Darren roared his agreement as Viktor downed what remained of the drink. With the bottle now empty, he stared around as the void become all he could see, and the world fell silent. Mercifully silent, free of the demonic polka that threatened to straddle them as it ripped their sanity out through their nostrils. The grass suddenly beneath them was green, a fresh, inspiring sight that made the interior of the lounge a distant, impure memory. This was freedom as the leaders of new worlds envisioned it. A boundless joy that could only be expressed by…<br/><br/>Mushrooms. Darren's mouth opened as a towering behemoth of fungal proportions rose above them, its umbrella shielding them from harm, its flesh emitting a deep wisdom that could only be measured in fathoms. They were surrounded by beauty, pure and serene, as mushrooms became all of existence. Mushrooms were life, mushrooms were what it meant to<span style="font-style: italic">be alive</span>. He lifted a hand, and watched as it became a series of interlocking mushrooms; the other hand did it as well, and he looked at Viktor and raised his thumbshrooms in a signal for victory.<br/><br/>"We did it, my friend. And nothing will ever sully this moment."<br/><br/>The ground began shaking, as if in answer to his premature gesticulation. Darren stared, aghast, as a small split appeared in the otherwise pristine grass that stretched out for endless miles. The crack grew into a crevasse, and then the Mutant felt a heat wash over him, a powerful wave of it that made it difficult to believe he'd ever been cold. He watched, in shock, as fire erupted from the gap, and a dark shape became just barely visible, rising slowly up to the surface. Suddenly, even the most profound, challenging and intense checker game of his life became an afterthought. A new terror approached, that would threaten everything in existence. Or maybe it would only threaten mushrooms, which basically meant the same thing.<br/><br/>"By the infinite grace of the Shroom Lords, what the hell is<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>?!"