It was a cold start up. How long had I been off? Too long, that's how long. My chronometer hadn't kicked in yet. That was a long time, then. Sluggishly, I sat up, my eyes unfocused. It was so blurry, everything was so blurry. Every synthetic muscle in my body felt tight and knotted and numb. Very uncomfortable. I tried my best to shake the numbness from my head but it wasn't working at all.

As everything started to come into focus, I saw that I was at least wearing my clothes - but they were covered in dust, as if I'd been lying here for years. Maybe I had been? I didn't like that thought. It made me feel very lonely.

One year. It had been just under a year since I was last activated. Why so long? What happened? Everything seemed so foggy and cold. I looked down at my hands, hands that were trembling. What happened? And why was I so cold?

I tried looking around but my neck was too stiff and my eyes were too blurry. I rubbed the back of my neck, groaning with discomfort. That was when I found the wire sticking out of my neck, which sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to pull it out, but something told me not to do it. It was a bad idea, for some reason.

I was lying on sort of a metal bench with soft padding. There was a bright spotlight overhead casting light around me, and the rest of the room was pitch black. I couldn't tell how big the room was. All I could tell was that it was cold and dark and unfamiliar. Was this what it was like to have nightmares? Maybe it was a good thing I could never sleep after all…

I heard something move in the shadows. I did my best to look around, but I could still see nothing past the blackness. It was as if somebody had swept an impenetrable curtain of black around this bench thing I was sat on. I tried to ask who was there but all that came out was disjointed syllables.

My head was starting to feel really heavy. My eyelids were drooping and dropping. So heavy. I lay my head back down on the bench, waiting for something, anything, to happen. The room was silent, and there wasn't even the barest hint of any wind.

It was scaring me. It was so cold and lonely in this room. For how long was I going to be stuck here? I rolled onto my side, curled into a ball, and shut my eyes, waiting for something to happen.

The minutes dragged on and on. The way the seconds lagged was painful. It was almost as if they were sticky or drunk or some third thing that would slow something down. I heard something else move in the dark, but when I opened my eyes there was still nothing but blackness outside of the spotlight. I closed them again. The blackness was frightening. I couldn't tell what lay beyond it, what was watching me. I curled a little tighter. I wasn't sure whether I was shivering from the cold or shivering with fear. Either way, I was still shivering.

I was beginning to notice the wires trailing in and out of my body in various places, snaking under clothes and slipping into my skin. It reminded me of how much of a machine I really was in the end. I didn't like that. It was ever so painful to think that I wasn't as human as I felt.

There was something in my pocket. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed it before, but it was there. Sluggishly, I reached in to grab it, and pulled it out. I couldn't remember putting anything in my pocket, but then again I couldn't remember much at all at that moment. I did my best to pull the object close to my face, where my blurry eyes could best make sense of if.

It was a bluish oblong shape with holes in it, but it was covered in cracks with splinters sticking out here and there. There was a rounded cone-shaped mouth piece as well. It was an ocarina. More than that, it was my ocarina. Somebody gave it to me. I could only half remember who it was. It was as if the memory had dulled and faded. I could remember nothing but a face.

All of a sudden I felt even lonelier. I held the ocarina close to my heart. I didn't feel any better. Something was trailing slowly down my cheek. Was that a tear? Probably.

So here I was. Alone in a dark room on a cold bench with wires trailing in and out of me, holding a broken instrument as close to my heart as I could. I had no idea where I was or how I got here. Where was… he? Him? I couldn't seem to remember his name. Wasn't he supposed to look after me? I wanted to cry, but I was too… tired? Was it tiredness that I felt?

Once more I heard something move. I opened only one eye - but this time I could see somebody, half shrouded by shadow. I pushed myself once more into a sitting position, staring blindly into the black.

"Hello, Miku," She said plainly.

"L….Lu...ka?"