A/N: Hello, hello! I'm back! Well, I did post something Friday, but I haven't posted anything here in a while. Anyway, I'd like to thank Qwerty1020, OneDoesNotSimplyWrite (again!), and Random comments inc for reviewing '1987', and thanks to everyone who favorited and followed both this and '1987'. Still, I have one thing I'd like help with:

I posted a poll on my profile. Basically, I have three stories I want to work on, and I'd like to know which one you'd like to read. If you could vote, it'd be much appreciated! (I also have a Tumblr blog, so if you'd like to see my ramblings about my stories and FNAF AU, ask and I'll shoot you the link!)

At any rate, regarding the story itself: This is another entry for another contest on Deviantart. This one focused on the three core emotions, and after getting Phantom Balloon Boy as a subject, I went with sadness. It's the first time I wrote something about the animatronics, as opposed to one of the humans, and I think I did pretty good. (Also, not to brag, but I got third place in the contest!)

At any rate, this is different from most of my others, more feelsy than scary, and like I said, from the P.O.V. of an animatronic, but I'm sure proud of this bad boy! Enjoy!

It's so quiet now.

It used to be loud, and fun. But now...

The kids are gone. The people are gone. My friends are gone.

My friends...

But I can get them back. I just know it. There's a locked room, and I know they're in there. I saw someone carry them in there. It was the first time I'd seen a person in... I don't know. It's been a long time.

I didn't get a good look at the box in their hands, but I saw my friends. I saw them. I saw Freddy's hat, Bonnie's guitar, Chica's arm- they seemed a bit mixed up, but that's alright. I can fix them. I know it! I just need to find them.

Easier said than done. Like I said, the room's locked, and I don't know where the key is. I tried to ask the person who put them in there where the key was, but he couldn't see me. Nobody can. I've seen a few more people, and nobody will tell me where the key is. It's like I'm just a ghost or something.

But I'm still looking. I'll find the key, and get my friends back, and fix them up, and we can play together again! Sure, there aren't any kids to play music for or give balloons to anymore, but that's fine. We'll still have each other.

If I can fix them.

I keep looking. Just need to find the key. Find the key, and they'll be free. Yeah!

I chant this little rhyme to myself every time I feel like giving up. It's hard, yeah, but when I have my friends back, it'll all be worth it!

Right?

I crawl under the table in the office. Maybe it's down here-

"L-l-lad, is that y-you?"

I straighten up, grinning. No way, it couldn't be... "Foxy?"

"A-aye, come out here, l-lad."

I stick my head out for a better look. He's even more beat-up than he was when I last saw him, and his color's all off, and his voice is all messed up, but I know it's him.

"Foxy!" I run up and give him a hug. He was really tall, so I could only hug his legs, but it doesn't matter. I'd finally found a friend!

We'd always worked together whenever we tried to get the night guard. He always took it so seriously, but I always thought of it like a game. I'd try to get in and steal the guard's flashlight so he'd stop flashing it at everyone (I know, real rude of him!) Anyway, after the restaurant closed, we didn't get to see each other again.

But now he's here! Maybe he'll know where the key is!

"W-well, ye be a sight f-for sore e-e-eyes," Foxy says, lifting me up to eye level. He smiles a toothy smile and said, "W-w-what are you d-doing here, m-m-m-mate-" His voice starts glitching and sputtering even worse.

"Are you OK?" I say, worried.

He growls quietly and shakes his head. After a moment, he speaks again. "Aye, sorry, matey. M-me voice ain't what it used to be." He looks at me again, saying, "B-but still, why are you here? D-didn't you and yer mates get s-scr-scraped?"

"Well, yeah, but I saw them! I saw them get locked in that room, but I don't know how to get it open. Can you help me?"

Foxy pauses, then says, "W-w-well, I saw a key upon the shelf up there, but I'm still not s-sure-"

"Yay! Can you get it down?" Yes! Foxy's going to help me, and now we'll all get to see each other again! I wasn't real close to the other old ones, but if Foxy was here, the others probably were too.

I grin, leading Foxy towards the door. I can't wait to see my friends again!

Arms. Legs. A few heads here and there. A hat. A guitar. A beak.

I sit there, looking at the box Foxy had dragged into the office. There isn't enough. There's no way I can fix them.

I pick up the paper plate bunny one of the kids had made, so long ago. "They're gone, aren't they?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I-I'm sorry, lad. I-I-I think they are."

I look away, crushed. I was sure, so sure, I could fix them, but now...

I see something hanging over the edge of the box. An arm with a hook on the end.

"Foxy? Is this yours?"

The bigger animatronic gently takes the arm from my hands. "It's.. it is. B-b-but how...? His eye focus on the box, and he freezes. "L-lad, is that... you?"

I hold the empty, damaged head in my hands. "Yeah, it is," I say, shocked. "But if this is me, how am I here?"

"I-I don't know, lad. T-t-tis strange, indeed."

I think for a second, then realize something.

If we can be here, even in pieces, maybe they can too.

So I'll wait. Surely they'll show up soon. They'll be back. I know it! They're my friends! They're won't leave me, right?

...Right?