The few seconds of silence that passed by after that allowed Piccolo more than enough time to take in the elderly Namekian's appearance, as well as the various characteristics making up his person. "I can tell from the way that you carry yourself that you've seen your fair share of action. How old are you exactly?"
Feeling one of the birds he was feeding fly up to land on his left shoulder, Gast smiled and held up some more crumbs for the little avian to feed on. "Oh, I'd say about three hundred cycles, give or take. Honestly, I try not to think about it too much… mortality… it really puts a dampener on the finer things in life." Once the bird was done eating, the man then brought a hand up to his face and rubbed it against the many wrinkles that were present. "Still though, I can't help but constantly be reminded of how much time has actually passed since I first hatched on Monmothma."
"And how did you end up on this planet?" Piccolo asked.
The host Namekian laughed a little, "My, aren't we full of questions today?"
A small smirk tugged at the hero's lips. "Being curious and stubborn is part of my charm. I can't help it."
Gast looked across at the visitor inquisitively, who continued to keep a safe distance away from him while they proceeded to converse. "Well then, if that's the case, the when and how leading up to my current circumstances makes for a pretty interesting story. Not too long ago, while my band and I were traversing the outer rim of a distant spiral galaxy in the Zoran Sector looking for a planet we could establish a new home, we came across this small world floating beside a gaseous giant and an orange star. We discovered that it didn't just have a thriving ecosystem, but also the atmosphere and conditions ideal for starting up a brand new colony. After several months of excavation and hard work, we commandeered the celestial body and made it the crown jewel of our new utopia." A shimmer of pride then streaked through the man's eyes. "Sure, a utopia sounds like a child's fairytale, but in the end the five of us were able to liberate our entire quadrant and establish a new interstellar government that was free of prejudice."
This then led the former Guardian into his next line of question. "You mentioned 'Saiyan Empire?' I take it from the information you were able to give me that you're not the only sentient being living on this planet…" His frown then seemed to darken on this new topic, "There are Saiyans here too?"
"Correct," Gast answered without the slightest bit of hesitation, "Along with several other life forms, as you may have noticed." He then gestured to the bird on his shoulder and the giant, multi-legged rhino now dozing by the lake.
Piccolo cocked his head to the side, "Who exactly are they, these Saiyans? Are they dangerous? Are they forcing you to work for them? How many are there? And what do they want with Earth? Are they going to destroy it or conquer it? How-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, friend," Gast chuckled, raising his hands and waving them towards the fighter reassuringly and ceasing the man's alarmed rambling. "I can't answer so many questions at once. I'm not a five-headed trilodon." When he saw the anxious glare Piccolo threw at him afterwards, the older Namekian sighed and walked towards the hero, who took a big step back. "Relax. I'm not going to bite. I just think it'll be easier if I explained this to you through a telepathic link, so that we can avoid the obvious small talk." Stopping a couple feet in front of the former guardian, Gast then closed his eyes and raised his hand, bringing his palm to hover over Piccolo's forehead.
At first the Earthborn Namekian was uncertain. However, after several moments of debate, he too shut his lids and opened up his mind. Almost instantly, the man's thoughts were bombarded by a torrent of flashbacks and images, all of which shot through his bran like a bolt and gave him all the information he needed in a single reel. Once the experience was over, Gast removed his hand from Piccolo's reach and watched the warrior from the blue world stare back at him in surprise.
The Z-fighter then huffed in exhaustion, "So that's how it is, huh?"
"That's right."
With a swish of his cape, Piccolo quickly spun around and strolled across the clearing. "Thanks for the hospitality… and I appreciate you opening the front door to your private garden for me, but I think it's about time that I headed back. If what you showed me just now was true, then Gohan and the others are going to need all the help they can get if they have a chance of beating your friends."
"Not so fast," Gast suddenly spoke up, just in time to stop his fellow Namekian from taking off. The older fighter then smirked. "You probably haven't noticed this already, but leaving this world isn't going to be so easy." Showing what he meant, the Namekian then held out his hand and, concentrating for a moment, produced an orange sphere of crackling energy. Piccolo then looked on as the elderly traveler tossed the ball straight up into the atmosphere and, after seeing it shoot past the cloud cover, watched it strike something solid and invisible, which caused a multi-colored, translucent wave to ripple across the sky.
The sight of the anomaly immediately told the former guardian that the entire planet was surrounded by a protective field… and a strong one at that.
"Ah," Piccolo murmured after watching the aerial disturbance fade away.
"The entire world of Corvus is protected by a powerful magnetosphere, which we've erected to prevent outside forces from damaging our humble home. You'd be surprised how many warriors out there are capable of destroying planets with a single blast," Gast informed, while at the same time placing his hands behind his back. "This shield is powerful enough to stop even someone as persistent and dangerous as my boss at level 2. Nothing can get in or out… not unless I allow it."
Piccolo's glare hardened as he slowly turned to face his fellow Namekian. "So… what happens now then?"
Gast craned his head thoughtfully and looked upwards, "I guess our primary recourse would be to fight. Given the current circumstances, it would be most appropriate."
"Well, what do you think?" Piccolo asked, clenching his fists tightly. "Since you're the one controlling the force field on this planet, if I was to defeat you, and there's a good chance that I could, it might deactivate by itself-"
"Or it may not," Gast interjected, promptly shutting down the Earthling's idea. The Namekian then nodded in his direction, "In order to protect our interests and the lives of our comrades, my group made sure to take all possibilities into account, including hostage situations. If you want the means of safely shutting down the energy shield and rejoining your friends on Earth, then I propose a friendly game of tête-à-tête."
This had the Earthborn Namekian raise a brow, "I'm listening."
Still looking positively cheerful, Gast then pointed his left hand down at the grass beside them. In a flash of white electrical light, the man fired a beam at the ground, which Piccolo watched fade seconds later to reveal a white, rock table, two small chairs on either side of it that sat low to the ground, and a circular board with squares and triangles carved into its surface, which sat in the middle of the bench. To accompany it, a series of smooth, circular rocks designed to fit inside the shapes were stacked up on both ends of the slat.
Once the panel and its parts had been created, Gast walked over and planted himself on one of the seats. When he did, he then gestured for Piccolo to join him. "It's been many cycles since I last ran into a member of my race. If it's okay with you, I'd rather spend the first meeting talking with my fellow brethren rather than fighting."
A little been taken aback by the man's proposal, the Namekian from Earth lowered his head, "What's the catch?"
Eyes twinkling, the elderly warrior crossed his arms. "No catch. I just feel it'll be more civilized of us to share experiences with one another in a battle of wits as opposed to a battle of strength. After all, you and I are not Saiyans, nor do we originate from a violent race. Though I have no doubt of your ability to win in a physical contest, it gives me cause to wonder whether or not your mind is as strong as your fist." When he saw Piccolo's brow crease, Gast cracked a smile of amusement. "Here's the deal; if you beat me, then I will deactivate the shield and let you return to your friends without complaint or hesitation."
"And if I lose?"
Gast shrugged, reaching down and separating the pile of rocks on his side of the board, "If you lose, then we can have another game… and keep on playing until you win." He then shot the warrior from Earth a mischievous expression.
His words and expressions earned an odd stare from the Z-fighter standing across from him. Upon deeply viewing his options, Piccolo then reasoned to himself that going along with this traveler's games was probably his best bet of getting out of here. Though he was confident he could beat the Namekian in a straight up fight, the warrior wasn't too comfortable with the idea of doing in a so far non-threatening member of his race, especially when he hadn't been provoked in any way. Based on the information he was able to gather from him too, even if he did somehow manage to overpower him, there was no guarantee that he would be able to escape this planet with that shield hovering overhead.
Blowing up the world was out of the question too, as the resulting fallout could potentially damage the Earth, leading to apocalyptic consequences. He didn't want to end up using the dragon balls to fix a situation that could've altogether been avoided in the first place.
So, sucking up whatever pride and doubts that he had, Piccolo nodded to the Namekian, to which he then watched Gast crack a grin his way.
"Do you remember how to play?" the foreigner asked as he then went about placing the rest of his pieces across the board. "Charaka was one of the most popular pastimes on our home planet. The kids loved it."
"I… have a vague idea," Piccolo responded uncertainly, marching over and stealing the seat across from his counterpart. Upon which he began setting up the pieces too, placing the rocks carefully inside of each square. "Though I don't remember a thing about my people or my culture, I'm sure that deep down in this twisted head of mine, there are some lingering memories that are bound to resurface. After all, I'm sharing this body with two other members of my kind, so I'm positive at least one of them has to have some idea of what's going on."
Gast smiled, "Here's hoping."
It was then the Earthling shot the man a look of warning, "Just so we're clear, I haven't exactly had a good track record with other aliens and members of my race visiting my home planet. If I even feel a slight shift in your intent or a spike in your energy levels, I will not hesitate to put you down. Understand?"
Another warm chuckle left the older Namekian's lips, "Trust me, friend; all of my time and energy is going to be spent fighting you across this board. I only hope you're planning on doing me the same kindness." Once he saw the Earthling finish setting up his pieces, the man then leant forward, placed a finger on the rock in the middle square, and nudged it forward into the triangle in front of it. "Now… let us play. It's your move."
Following through on the warrior's prompt, Piccolo, tossing his cape off of his arm, reached forward, placed a thumb on a piece on his side, and pushed it into a triangle on his right, marking the beginning of their battle, in which not a single punch would be thrown.
It would take Piccolo exactly three minutes after the first move for his brain to fully realize this fact…