Goku approached his son from behind while Gohan was slipping his wristbands on, performing light stretching, throwing a few shadow boxing punches, and testing how moving around felt. Sometimes a body felt too tense when training and a little exercise was necessary to loosen it up. Fighting was different from training, you didn't always need to push your body to the limit and drive it close to breaking. Sometimes one needed relaxation to move faster until just the right moment when you put all your force into your attack.
"Gohan," Goku took his son's attention, prompting the teen to turn around and look up at his father. "We're not too far away now. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Dad!" Gohan stood up and bowed to his father, almost as if thanking him for a sparring session or a lesson. In truth, it was more like the boy thanking his father for all the lessons he'd ever taught him, martial arts-related or otherwise. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot!" Goku flashed a sheepish smirk.
"You've been so ominous and acted so secretive all this time, Dad. I won't lie, your tranquility has done a lot to ease everyone's nerves, but it's only made me more worried," Gohan expressed his thoughts. "I've never seen you this relaxed before. I understand that you're a martial artist and that you live for pushing yourself, but… It's like… You know for certain you will win, somehow. It's not like you, not like your usual excitement, before going into battle."
"It's not so much that I know I will win," Goku placed his hands over his hips while smiling. "It's more like I know for sure that things will work out in the end."
"B-But how can you know this?" Gohan wondered. "Dad, what kind of training did you do back home? I can't imagine any training you can do at home to be as productive as training on alien worlds, in a gravity chamber, or in the Room of Spirit and Time."
"Don't worry about that, it's not the type of training I would usually do, but… Back on Planet Vegeta, I had to step over myself, and my principles to become incredibly strong and become a Super Saiyan for the first time. If I had to explain it without telling you something I'll tell you at the right time, it'd be that it's something like that time…" Goku shrugged, brainstorming ideas on how to ease Gohan's worries without telling him something Goku strangely wanted to be kept secret for now.
"Dad… If it's not too much to ask, I would like to fight Cell first!" Gohan exclaimed, raising his fist and clenching it tightly in front of his chest, as a gesture that he's ready and resolute. "I believe that the training I did on King Kai's planet is enough to save the universe from Cell. All this time, we're relying on you or Chayote-san to save the day and defeat the enemy, fight the toughest battles, but… Just this once, I want to prove to you I can do it too and help you by lightening your load."
"Gohan…" Goku smiled, approaching his son and patting his head in a fatherly manner. "You can't imagine right now how proud I am of the young man you've become. Maybe you will one day when you have children of your own. I don't doubt for one second that you can beat anyone if you really want to. But this one… Sorry, Gohan, your old man's cutting in line this one last time!"
"D-Dad!" Gohan objected before Goku snickered like a thieving little monkey making mean faces as it fled with your fruits. Before Gohan could continue their minor argument, he saw something flashing in the porthole and the Capsule Corps ship carrying the two of them came to a full and sudden halt. "W-what's that!?" the teen exclaimed, pointing at some kind of artificial, cybernetic vessel levitating in open space, like a run-of-the-mill space station.
"That's where the Ultimate Dragon Ball is for sure," Goku said. Curiously, Gohan looked at his father's back with an uneasy glare. Somehow, his father knew that this station was where the Ultimate Dragon Ball was without even checking on the Dragon Radar as if he could somehow sense the magic inside of the Ultimate Dragon Balls. Just as a meaningless triviality, Gohan walked out into the main control room of the Capsule Corps spaceship and looked up at the radar screen, confirming his father's "educated guess".
"This doesn't look like a planet. It looks more like a space station," Gohan noted while running diagnostics on the station that would have determined a planet's atmospheric conditions, such as the contents of its atmosphere, wind conditions, gravity, and other necessary to know for aspiring space cowboys data. "Huh, no way!"
"What's wrong, Gohan?" Goku walked out from the personal quarters into the main control room, noting his son's confusion.
"This construction doesn't just look like a space station, it IS a space station with its own communications frequency and records. Bulma-san didn't have any records on this place, but the surrounding space stations did and the spaceship downloaded their data while we were passing by, updating its records," Gohan pointed out while rolling his fingers across dozens of buttons on the control panel, confusing Goku to the point of scratching his head.
"What're you saying, Gohan?" Goku groaned.
"This place is known as the "Galactic Arena"," Gohan said in response. "It's been sending out advertisements and inviting warriors from across the galaxy to come and compete here."
"Ah! Like the World's Martial Arts Tournament!" Goku exclaimed, hammering his fist into his open hand in a moment of clarity. "Except for alien warriors, sounds amazing! How come we've never come here to compete?"
"Because, for a Galactic tournament arena, this station is strangely secretive. It doesn't run those invitations on any radio frequencies we could pick up on Earth, the frequencies they're using are all weird and… Exotic. Almost as if they don't want too many people to hear about it…" Gohan scratched his chin, wondering why a Galactic Arena running martial arts tournaments would choose to invite people on such fringe frequencies.
"Hmm… Maybe it's a test of some kind? They only deem you worthy of competing if you can catch their signal and receive their invitation?" Goku pondered. "Well, either way, Cell's here and he's waiting for us!" the excited Saiyan punched his open hand.
"The Galactic Arena has a landing pad, but our ship's way too big for it. What's with this place?" Gohan groaned in frustration. "It's like it's terrible at doing business. You couldn't fit in this landing zone without something the size of a Saiyan Attack Ball pod."
"Guess we'll have to jump!" Goku snickered. "I've learned from our time traveling to the Dark Planet a thing or two about crash landings, mainly that they're a bad idea, teehee!"
Meta-Cell was standing in the middle of a giant fighting stage with laid out tiles made of reinforced spaceship hull material that withstood even the most intense gravitational phenomenon like black holes, as well as walled off any malady like heat or radiation from pulsars or magnetars from seeping through. From four sides at each corner of the arena, there were massive monitors showcasing different cuts from various camera angles of the action on stage, relayed by floating drone cameras. In the middle, there was a bundle of four television screens, broadcasting staticky images of the action on stage.
"Hmm…" Gohan murmured to himself after the father and son stepped out of the shadows of the corridor they used to access the stage of the Galactic Arena and into the beaming lighting of the venue, entering the spectator stands section. "Some of the technology here looks similar to the stuff on Planet Vegeta. Frieza Army stuff…"
Truthfully to the teen's observation, at the northern side of the fighting stage, at the center of the edge of the arena, there was a tall stand identical to Frieza's hover-chair, except ten times larger. The builder of the arena also placed the spectator stands atop rings similar to the hull of Frieza Army's mother ship. A lot of Frieza Army military technology was repurposed for usage as fighting arena support.
"Son Goku… So the main attraction has at long last arrived," Meta-Cell opened its black eyes with red pupils and turned around to face Goku and Gohan. "This is the same arena from which I've announced the Cell Games. I expected that, in between then and when you finally arrived, someone worthwhile would come and challenge me, help me kill the time, but, I'm afraid not…"
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Cell!" Goku waved for the transcendental entity clad in Time Ring alloy. "If it's any consolation, I won't make you wait much longer. I'm taking you on right here, right now."
"Oh? The main event as the opener?" Meta-Cell's face soured. "You'll disappoint the audience if you rush things, Son Goku… I was hoping to keep the best for last."
Seeing how Meta-Cell gestured toward the dimly lit spectator stands, Goku and Gohan looked around, seeing thousands of Cell Jr's cackling and giggling while harassing terrified for their life aliens that must have come here to watch the matches from before Cell took over the arena.
"You monster!" Gohan flipped out, stepping up to the edge of the spectator stands and just barely restraining himself from blindly charging at Meta-Cell. They were too far away for Meta-Cell to get shocked by Gohan's attack and get hit. All of Gohan's training and experience dictated that he'd only end up getting injured and holding his father back if he were to lose control and rush at Cell now. "These people have nothing to do with your games, let them go!"
"I disagree, Son Gohan," Meta-Cell crossed his arms and looked away defensively, with a notable pout of his lips. "Their genes are pathetic, they have no use as my food, that much is true. They don't have any energy to power me up, either. However, I am the apex predator and therefore every living creature in this universe lives according to my whims. I am free to let anyone I like live freely, as I am free to kill whoever I want at any point I want. Come to think of it, you've threatened to destroy me back when we first met. What do you say, kid? Why not come here and back those bratty words up right now?"
"Nice try, Cell…" Goku cut in and hopped high up in the air, swinging across the arena's ceiling before flipping over his front and landing on his feet right on the opposite side of the arena. Goku had slipped out of his space suit mid-jump, letting it flop around the fighting stage while Goku landed in his orange gi, performing some light stretches. Meta-Cell's glare tightened with focus, noticing faint Kiai bursts emitted from Goku's body with his breakdancing routine meant to shake up his muscles. The invisible air bursts tossed the scattered space suit parts away, throwing them into the spectator stands. Like glorified fanboys, the Cell Jrs threw themselves at Goku's space suit parts, whiffing them for traces of the Saiyan's energy, but finding none. "But your opponent is me."
"Hmm…" Meta-Cell grumbled in displeasure. From the sound of it, it'd have truly preferred fighting Gohan first, then whoever survived its Cell Games and arrived at the Galactic Arena for the main event next, leaving Goku for last. "I intended to kill your son before your very eyes and drain him of every ounce of his energy, just to put your mind in the right place and prevent you from holding back on me."
"Why don't you try that on me?" Goku finished his warm-up routine and adopted a fighting stance, losing not an ounce of his cool despite Meta-Cell threatening his son in front of him. This serenity in Goku's disposition intrigued Cell, that much was apparent from his focused glare at his favorite new plaything.
"I would, but my unprecedented climb across the universal feeding chain to the very top has all led up to this moment. To fighting the strongest martial artist I can cut loose against. With the likes of Chayote, I always will have to worry about killing her and causing the end of the universe, but not against you. You're a real challenger, and I can fight you with my full power if I want to. You're my ultimate prey, Son Goku!" Meta-Cell clenched its fists and moved them to its sides, lightly buckling its knees and bringing its body lower while spreading and bolstering the balance of the ultimate predator's body.
"Yeah, I feel the same way too," Son Goku cut his serious façade with a light smirk. "While I don't approve of any of the things you did and how you've come to climb this high up, I am incredibly curious about how strong you are. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to know where power without drawbacks, principles, respect, and responsibility can take you."
"Oh, is that a hint of jealousy I hear in your voice, Goku?" Meta-Cell teased its opponent.
"Don't be ridiculous," Goku dismissed the notion with a trace of light smugness, almost as if he'd never even entertain the thought. "I just want to defeat you using the power I've accrued my way. I want to prove to you and myself that a satisfying life doesn't have shortcuts. Anything worth doing deserves to be experienced in full. Martial arts wouldn't be the same without the difficulty experienced learning it, without the bonds you've formed along the way and the experiences you've shared with fellow martial artists. Power in of itself is empty."
"Hmph… I didn't expect you to go all philosophical on me, Son Goku. Not you, of all people…" Meta-Cell cringed a little.
"Who knows? Maybe I am growing a little old?" Goku teased Cell with a bit of cringing of his own, sharing his opponent's sting of mockery. "So… Are you going to attack me or do you want me to show you how it's done? After all, you've picked up all those techniques and all that power, but I wonder if anyone's shown you how to use them."
"You're kidding me, right?" Meta-Cell raised an eyebrow. "I'm restraining myself from attacking because I'm waiting for you to transform, you buffoon! At least become a Super Saiyan already. The last thing I want after all this delicious build-up is killing you in one blow and regretting it all of my eternal lifespan. Hurry up and transform, Goku!"
"Transform? I don't think I need to," Goku smiled with a tease beaming from his eyes like a thrust of a sharp knife in between the ribs. "Why don't you prove to me you can handle it first, Cell?"
"It's not like you to be arrogant, Goku. I'd have expected this kind of vanity from Vegeta, maybe Piccolo… Definitely not from you!" Meta-Cell scolded its opponent.
"Arrogance?" Goku teased his opponent further. "I wonder about that. Were you then acting arrogant when you requested that I transform, worried that you might kill me?"
"Me? Arrogant?" Meta-Cell scoffed. "I was merely telling you how it was! Don't you dare mock me by comparing those two cases as if they're remotely similar! We both know I'd kill you in a second if you were to fight me in your base state!"
In a blink, Goku vanished, thrusting a kick straight at Meta-Cell's shins. With a shocked expression, Meta-Cell hopped up, tucking its knees. Without skipping a beat, Goku stood back up with a hook to Meta-Cell's waist, but Meta-Cell stuffed the incoming hook in his defending right hand. With a groan, the transcendental entity felt an immense surge of power rushing through Goku's fist, which propelled Meta-Cell into the air. Pursuing him, Goku delivered an aerial spinning roundhouse, prompting the pressured Meta-Cell to block the attack with its left forearm.
Goku exclaimed, channeling a flaring energy blast the size of his head in his hand and stuffing it point-blank at Meta-Cell's chest. The eyes of the cybernetic apex predator flared with a tiny crimson speck of energy, casting a microscopic eye-beam through the Ki blast and detonating it before it could hurt Meta-Cell, separating the two combatants into landing on the spot in the ring where their opponent started the battle at.
"DORYAH!" Goku shouted out, dashing in with a light-speed elbow that came so fast it had a fiery afterglow surrounding it, like a shooting star. Meta-Cell crossed its arms, absorbing the bruising force and skidding back a few steps.
Responding, Meta-Cell whipped with its tail, smacking it straight into Goku's face before engaging its flight and revealing six vents that opened up in its back, shooting out fuchsia-colored fiery jets of energy from its back as Meta-Cell slid across the fighting stage, tripping Goku up. Ramming its push-kick into Goku's face, Meta-Cell pushed him back before cupping and drawing its arms back and then thrusting them forward.
"KAMEHAMEHA!" Meta-Cell exclaimed, firing an instantaneous Kamehameha wave at its knocked-back opponent in an attempt to obliterate Goku with a serious attack. Recovering with a backflip, just before the azure energy wave reached him, Goku swatted his hand aside, knocking the beam away while absorbing most of its destructive force and leaving the energy beam to detonate with the power of a simple explosive that left a hole in a hi-tech elevator shaft off to the side.
"Your one second's passed…" Goku snickered while stroking the back of his hand which showed some light bruising. "I guess I'm stronger than you give me credit for, huh, Cell? I think I'll stay in my base state for now. I really felt those blows, and I had lots of fun trading them with you. I would like for it to stay that way."
"I-Incredible!" Gohan gasped, mirroring Meta-Cell's quiver-inducing shock. "Dad's fighting one-on-one against Meta-Cell in his base state! How's this even possible? Just… Just what kind of training did you do, Dad?"
"Son… Goku…" Meta-Cell muttered in absolute bewilderment. The apex predator's wildest dreams of a prey worthy of its talents and ferocity have just been proven to have been lackluster underestimations. "Heh…" Meta-Cell cracked once before transitioning into a light chuckle and then into a full-in maniacal peal of laughter. "Ha-ha-ha-ha… HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Marvelous, Son Goku! Incredible, sublime! Look at this! My hands are shaking! I've never experienced so much excitement! You're really going to push me for all I'm worth, aren't you!? Come on, then! Let's let it rip and tear into this battle of ours! Let's have the most amazing, the most entertaining dance of bloody violence this miserable universe has ever seen!"
Goku and Cell have finally begun their fateful duel. Not even fate itself knew which warrior would be favored by fortune to win just yet.