Love Repaired

Chapter 1

"Log entry eight-hundred fifty-one," a teal-haired girl said, speaking into a small, gray tape recorder, "the new Megurine Luka unit, Megurine Luka V4x, is almost complete. It should be up and running with just a few minor tweaks."

After completing the recording, the girl sighed. Turning away from her latest creation, she looked around the small lab. The walls were completely dull and gray. There were cogs and gears from failed inventions scattered here and there.

Was this really what she had become? She was solitary and introverted. Unless she needed materials for a project, it was rare for her to step foot outside. And to think that she is, no- was, the world's most popular electronic diva, Hatsune Miku.

She used to be cheerful, bright, and extraordinary, pushing the limits of what technology could do. Now? Now, she wasn't any better than the pile of junk parts over in the corner.

But, how? How did that joyful, charismatic girl become this boring, lifeless shell?

The simple answer is an accident. An accident that destroyed Luka's main control panel, rendering all of her functions impossible. In basic, non-scientific terms, it killed her. Since then, Miku had decided to dedicate her life to repairing Luka with her own, two hands. Even if no one supported her.

But, it definitely hadn't come without a mental and emotional toll. Especially when Master kept insisting that her efforts were useless and, despite her protests, creating the plans for another Megurine Luka unit.

And, just when Miku's morale had hit it's lowest point, just when she was becoming tired of tinkering and researching year after year with no (desired) results, Master had come to her with the completed plans for Megurine Luka V4x, telling her that he wanted her to be in charge of the project. Desperate to do something that actually yielded the results she craved for once since she had quit singing and turned to science, Miku accepted.

She glanced over at the new unit again. It looked just like the old one. The differences were all on the inside. The new Megurine Luka V4x unit was built to have specs that the old Luka wouldn't even be able to imagine. Perhaps the most important modification, though, was her voice. The new unit would have 4 different voicebanks for ultimate expression of emotions, better English pronunciation, and a more clear and beautiful singing voice overall than the previous unit.

...And it was almost complete.
Right now, she was taking a break. Once she made those few modifications and booted the new unit up, there would be no going back. She would have officially given up on revivng Luka as she knew her.

Tearing her eyes away from the object that was causing her so much pain, she walked to the other end of the room. There, in a single pod, rested a robot with pink hair and an elaborate, black Chinese dress with gold trim.

"Luka," Miku said softly, her eyes brimming with tears, "I'm sorry. I tried so hard.

She reached forward, stroking the robot girl's cheek with her fingertips. She couldn't help but to notice how much softer the synthetic skin was compared to the skin of her successor.

She decided to turn away before she could begin to cry. However, just when she had begun to walk back to her work desk, she heard a voice she hadn't heard in years.

"Hello?"