This is the Alternate Happy Ending to a Story I wrote. If you're after a Bad End instead, you can find the original Story Here:

Octransfur 2024: Prize

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

25) ‘Prize’ (Good Ending)

‘Plush 100% Guaranteed on Bonus Round!’ The sign on the claw machine had said, LED lights flashing tantalisingly on the surface of its case. And it was only a single dollar per attempt! It seemed too good to be true. And it was, you soon discovered, as you watched your friend burn through their entire stash of spare change attempting to snag a plush fox, before once more failing to grasp a plushie during the ‘bonus round’, before the claw suddenly lunged out of the machine, grasping them and dragging them inside as their body rapidly shrunk down, insides filling with stuffing as their hands shrunk down into tiny plush claws, their legs kicking and thrashing as a thin tail tipped with fur sprouted out from behind them, before their entire lower body was suddenly coated in golden fluff, resembling that of a plush lion! You watched their clothes vanish as they were sucked through the window of the claw machine, just in time for a pair of miniature avian wings to sprout from their back, the felt fabric flopping uselessly as a ruffle of rusty brown fur sprouted around their neck and their ears were drawn into golden feline points. Your friend was only able to let out one last cry for help, barely audible over the noise of the Arcade, before their face pushed out into a large plush beak, stitched together into a friendly grin, as they were unceremoniously dropped atop the pile of other plushies. Their stitched on eyes glanced around in confusion, as you just looked on in stunned silence. Well… now you understood what the sign had been referring to… not that you were guaranteed to win a plush, but become one if you failed.

And now your friend was trapped inside as a plush Gryphon, their stuffing filled body struggling to stand upright, let alone move as they stumbled to the prize chute, fabric wings fluttering as they tried their hardest to get out, their plush limbs not even coming close to reaching over the towering walls surrounding it. There was only way you'd be able to get them out, and that would be to win them back. You opened up your wallet, staring down at its contents. You had 27 dollars. But unfortunately, it seemed the machine only accepted $1 or $2 coins, of which you only had… three. Three attempts to rescue your friend.

You briefly considered hurrying to the coin exchange machine, but in a bustling arcade such as this, did you really want to risk someone else coming along and winning your friend? Plus, it looked like whatever curse or… thing that had happened to them wasn't finished, their limbs growing more sluggish by the second. And if you were to consider they weren't the first person to ever lose this ‘game’, well, you only had a limited amount of time before they joined the lifeless pile of plushies beneath them! You'd just have to play with what you had and hope you won…

With tense, clammy hands, you inserted the first coin, and started to play. The machine whirled to life, colorful lights glimmering as a cheerful tune played from its worn speakers, incongruent with the rather high-stakes situation you now found yourself in, tightly gripping the joystick as you tried your hardest to position the claw as precisely as you could above your friend, making minute adjustments to the left and right to ensure it was directly atop them, pressing the button as the claw dropped down towards them. Perhaps a bit too direct, as the metallic arm fell square onto their head, knocking them over with a faint squeak. Before they were able to recover, the claw had already begun to slowly retract, its slow speed almost taunting their tiny plush body as they tried to jump up and grab the metallic appendages, felt wings flapping desperately to no avail. With a faint ‘click’, the claw finished its movement towards the bin, and then reset, the counter on the tiny LED Screen ticking down. So, that didn't go too well, but you still had two more tries, right? You could do this…

You wiped your hands off on your pants. It was shocking how much a simple crane game could make you sweat, but considering the stakes, it was not too surprising. You once again grasped the Joystick, and the music and lights whirled to life once more. This time, you make sure to angle the claw slightly to the side of your friend, glancing down towards them every so often to ensure you were lining it up correctly. What you saw was concerning. Their movements were definitely slowing down, their legs buckling slightly with every step they made over the uneven pile of plushies beneath them, as they also tried to line themselves up with the claw.

“Okay, get ready to grab on!” You exclaimed as you waited for the claw to stop swaying, the timer slowly counting down. You weren't sure if they heard you through the thick plastic. Was that a nod, or just them trying to fight the encroaching lethargy of their body? You didn't have the time to spare, pressing the button as the claw once again dropped down, barely missing them as its jaws snapped shut around the tail of an alligator. Your friend, not missing their chance, jumped for it, squeezing themselves into its grasp, plush stubs wrapped tightly around one of its metal prongs as the claw began to retract, lifting them out towards their freedom. You had hope. This had to work!

The claw finished retracting, jolting to a stop, click sounding out as it locked into place. But with that sudden jolt, your friend was jostled from where they currently hung, starting to slowly slip down towards the bottom of the claw, unwieldy plush claws struggling to maintain their grasp, the soft fabric not designed to grip stainless steel as their legs tried to balance on the curving prongs, the intended weakness of the claw already showing itself once more as it struggled to hold their weight. Desperate, they clung tightly to their prong in a bear hug, only to slip further as the claw moved towards the chute, swaying and swinging with every janky movement of its motor, each arc causing them to slip just a little bit further.

The lethargy was clearly getting to them too, their attempts at recovery growing weaker and weaker as their movements slowed. Their hindlegs slipped free from the prongs, leaving them dangling helplessly as they slid down, barely hanging on to the now lopsided claw as it rocked its way to their freedom. And just when you thought they might just make it to the chute, their body finally gave out, going limp, and with another jostle of the claw, they were sent tumbling back down, collapsing in a pile as the counter slowly ticked down, demanding another coin to continue. You watched, waiting for them to get back up, but their body lay lifeless. Was it over? Was your friend doomed to be just another plush to be won from the machine?

Just as you were about to give up, you saw the faintest hint of motion, a twitch of their wings, the ever so slight shifting of their tail. There was still a chance. And you couldn't just abandon them now. With their body barely strong enough to even lift their head up to match your gaze, it was now all up to you. You readied your final coin, and grabbed the joystick as the machine started up once again. You moved the claw almost surgically, having learnt from your previous two attempts how to move it. How it would stutter when making short movements, making it better to attempt sweeping movements back and forth along each axis until both were lined up with the slumped body of your friend. You even made sure the prongs were properly lined up with their body. You weren't risking it trying to scam you by only grabbing onto their wings or tail. You used all 60 seconds of that timer to make absolutely certain there was no way for that claw to fail to grab their body. And as the numbers ticked down from 9 to 8, you pressed the button. There was nothing more you could do, it was all up to the whims of the machine now.

The claw dropped down, every moment seeming to take an eternity, almost like the machine itself was building up the suspense. It reached their body, prongs snapping shut underneath their plush torso, success! Your friend's feather tipped tail flopped weakly as they were slowly dragged up into the air. It was practically impossible to tell them apart from the other toys at this point. You just hoped you'd be in time.

The claw successfully made it up to the top with a ‘click’, and began its shaky journey towards the chute. You stared intently, anxiously looking for any signs of slippage or weakness, but it seemed this time the claw was holding strong. It trundled along, carrying its polyfilled passenger towards safety as you watched, finally feeling a sense of genuine hope and relief. It was finally over… Thank God…

The claw released, and their body tumbled down. It was only then you witnessed the machine's final trap. You'd never gotten a plush this far, and thus, had failed to notice the claw had been misaligned this entire time. Instead of cleanly landing into the chute, the body of your friend collapsed its plastic edge. They wobbled for a moment, and just when you thought they would tumble out, with one last burst of strength you watched your friend push as hard as their cotton filled stubs could manage against the interior of the chute, barely managing to get their torso over the edge and send them tumbling down to salvation.

Their body clattered through the prize chute as the machine let out a little tune of victory, and you quickly rushed to the slot, quickly rescuing them before it somehow changed its mind. The plush gryphon sagged in your grasp, whatever brief spark of life that had returned to them once more nowhere to be seen. You hugged the plush tight, cradling it in your arms, as you felt their body grow warm. They were turning back! You set the little Plush Gryphon on the ground as you watched a faint glow emanate from their body as life returned to it, limbs regaining their animacy as they flopped and flailed, as their stitched on eyes blinked, before looking around in confusion as they slowly stood up on two legs, the thread across their beak unweaving as it flopped open, letting out a audible gasp.

The two of you just stood there in silence, unsure what to say as their body slowly grew and gained definition, talons regaining articulation. They were almost half your size when… it stopped. The glow faded, leaving your friend stuck as a Jumbo anthropomorphic gryphon plush.

After everything, you couldn't help but burst out into laughter, a mixture of sorrow and relief, of joy and anger. Of course the machine would be petty to the very end and not turn them back all the way. Of course it'd be a sore loser.

Your friend, of course, was far less amused by their current predicament, pink thread weaving into a flustered blush as they crossed their arms, grumbling. “It's not funny! Look at what's happened to me! I'm stuck in… this! How am I supposed to do anything when I don't even have fingers!”

You brushed the tears out from the corners of your eyes. “Sorry… it's just… I'm glad you're okay. You're okay right?”

“I guess… that was way too close. I can't even begin to describe what it was like in there. Everything was so… foggy. It felt like I was buried under a pile of…” they gestured vaguely to the claw machine and its numerous inhabitants. “And my head… It was like I was trapped in a dream. Everything felt so slow. You know that feeling right? You try to move your body but everything is just so slow, but the world is still moving normally?. And I… I actually liked it. I was fully prepared to remain a plush. That… that was the worst part. But it's over now, I think. I can't believe I'm still stuck in this form though…”


“Hey, at least you're out. I'm sure it'll wear off over time, or something.” You assured them, instinctively patting their head and eliciting another stitched on blush as they recoiled.

“Hey!”

You retracted your hand, letting out another nervous chuckle “Oops. Sorry. Force of habit. Come on, let's get out of here” You said, taking their claw in your hand as the two of you headed back home, leaving the Crane Game devoid of at least one more victim. In the Bustling Arcade, nobody even noticed the small plush walking about.

Time would pass, and your lives would return to a sense of normalcy. For the most part. In the end, their body didn't return to normal, and they remained stuck in the form of a Plush Gryphon. Having to explain what happened to your friend's boss was hard, but they couldn't exactly deny what was before them either. Through the pulling of some strings, they were able to keep their job, though their smaller softer body made things more difficult, having to rely on their coworkers to reach high up shelves, or sign documents for them. From what you had overheard, despite their best attempts, they'd become viewed as the Office Mascot. Perhaps to their benefit in a way, as their business soon saw an increase in both productivity and customers, and despite everything, they found themselves seeing a pay raise. On top of that, a coworker with skill at 3D Printing managed to design some unique tools to allow them to once again hold items in their plush stubs.

Still, during your free time, you searched the internet, looking into rumors of magic and legends of other mysterious locations, searching for something that could restore your friend's form. After such a close call, you couldn't just brush them off as mere hearsay after all. Though many turned out to be dead ends, and of those that remained fewer still were benevolent in any form, you knew one would eventually have something that could save them. And even if it didn't, every encounter furthered your own understanding of these strange otherworldly forces. It was truly a possibility you yourself could be the one to save them by the end of all of this. A prospect that both excited and astonished you.

There were still many trials ahead of the two of you on your journey to try and find a way to restore their lost humanity, especially for your friend, who now had to get used to being a living creature made of soft fabric and even softer polyfill. But at least you had each other. You’d triumphed over the Crane Game, and you’d triumph whatever would come next.