Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Steven Visits the Factory
In a house resting near Beach City's shores, an eight year old child, Steven Universe, excitedly tears open a colorful box that was once sitting under the Christmas tree. His Dad, with a video camera in hand, and three multicolored women watch the child as he opens his gifts. As the child pulls back the colorful wrapping paper, he spots the blue, orange, red, and yellow colors until he fully reveals a Doey the Doughman doll from Playtime Co.
“Dad, you really got me the new Doey toy!”
“Of course, Stewball, the Gems, told me how, ever since you saw the commercial, you haven't been able to stop singing its jingle.”
Amethyst chimes in saying, “You have even been watching the commercial on loop upstairs, you are obsessed with the thing little dude.”
“I’m not obsessed; just appreciating a work of art. Besides, it is just so catchy!”
“I am not really sure that you could call this multicolored piece of dough art,” Pearl states, looking slightly disgusted by the sight of the toy. “I just hope its gooey residue doesn’t get everywhere.”
“Don’t worry Pearl, even if Steven’s new toy is messy it will be worth the fun, isn’t that right Steven?” Garnet says.
“Yeah! And don’t worry, I will make sure to take good care of him and clean up.”
“Thank you, Steven.” Pearl replied.
“That’s not all Stewball. There is something in that box besides just Doey. Why don’t you take another peak.”
Steven, curious, sets his new Doey figure to the side and examines the inside of the box once more to find a slip of paper, but not any ordinary slip of paper. This was a ticket to tour Poppy Playtime Co. the most wonderful, magical, and alive toy factory in the world. “Dad, did you really get tickets to go to THE Poppy Playtime factory?! I have always wanted to go and see what kind of place brings so many smiles to the world. Thank you so much!”
“No problem kiddo, even if I had to wash a few extra cars to get it, you are worth the world to me.”
“So are we all going?”
“Sorry Steven, we have to go on a gem mission, but you should tell us all about it once you get back.” Garnet replied.
“Awe really, do you have to go?” Steven was admittedly a bit disappointed. He has wanted to go on a gem mission for so long, but has still been unable to unlock his gem powers. As much as he is excited about going to the Poppy Playtime factory, he would have been equally excited to finally unlock his powers and join the gems and somehow fill the gap his mother left behind. He wishes they could all just go together, then he wouldn’t feel as bad for still lacking his gem powers and letting them all down.
“Sorry Dude, you know how it is, but once we beat that monster to a pulp and you and Greg are back, we can hang out.” Amethyst says.
“Besides Stewball, this will be a great opportunity for the two of us to have some good old quality time.”
“You’re right Dad, this will be great!” Even if he doesn’t have powers yet, he can still hang out with his Dad. You don’t need powers to be on team human beings! Plus, his Dad has been so busy he has not really gotten to spend much time with him, so going to such a special place with him is a dream come true in itself.
“That’s the spirit! We'll head out tomorrow morning in the van. Hope you are ready for the road trip of a lifetime!”
“Ya! I can’t wait!” Steven says. Then, looking back at the Gems, he declared with a large smile, “I will tell you all about it when I get back and don’t forget to tell me about the Gem mission too!”
…
The next day, Steven and Greg head out into the van to begin their road trip to Michigan, the home of Playtime Co.’s factory. On the way, they stop at a variety of diners, motels, and even get to swim in a couple of pools! Even if this was the whole reason for the trip, Steven would have been satisfied, but the fact that this was only the build up to the main event made it all the better. Cherishing every moment of their trip, Greg and Steven after 4 weeks of father-son bonding, and spontaneous detours, arrive at their final destination, a bright yellow, red, and blue factory larger than anything Steven could have ever imagined. Cars filled the almost limitless parking lot as children, parents, and employees filled the space with life and laughter.
Steven could hardly believe his eyes as he looked at the whimsical scene, eyes brightening and smile widening he started to jump up and down, too excited to contain his youthful energy. “Dad, look at it, it's so cool!”
“It is quite large, that's for sure,” Greg says as a drop of sweat runs down his face, quite flabbergasted by the sight. “ I am glad this is a tour and not a free for all. We would easily get lost in such a big place. On that note, we should go find the front desk so we can get this tour we came for, unless you are no longer interested…” He continued, looking down at his son with a mischievous smile.
“No, Dad, there is nothing I want more than to tour this factory with you! It will be so much fun!”
“Don’t worry, Stewball, I’m just messing with you. Well, daylight is burning, so let's head inside. We don’t want to be late.”
“Ya, let's go!” Steven proclaims excitedly, grabbing his dad’s hand, pulling him along towards the factory door. Once they enter the factory, they see a large curved receptionist's desk with a smiling employee answering questions from another family. Behind her on the wall, Playtime Co.'s most popular toy, Huggie Wuggie, is painted on the wall welcoming all the guests. Greg and Steven head up to the desk and wait their turn. Eventually, she finishes talking to the other guests and looks towards the duo.
“Welcome to Playtime Co. factory, where every toy brings a child joy. My name is Jane, how can I help you today?” The receptionist, Jane says with a clearly practiced customer service smile.
“Hi, we are here for one of the factory tours.”
“Great, can I see your tickets please? We are currently only accepting pre-paid tickets as we are booked a couple of months out. We are still feeling the impact of the holidays around here.”
“Oh, ya of course!” Greg sheepishly, then feels around his pant pockets until he finds the paper slips he was searching for. “Here are the two tickets for the factory tour!”
Jane takes a look at them until satisfied, fishing out two wristbands for the duo. “These are your tour passes. Wear them at all times during your stay at the factory, or you will be escorted off the premises. Playtime Co. takes its security very seriously. Here you go.” She then offers the two the wristbands which they quickly secure to their wrists.
“There will be a variety of different tours you will have access to. It will be announced when a group is heading out for a tour and what section of the factory it will include. You must either stay with your tour guide or the public areas such as the lobby, gift shop, Make-A-Friend room, theater, or cafeteria. If you have any questions, you can ask me or any other staff members for assistance. Have a joyous time at Playtime Co.!”
In response, Steven and Greg say their thanks and head towards the main lobby. There they see another bright room where, in the center under a large yellow “Playtime” sign resides a large, almost lifelike Huggy Wuggy stature standing on a podium with a variety of large letter blocks surrounding him. It has one arm raised as if waving to the incoming guests, its eyes seem as if they could even be tracking the movements of the guests with an intent and warm gaze.
“Wow Dad, look it is Huggie Wuggy, and he is so big!”
“Yeah, wow, he sure is pretty large. I had heard that the factory sported some nifty animatronics or something, but I never thought they would be this big or lifelike.”
“It's so cool, I wonder if they have one for Doey!”
“I am not sure, but if they don’t have one today, maybe they will get one someday, and then we can come back and visit him.”
“Really Dad, you’re the best!” Steven says, hugging him in response. He appreciated how much his Dad was investing in his interests. He may be eight years old, and some kids seemed not to think Playtime Co. toys were that cool anymore, but there was just something about them that stuck out to Steven. They just seem so safe and friendly, especially Doey with his big smile and fancy little bowler hat. The fact that his dad supports his fascination with these toys made his heart soar.
“No, you are a sport. Now why don't we check this place out before another tour starts. Where do you want to go?”
“Um… can we check out the cafeteria?”
“It is getting closer to lunchtime, sure let's head over there.”
They enter one of the doorways leading to the cafeteria where they see multiple themed stands for a variety of tasty treats, such as Huggie’s Handburgers and DogDay’s Desserts. The pair decide to stop at both getting two Wuggie deluxe burgers and even find, by some miracle, Cookie Cat ice cream at the DogDay stand. With that, it was official to Steven that this day was the best day of his entire life.
As they go to sit down, Steven spots another boy, around his age, holding a Doey doll. They are sitting at a larger table near the Mommy’s Munchies stand. Pointing in their direction, Steven looks over to his Dad and says, “Hey dad, can I go talk to that kid over there? They have a Doey doll too and it could be fun to talk to someone else who likes him.”
“Sure Bud, that sounds like fun, let's go over there.” With that, the pair go over to the family, who are happily enjoying their lunch. As Greg and Steven approach, the family look up at them with curious expressions.
A bit nervously, Steven introduces himself, “Hi, my name is Steven, I, uh, saw that you had a Doey Doll, and he is my favorite too, and I…”
At the mention of his Doey, the other boy brightens, “You like Doey too! I don’t meet many other kids that like Doey all that much. Most kids seem to like Huggie Wuggie or the Smiling Critters more.”
“I know, but Doey is just so charming. I mean look at his little hat. The other toys can’t compete with his charm.”
“Totally! Oh, my name is Jack by the way, nice to meet you.”
At this, Jack's parents choose to join in the introductions. “We are the Ayers’ family, my name is George and this is my wife Susan. Why don't you sit down and join us? There is still plenty of time before the tour.”
“Thank you for the invite. I am Greg Universe and Steven here is my son.”
At that the two families sat with one another and the Universes began to eat their food alongside the Ayers, who had luckily only just started their meal. Eventually, the two children start up a conversation.
“Jack, have you ever had cookie cat ice cream?”
“No, but I did see that they had it over at the DogDay stand. I thought it was themed after CatNap at first, but it doesn’t really look like him.”
“That is because it is actually its own thing. I was surprised to see that they had it here. It is my favorite ice cream of all time. If you want, I can give you half of mine so you can try it!”
“Sure, thank you, Steven. Would you like some of my Doey Donut?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! If you are willing to share with me some of your favorite ice cream, then I should give you half of my treat, it would only be fair.”
“That does make sense, it's a deal!”
Jack's parents laugh tenderly at seeing such a lighthearted display between the children and Susan looks over to Greg and asks, “Where are you two from?”
“We are from Beach City. It is on the East Coast, so it is a couple of hours from here.”
“Oh really, we actually live pretty close by to the factory, relatively speaking. There is a small town around an hour from here called Hayvine. It's pretty quaint, mostly consisting of farmland. I work at the local elementary school and George here…”
“I work in accounting remotely. What do you do, Greg?”
“Oh… uh… Nothing that impressive. I own a car wash, so I mainly do that.”
Steven, hearing this, decides to back up his Dad, blurting out, “My Dad is also a rock star!”
This surprised Greg, but he swiftly interjects, stating, “I dabbled in music when I was younger, and had a few hits, but I left that behind me years ago.”
“That is cool, Greg," George said before seemingly coming to a realization. "Actually, would you by chance be Mr. Universe? I was a huge fan of his music when it first came out.” Greg's last name made him wonder if there was a connection between the two.
“Guilty as charged, I am surprised you have heard of me.”
“That is so cool! Steven, it must be awesome having a rock star as a Dad!” Jack says enthusiastically.
“My Dad is the best.” At Steven's comment, the families all collectively smiled once more, enjoying small talk with one another. After some time, the families collectively heard on the overhead speakers that the tour for Doey the Doughman was going to start in fifteen minutes.
“We should probably get going. This was the main tour Steven wanted to see on our trip.”
“Same here for Jack, why don’t we all head over to the lobby together?” Susan suggested.
“Ya, it will be more fun together, right Steven!” Jack says, jumping out of his seat in excitement.
“Totally!” With that, the two groups went over to the main lobby and found a staff member in front of the Huggie statue holding up a sign for the Doey tour. No other families were lined up for the tour, at least not yet.
“Hello guests, are you here for Doey’s Delightful Tour, where you can see and learn how our loveable doughman comes to life?”
“Yes!” shouts both boys, who are both bouncing off the walls in excitement.
“Amazing, my name is Keith and I will be your tour guide today. We will wait a couple more minutes to see if any more friends choose to join us, but after that we will head out for the tour of a lifetime!”
While waiting, the Ayers and Universes discuss a variety of topics and the two boys grow even closer despite only knowing one another for less than a couple of hours. Minutes go by, and no other guests join them, leaving the tour exclusive to the two families. The tour guide, then announcing their departure, leads them into a new hallway and begins explaining the rules.
“Now everyone Playtime Co. has some of the most secure safety measures in place, but that doesn't mean that an unlucky accident can’t happen. To avoid that, I would ask that you never wander off, touch any of the equipment, or bypass the security rails we have in place. If you have any questions or concerns, you can ask me and I will do my best to ensure that you all have a joyous time here at Playtime Co.”
After agreeing to the terms, the tour guide opens the door at the end of the hallway, leading them into a variety of different rooms where they learn about how Doey was first designed, the kind of work the scientists had to do to make the Doey Dough maintain their different colors without them mixing during play, and so much more. Eventually, they reached the production room where the Doey Dough was being processed in large vats before they would become the toys sold all around the country. The children excitedly walk ahead with the tour guide, after promising they would be careful, while the parents take a moment to catch their breath from the tour thus far.
“You know Greg Jack and Steven get along so well it would be a shame if they were to lose touch after all of this. Why don’t we somehow try to keep the kids in contact? We can schedule some possible times for them to meet up, and they can chat over the phone in the meantime,” Susan says, breaking the silence.
“That sounds wonderful, Susan. Steven doesn’t have that many friends close to his age, having a friend like Jack would be good for him.” Greg actually felt pretty guilty about that fact. He wanted Steven to live his life free from the constraints of society, but he didn’t always realize that that would mean that it could be a bit harder to make friends, especially in a town as small as Beach City. He also didn’t always have as much time as he wanted to spend with his son due to his job, which is why he eventually decided it would be best for Steven to live with the Gems rather than him, as they had more time and resources to enrich Steven’s life.
“Great, how about we exchange numbers so we can stay connected?” George offered. At that time, the parents then got out a sheet of paper and wrote down their respective numbers, trading them with one another.
While the parents had this discussion, the children were happily laughing on the walkway above the vats. Eventually, they stopped to look down at one of the vats near the middle of the walkway, watching it as it mixed up Doey Dough.
“Look at that, Steven, it is so cool, the colors don't even mix in these things!”
“Ya, it is so awesome! This has been so much fun.”
“Ya, I am so glad I got to meet you and be your friend!”
At Jack’s statement, Steven froze for a moment. Jack thought of him as a friend! Steven had friends back home such as Lars, Sadie, and the cool kids, but they were all a lot older than him and didn’t really like doing “kid stiff” anymore. Jack is different, he likes that kind of stuff and other silly things too! He had never had a friend like Jack before and the idea that he really saw them as friends made his heart all warm and fuzzy. “Me too, Jack, I am so happy to be your friend!”
At that, the two boys begin laughing as they continue to stare down at the Doey Vats. Eventually, Jack decides to run over to another part of the walkway closer to another Vat. The tour guide yells out for the boy to be more careful as Steven closely follows behind his new friend. Once Jack makes it over to the other side of the walkway and places his hands on the railing, the sickening sound of metal bending and breaking is heard silencing the whole room. The railing that Jack had held onto was collapsing headed straight for the Vat of Doey Dough below. Steven was the first to act moving before he could really even think about it. He was close enough to Jack that he was able to push him out of the way as the section of the walkway began to cave in on itself, the railing attempting to take as much with it as possible. However, in the act of saving Jack Ayers, Steven traded places with his new friend and began to fall into the vat of dough.
All at once, the room was filled with screams and cries. The Ayres run towards their boy and Susan embraces him as he tries to cry out, escape her embrace, and get to Steven. Greg looked over the edge yelling out Steven’s name. George began demanding the employee to get help while berating him for not paying more attention to their children. All the while, Steven screamed, fear and pain consuming him until he was consumed by darkness.