Happy Birthday to Athrun! I thought it would be fitting to post on his birthday (It's still Oct 29 where I live :P)

And Happy 10th Anniversary to Gundam Seed!

Both the title and the rating of this story are subject to change at this point, as it is still very much in the works. This is simply a prologue for those who have either not read Equilibrium, or have forgotten what happened. If you do not feel that you fall into either of these categories, feel free to skip over this chapter. For those who have not read the original, you will probably be able to follow this story, but be warned, there are a fair few OC's, and I know not everyone is into that.

I'm going to try something new for this story as well. I've never been keen on the idea of 'song-fics', but I'm going to try to base each chapter after a song as I've found lately that it helps to guide me through a chapter. So (hopefully) each chapter, not including this one, will be named after a song. I may post some lyrics at the end, but you are encouraged to go listen to that song after you've read the chapter!

While I'm fairly certain you all know this, I do not own Gundam Seed (or 00 for that matter), nor do I own any of the song that may be mentioned.

Enjoy~

Chapter 0: Prologue

It would be inaccurate to say that the last year and a half of my life has been a roller coaster. Perhaps it's simply because a roller coaster implies that one goes up and down, and in a world filled with futile clichés, this implies that life goes from high to low points. I personally don't think I hit a high point in the last 12 months. Instead, things remained at the tedious bottom section of the roller coaster; the part where you're just waiting for the ride to get better.

Anyway, it all started when Junius Seven was attacked and destroyed, taking my mother along with it. This occurrence set in motion a string of events that continues to unravel in a way I'm not sure I approve of. The first step was applying to the military. Of course, when my best friend, Kira, heard that I was applying on my own he simply wouldn't have it, and he followed me. We arrived at the academy, made some new friends, began some new lessons, and all that 'fun' stuff. From day one though, I was unsure as to why I was really there. What was it that provoked me? Did I simply feel powerless? Did I really want to do something to change the world? Or did I just have a mid-(teenage)-life crisis?

At the academy, I met Nicol and Hylas who shared a dorm with Kira and me. Nicol was your run of the mill, average but overly kind teenager. Hylas was slightly further behind Nicol, or any of us for that matter. He had to work much harder to accomplish things that we were all able to do so easily. I took him under my wing as my surrogate little brother, and I rather enjoyed having him around. Maybe it just made me feel useful. I also met Yzak, Dearka, Rey and Shinn. This whole group with the exception of Ray had an overwhelming sense of pride and a matching temper. Shinn especially disliked me from the get go. I also met Lunamaria, a girl in my dorm who I think I came to be interested in. Think being the key word there. Another girl from her dorm surfaced, and I quickly realized it was our childhood friend, Lacus, in disguise with her hair dyed black and going by the name of Monica. She had left a girl back home named Meer to act in her place. My interactions with these people were what governed my future at the academy. I instantly fell for Lunamaria, but this was problematic since I knew that she and Shinn had some kind of history. I might have called it ironic that Shinn and I were paired up for most of our lessons throughout the term, but now I simply want to call it cruel. Things became most heated between us when he lost his patience and wounded me during a martial arts class. Something he had definitely been holding back came out, and I realized why he had it out for me. Apparently my father, the chairman of the PLANTs had had his parents deported to Junius Seven, along with many other naturals living in the plants with their families, not long before it was destroyed. For this reason, he hated me. The commander of our group, Mu La Flaga did his best to clear the air between us, and we managed to reach a ceasefire for the time being. However, things continued to go downhill from there. I met with my father whom I hadn't seen spoken to since arriving at the academy. He had sold the house where I'd lived with him and my mother, and purchased a condo in the city outside of the academy for me. He then brought up my 'behavior' at the academy so far. Needless to say, that conversation didn't end well. That was the only time he ever hit me.

Things didn't get much better after that. I was promoted to a ZAFT Red, but apparently became none the wiser. That very night I slept with Lunamaria. I had never hated myself so much for one single act. I knew she was close with Shinn, and despite the peace we had made, I carried out the horrendous act. The aftermath wasn't any better. Shinn confronted me and I left him, completely ruined, outside of my dorm. That night was not the first time I'd ever hurt myself. I've been battling self injury for some time now. But it was the worst up to that point. Fortunately, Lacus, or Monica as I am to call her, found me and pulled me back together. Again though, things continued to get worse. My self-proclaimed younger brother Hylas became ill. The problem was that coordinators don't get sick like that. He admitted to us that something had gone wrong when his parents had decided to make him a coordinator. So it appeared on a genetic test that he was like us, but his illness said otherwise. With the help of Monica, Kira and Nicol, we managed to get him out of the PLANTs alive. Unfortunately the Supreme Council had already caught word, and I was arrested. My father attempted to have Hylas's whereabouts beaten out of me. Lucky for Hylas I didn't know where he had gone. That chapter of my life came to a close when my father shot me. I woke up back at the academy, but things would never be the same after that. I lost Hylas and my father that day.
It wasn't long before Hylas was replaced at the academy, and a new recruit who went by the name of Tieria Erde occupied our dorm. I initially could not stand him, perhaps simply because he had taken my friend's place so quickly. He was arrogant, anti-social and gave off the worst vibe possible. Much to my dismay, Tieria, Nicol, Shinn, Rey and I were sent out on an emergency mission to provide support for another group. We had a decent amount of mobile suit training at that point, but were not yet licensed pilots. The battles were terrifying. The idea that I was killing soldiers out there that were just like me haunted me for days. More than once, Tieria took hits for the rest of us, and was injured to protect us. It was then that things turned around between the two of us, and we have since welcomed him into our circle of friends. On that mission, even Shinn and I began to get along again. But no sooner than it had been repaired, the bond between us was strained further. I made the mistake a second time, and slept with Lunamaria. I don't know what I was thinking, and I was disgusted with myself.

What happened next was undoubtedly what I would consider rock bottom. Things became tense with Shinn once again, and during the pilot licensing test, things got ugly. We were sparring in the ZAKUs when 'shit really hit the fan'. We lost it with each other and went at it. Someone jumped between us to break us up, but it was too late. The pilot who attempted to referee us was left wide open, and just before he was struck, I realized it was Kira. All three of us were injured, Kira the worst of all. He was left paralyzed and in a coma, and for two agonizing weeks, we were unsure if he would wake up.

Things finally turned around for me when my best friend woke up, and it became clear that he would make a full recovery. But I would never forgive myself for what happened. It didn't need to be said. It took my best friend almost dying for Shinn and I to realize that this was not a game. Shinn's friend Rey along with Lunamaria were sent out with a team into the field, as we haven't since heard from them. A new girl arrived to take Luna's place; a girl that I quickly fell for. I knew from the beginning that Sienna was like me. Her traumatic past was written all over her. Yet somehow, together we found comfort. She and I grew very close, and if not for the following event, we probably would have made a very good couple.

But in the end, Kira, Shinn, Tieria and I were announced as the latest team to graduate from the ZAFT academy. After all, we did not attend the academy to meet future spouses or make friends; we were there to be trained to protect our nation and its ideals. We left the academy and our friends and are now about to embark on a new journey; one that I'm sure will be just as much of a 'roller coaster' as the last one.