1-Up Mushroom

[Rodimus Prime]

Rodimus laughs. He's so mean! But actually, it's a good natured chuckle. "Getting the rings is good, but not the objective. Still, you always want at least some, because if you get hit by a hazard with a ring, you just lose your rings, but if you get hit without it, you lose a life," he explains.

He is completely unaware of any previous conversations concerning death and video games.

"You know, I seem to remember that there is a co-operative mode for this game, where Tails and Sonic help each other," he points out, gesturing from his seat in the chair. "If it's what I'm thinking of, Sonic was actually one of those games where co-operative was more fun."

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron muses, "So I don't need to tell you not to commit suicide over a video game, do I, Rodimus Prime?"

Since Rodimus Prime has clearly played them before and isn't dead and all.

However, that reminds Emirate Xaaron - there are all sorts of other pratfalls he can warn Optimus Prime about!

"That reminds me, though. Optimus Prime, don't let Shockwave tear off your head and use you to spawn a new generation of Decepticons."

That said, he ties to figure out this flying business and make up some ground, even given his distaste for the air.

[Optimus Prime]

Rodimus' advice is really confusing, however! "The menu screen just said one player or two player versus."

"Funny thing, Xaaron," Optimus says, not missing a beat. "I wasn't just not letting Shockwave tear off my head, but just about anyone."

Optimus starts gathering up rings and begins running again. "Now do you have any more advice to give, or do you think you might give a challenge, here?" Hmm, video games seem to turn up Optimus' competitive streak.

[Rodimus Prime]

"Oh, gods, that business," Rodimus groans, slumping back in his seat and covering his face with both hands. He sighs, then lowers his hand and shakes his head, still looking at the ceiling. "Don't worry, Emirate, I'm quite adept with completely throwing away my morals when it concerns non-sapient pixel people and animals." His hands touch the arms of the chair as he straightens himself again. "Besides, Sonic isn't really particularly violent, anyway. The worst you do to your opponents revert them to a pre-upgrade state."

Then he leans forward and gestures towards the game. "Anyway, you get to co-operative mode by going one player, and then playing Sonic and Tales. No, I don't get it, either, but that's how you do it."

He doesn't comment on heads and babies; he has his own reasons for disliking Shockwave.

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron starts to use Tails's flying more to his advantage, taking gaps that a jump alone couldn't span to make up ground.

An odd look quirks at his face, and he tries to nudge Optimus Prime with an elbow. "See? 'Pre-upgrade state'. It's totally unnatural to regard being turned into a robot as a negative, and yet the humans who made this video game imply it is exactly that."

Optimus Prime wants actual useful advice. Optimus Prime wants a challenge. Wah wah wah. Emirate Xaaron's getting to that eventually, he swears!

[Optimus Prime]

"If it was involuntary then that's a different story!" Optimus strongly believes in his argument. "If someone decided you would be better with mods you never authorized, you'd want to return to your 'pre-upgrade state' too, wouldn't you?"

"There was some experimentation into cybernetics on the earth I know. They were in some early stages, but these were positive mods to help humans with physical limitations. Each human had to consent to the surgery needed, but they saw the mods as a positive thing."

Sonic still seems to be winning, but Tails seems to be gaining ground, now.

[Rodimus Prime]

As Optimus asks Emirate Xaaron if he'd want to return to the pre-upgrade state if given unauthorized mods, he clears his throat.

"On occasion, it's for the best to accept unauthorized mods... regardless of personal want in the matter," he points out, twisting in his seat to loop his slightly over-large legs over the chair's arm.

"Although that doesn't really seem to be the case in Sonic," he allows.

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron is really arguing for the sake of arguing, but he does that sometimes, and he asks, "So, forcing a young, reckless Autobot to grow up and lead via a radical modification that he never asked for - you'd always oppose that, Optimus Prime?"

Emirate Xaaron shoots an apologetic glance over at Rodimus Prime. Sorry, but it's just such a good example!

He admits, "And, well, yes, the case in Sonic is different."

Hmm, these monitor boxes. What do they do? He tries cracking one open...

[Optimus Prime]

Optimus pauses as he tries to remember what Xaaron is getting at--oh right, that Matrix thing. He clears his throat nervously.

"Well, sure, it's not always the case. But that's not exactly commonplace." Optimus is sure, for example, that jumping on Rodimus wouldn't turn him into a fuzzy li'l animal that would hop away, though he won't test that theory.

Time for a subject change! "So Rodimus, you seem to know a lot about this game. You've played it much before?"

[Rodimus Prime]

Rodimus Prime has turned into stranger things than a fuzzy li'l animal.

Unicron, for example.

He smirks, however, as he's used as an example in the unwilling upgrade debate.

"Hot Rod did, a little, back when he used to watch Daniel," Rodimus answers Optimus as he props his elbow up on the arm of the chair and his head on his fist. "It's a little old, but sometimes it was fun to dig out the old ones. Heck, when Spike was around, we sometimes even played his old Nitendo. Things like Super Mario Brothers or Duckhunt."

He shakes his head mournfully. "Try as you might, though, they never let you shoot the darned dog."

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron watches Optimus Prime clumsily change the subject, but he lets it pass. Emirate Xaaron is a big fan of context and also needs of the many. He likes to think that if he was ever faced with accepting a radical alteration of himself in the name of the greater good, he'd accept it with grace.

Then he thinks of his own dead body that he found and just exactly how it felt.

Hnn.

Emirate Xaaron does his best to give Optimus Prime a challenge, spin-dashing for speed on flat stretches and using Tails's flight to bypass what tedious portions he can.

Given what Rodimus Prime says, he notes wryly, "I see I shouldn't worried about you."

[Optimus Prime]

"Super Mario Brothers... I think we were talking about the go-karts they would race on before." Optimus said. "They seem to have have quite an eclectic cast." The wacky things humans will come up with!

Tail's flight enables him to soar past Sonic! "Hey, no fair!" Optimus says good-naturedly as he loses the lead.

[Rodimus Prime]

Rodimus smirks at Emirate Xaaron. "Actually, I found I did have to adjust my thinking after I became Prime." He shakes his head, frowning. "Rather, getting the Matrix changed some of my instincts, and I had to remind myself they didn't apply to video games." Then he shrugs. "Didn't take long, although I really haven't had much time for them since then, anyway."

He nods at Optimus. "A lot of those games took a lot of creativity. Although there have been a few cases where I've wondered if some of that creativity wasn't substance-influenced."

"Hah!" he exclaims as the lead changes. "Better hurry, Optimus! It'll be sad if the sidekick beats the speedster!"

[Emirate Xaaron]

Emirate Xaaron somehow manages to win, and he says, voice drawn thin and taut, "Beginner's luck."

He looks somewhat troubled at Rodimus Prime's admission. Emiate Xaaron knows Primus, and he knows Primus isn't dumb. Why make the Matrix of Creation give its bearers stupid urges over video games? Some people are fine with their gods being inscrutable and ineffable, but Emirate Xaaron expects his to make sense. He wouldn't serve Primus if Primus didn't make sense. Not the most religious point of view, but it is a pragmatic one.

[Optimus Prime]

Despite many multiple attempts to do spin-dashes to catch-up, Optimus Prime has lost the epic race. He was impressed at the last-minute dash (hover?) of Xaaron. He lowers his controller, turns to his opponent, and extends a hand for shaking. "Well played, Emirate." See, no suicide or anything. Perfectly safe!

"Of course now," he adds, nodding to the person watching behind them, "you're going to have to play the expert." Rodimus did say he's got winner, after all!