InsaneJournal

Hub 381 (2/3)
Title: Hub 381
Rated: NC17
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Fandom: Smallville
Smallville belongs to the WB. Superman belongs to DC Comics.

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This story was written as part of the CLFF 3rd wave. My task was to write 15k words in 30 days.

It was written December 2002.

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Kala-Ai watched her nephew and his human parents setting the rooms, getting them ready for the evening meal. She had noticed an extra place set at the table and had asked Kal-El about it. He had said it was for an Intended. Kala had remained silent after that, wondering if he really knew what he had just called the mystery guest.

When the knock on the door came, Kala sensed a sudden spike of affection from Kal-El, directed at the man standing outside. When the bald man was let in, the spike grew, then leveled out at its peak. Kala read the bald man's mind as well as the distance would allow. She felt an answering spike of desire with an undercurrent of affection.

Perhaps this man really was Kal-El's Intended.

As Lex walked into the house, his eyes instinctually found Clark. As their eyes met, Lex felt the usual spike of desire coupled with something he might have called love were he not raised by Lionel. He tried not to feel hopeful when he saw affection reflected in Clark's green eyes. He kept their eyes locked as long as friendship would allow, savoring the moment.

All too soon the moment ended. Lex looked away and into a second pair of green eyes. The curiosity in those eyes was amusing but the feeling that those eyes could stare directly into his soul quickly squashed any humor. Lex tried not to shiver. He mentally pulled away and looked the owner of those eyes over. She was sitting in a chair, just staring back, almost reading him. She looked very much like Clark, especially in the facial features. At that moment, Lex's intuition failed him. In only the second time in his life he met an enigma. The first one was standing next to her.

Clark stood next to his aunt, leaning near her shoulder slightly. "Lex," he said very softly in Kryptonian. "My Intended. Lex."

"Intended? To be Pledged with?" Kala asked at a normal volume. She watched as the one called Lex stared at her. She read enough confusion in him to realize he had never heard Kal-El speak in this way. "Your mate?"

Clark blushed as he correctly translated her meaning. She grabbed his head to read his thoughts. She grinned voyeuristically as she found Clark's thoughts on Lex and watched for a few seconds before he broke away. "Your future mate," she said with great conviction. Clark blushed deeper but did not, could not deny it. She sat back and nodded knowingly.

"Is there something I missed?" Lex asked Martha as she walked in.

"Oh, Lex, you're here. I see you've met Kala-Ai. She doesn't exactly speak English," Martha said, slightly nervous.

Lex nodded thoughtfully and tried to place the language. He had had training in languages from all over the world: Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. He knew enough out of each of them to know for sure that whatever Clark and Kala-Ai were speaking it wasn't based anywhere near them. Curious. That meant that they weren't speaking any major language. That was nearly an impossibility, especially in the middle of Kansas. Lex sat in a chair and leaned back into it. He tried harder to match the language to anything he had ever heard.

"Lex?" Martha asked, jolting him out of his thoughts. Damn, he thought. I'll try again later.

"Lex, honey, dinner's ready," Martha called him again. He filed his thoughts away and joined the group at the table.

After food was served, Lex broke the ice. "So what couldn't you tell me at the castle, Clark?" he asked suddenly.

Clark stopped eating, put his utensils down, and bowed his head. "It's about what we talked about yesterday," he said softly, "and the idea I had of an alien spy."

At the confused looks they got from the other three at the table, Lex and Clark shared an idea. Lex turned toward Jonathan and Martha as Clark turned to Kala-Ai.

"I colonize," Clark said in Kryptonian.

Kala-Ai's stare softened. She placed a hand on his cheek and stroked lightly. "You want to?" she asked.

Clark shook his head. He couldn't say what he wanted in words so he initiated a link. "I'm a spy, aren't I? I was sent here to prepare this planet for colonization."

"That is complicated," Kala-Ai thought back to him. "You were sent here to be safe. The Council will want to know why you're here and will assume you are here to conquer."

"I don't want to cause the destruction of this world. I want to help people."

"Kal, there are ways around a cover story. You can help people using all your powers and tell the Council you are gaining their trust. They don't plan on coming here unless the natives mature as a species or are sedated into submission. I'm not saying the Council is anything great, but they do allow a planet to rule itself. But they would still want you to prepare this world. I'm worried that if you don't say you have a mate they will want to take you from this planet, permanently."

"I don't want to have to leave."

"I don't know if you can leave. You have an Intended. You're as good as Pledged. Kal-El, we mate for life and you have already chosen yours. There is no way you can leave and live. You have to stay. You have to follow any instructions Council will give you. You are a Kryptonian, stronger than most of your species because of this planet. You are too valuable to them, they will make you conquer, it is not going to be an option."

Clark let his hands fall, breaking the link.

"What's this Lex tells us about an alien spy?" Jonathan asked as soon as Clark's hands hit the table.

"I got worried when Kala-Ai landed. I didn't know why she was here, so I threw that idea into the open." Clark's eyes were downcast as he said this. "I wish it were just an idea but I know better than to doubt my own mission."

Jonathan and Martha looked at each other. Lex watched them as the pieces fell permanently into place. They only showed resignation, no surprise of any kind. He looked at Clark and felt a surge of sorrow at the sight of his friend, bowed and ashamed. Jonathan moved to comfort Clark as Martha turned toward him.

"Lex, about what-" Martha tried to begin.

"They're not human," Lex said with great conviction. "Neither of them. Clark was sent here to conquer this planet or at least gain a foothold. His aunt came to check up on him and make sure he was following orders."

Martha bit her lip and nodded sadly. She looked over at Jonathan, who was trying desperately to cheer Clark up through denying it all.

"Clark, there's no proof you're here to try to conquer," Jonathan said.

"Yes, there is, Dad," Clark said hysterically. "I was sent here to be safe and allowed to stay here so I would be given this mission. I didn't have any choice, just as I don't have any choice in mission. I'm here to conquer your world, whether we like it or not."

"I'm sure there's something else the galactic government will let you do."

"Dad, I'm a Krytonian. This planet has mutated me into the ultimate warrior. Even if I could leave I'd be transported to some uncivilized planet and told to conquer. As is, I'm trapped here for life."

"Why are you trapped here, Clark?" Lex asked, entering the fray.

Clark slumped and closed his eyes. "I've fallen in love," he said, miserable. "My species mates for life and I've already picked mine. I can't leave, not without them."

"You're trapped here because you're going to be in love with Lana for eternity?" Jonathan asked.

Martha elbowed him in the ribs. "Judging by the pronoun usage, I'd say he might be in love with anyone, possibly a man."

Jonathan paled and excused himself. The others watched him exit out the door. "He can handle the idea of his son being an alien invader but not the idea that he might be gay," Lex said incredulously. He turned to Clark and tried desperately to quell his sudden spike of jealousy. "So, Clark, who's the lucky man?"

Clark blushed. He looked deeply into Lex's eyes. "Please don't hate me for this, Love," he said softly. He saw Lex's jaw drop and his eyes go wide. He sobbed once and buried his head in his arms.

Kala-Ai moved beside Clark and put a hand on his shoulder. Before she knew it she found herself thrown over the table into the living room.

Lex snapped himself out of his shock as Kala-Ai sailed over his head. Despite fearful warning looks from Martha he walked over to Clark. He sat in Kala-Ai's newly vacant chair. "Clark?" he asked.

Clark looked up, his face streaked with crystal-blue tears. He tried to curl back up when Lex put a hand on his arm. Clark looked up again. Lex smiled softly, his eyes revealing the affection he felt. Clark uncurled and stared into Lex's eyes, not believing what he was seeing. He brought his hands up and placed them on Lex's head, initiating a link.

Lex's eyes flew open as the flood of thoughts reached his mind. They were from all over the emotional spectrum, anger and sadness, love and loss, joy and uncertainty. Many of them felt very alien; he was unable to focus, unable to discern any real meaning. As realization struck, that these were Clark's thoughts, he felt them narrowing into something manageable. He could actually feel words. "You don't have to go along with this," Clark thought in Lex's mind. "You were never asked, and I'm sorry I had to lie to you all this time. If you walked out that door and avoided me for the rest of our lives, I wouldn't blame you."

Lex felt shocked and saddened that Clark would even think to feel this way. "I'm not leaving, Clark," he said in both mediums. "I love you, this doesn't change that."

"I don't want you to feel obligated to stay, knowing what I am and how I'm bonded to you," Clark thought sadly.

"Clark, I am not leaving you. I swear it. I'll bond myself to you if that's what will make you see."

Clark broke the link with great reluctance on both sides. "Do you have any idea what you just suggested?"

"Yes, Clark, I do. I just suggested something more binding than marriage. I suggested a Pledge." At Clark's impressed look, Lex clarified. "You could read my thoughts, I could read yours."

A sudden whoop from the living room pulled the pair out of their reverie. Kala-Ai walked in, visibly pleased. "I sense a Pledge," she said in Krytonian. Clark blushed as confirmation.

Martha still sat in her chair, confused. "What just happened?" she asked.

"I guess I just asked your son's hand in marriage, Mrs. Kent," Lex said.

"What?" Jonathan asked. He stood in the doorway, angry with himself for leaving and thus allowing this to happen.

"The words `bizarre alien ritual' come to mind, Dad. I will not have you ruining this." Clark's voice was laced with Lex's usual snark. He gained a few looks at the comment. "I don't link well," was his only explanation.

"I will not have this in my house," Jonathan nearly shouted. "There is no way you can do this legally."

"Since when are alien customs governed by human law? You don't have any say in this, there's nothing you can do." Clark stood up to face his father.

"Like hell I don't. Lex, I can have you arrested for this." Jonathan pointed at Lex, trying to blame him for this.

"Arrested for what? Nothing has been done and nothing can be done for awhile. My mating season isn't for another two months, Dad. Besides, I'm already above the age of consent. Nothing done even resembles your basic Christian wedding."

"I will not have my son married to another man!" There, Jonathan said it, it was out in the open. He didn't care really that Clark was quite alien, was here to divide and conquer, what bothered him was his son's sexuality.

Kala-Ai sensed it then linked briefly with Clark. "This is why humans are considered unintelligent. The rest of the planet is very intelligent; some species are even a part of the Council. Humans, however, are the laughing stock of this arm of the galaxy." She broke the link, a look of sad amusement in her eyes.

"What was that all about?" Jonathan sneered.

"It's official. I'm staying to conquer this pitiful little planet. If I am to take you, Dad, as a representation of your species then you cannot be allowed out into the galaxy for safety reasons. Lex, Kala-Ai, let's go." Clark, Lex, and Kala-Ai turned and walked toward the front door.

"Wait, Clark, where are you going?" Martha asked.

"I have to go to Council to sort out my mission. We're going to get Kala-Ai's ship in the air and then we're going to leave," Clark said with great conviction.

"We are?" Lex asked. One look at Clark cemented the idea. "Ok, I've just got some loose ends to tie up at the plant. Want to come with, Clark? I'm sure Kala-Ai can start her ship on her own."

"Sure, Lex. What are you going to do?"

"I just need to appoint a replacement, then we're good to go."

Martha called after them as the two of them got in Lex's car. "Clark, wait, don't! You don't need to do this."

"Yes, Mom, I do. I love you Mom. Tell Dad I love him too, if he's man enough to accept me as I am. Goodbye." Clark got in the car and they sped off into the darkness.

Martha stood in shock as she watched them disappear. Realization hit and she started running toward the near field and pond. "Kala-Ai, wait! There must be another way. Please, there must be another way." There was no answer. "Kala-Ai, please, answer me!!" Still no answer. She fell to her knees by the pond and begged for an answer.

Kala-Ai breached the surface of the pond. Her ship was well in order and ready for liftoff. She saw Martha on the bank and swam to her. She linked with her. "You do know that this is Clark's choice, right?"

"He doesn't have to go," Martha thought sadly.

"The rift between father and son has been growing for years, I sense it in their minds and yours as well. This was just the last straw. I'll bring them back, I promise, but it might be a long time before I can get them home. Be patient, Martha. I'm sorry things have to end this way."

Martha smiled. "It's not yet ending, Kala-Ai," she thought. "I will see you again. Until then, take care of them." At Kala-Ai's puzzlement over the change of mood, Martha clarified. "I knew I'd be letting Clark go eventually. I'm just glad he's going to be with people he loves and trusts."

"I will bring them back, Martha. I promise." Kala-Ai bowed her head until their foreheads touched as a gesture of friendship and understanding. She broke the link and took her natural form. She stood taller and more graceful despite the sudden appearance of a mohawk-like crest along her head and neck and the antennae arced from her forehead. She smiled and dove into the water, long tail following serpentine. Martha smiled sadly and moved away from the pond so Kala-Ai could lift off.

Clark and Lex returned to find Kala-Ai already out of the pond, engines warm and ready. She had already collected Clark's ship and the tablet in the barn and had mapped out the location of the missing piece. They two of them jumped out of the car and despite yelled protests from Jonathan they climbed onboard.

As soon as they were strapped in, Kala-Ai took off low over the fields. They flew fast, pausing for only a few seconds when they stopped for the piece. With it in hand, Kala-Ai steered the ship upward. They were soon out of Earth's atmosphere and out in open space.

Kala-Ai sat back as her ship settled into a planned trajectory that would take them back to the Hub.

"What do we do now?" Clark asked in Kryptonian.

"We wait," Kala-Ai answered.

"Time?"

"One less two months."

"Clark," Lex asked, "what's the news?"

"We're on our way, but the trip is going to take somewhere between 1 to 2 months," Clark answered in English.

"Why so long?"

"Probably so we look like a wandering asteroid in case Earth is watching."

"Even if we're just headed to Mars, that's a little fast for an asteroid, isn't it?"

"Well, it depends on the asteroid. Some move pretty fast and our trajectory might imply a highly elliptical orbit, which would force high speeds at this end of the orbit. Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but human physics is full of holes. We're just slipping through one of those holes."

"Teach me."

"Sorry, Lex, but even I don't know it and Kala-Ai won't teach me." Clark paused then asked in Kryptonian, "Kala-Ai, what to do?"

"Learn," was her one word answer.

"Well, Lex, you just might get your wish. For the time we're in here, she's going to teach us something. I just don't know what."

"Language," she said to augment her first answer.

"Oh, we're going to be learning languages, Lex. That'll be useful and, wait where are we going?" Clark switched languages in mid question effortlessly.

"Hub 381, Kal-El." Kala-Ai called up a map of the solar system and zoomed in on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. "There."

Lex's eyebrows raised. He sat down on the deck of the ship. "Teach me," he commanded, eager to learn all he could before they landed. After all, they had time; they were only traveling 900 million miles. They had a ways to go yet.

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The trip was remarkably mundane. Kala-Ai played professor to both Clark and Lex. She continued to teach Clark Kryptonian until he had grown quite proficient and then began teaching him Galactic Standard. She started to teach Lex Standard, however being human he learned at a much slower pace. By the end of 7 weeks Clark had actually surpassed Lex in his knowledge of Standard.

Over the trip Clark and Lex shared a bunk, but they didn't do anything sexual. During the first week or so they had had sides to the bed but the line in-between blurred quickly until every night was spent wrapped in each other's arms.

Kala-Ai in general kept to herself. She taught the others daily, monitored the ship's progress, then usually retreated to her quarters to brood. She avoided any and all questions regarding her behavior.

Clark was getting ready to ask her again when a console started to beep. At the sound she bolted out of her quarters with all her speed and seated herself in the pilot's chair. She tapped several crystals on the console and a holographic screen appeared in front of her. It showed a detailed readout of her speed, trajectory, and distance from her particular port as well as the location of traffic in the area. She tapped a different combination and the screen went blank.

"Hub control, this is the Silver Star, requesting permission to dock," she said in Standard.

A face appeared on the blank screen, a face with a snout, swept back ears, and crystal white eyes with diamond shaped pupils. "Permission granted, Silver Star," came the reply, also in Standard. "Were you successful in your mission, Kala-Ai?"

"I was, Torlak, I bring Kal-El and his mate."

"Mate? Kal-El found a mate? I do not think the Council will like this."

"The Council will have to accept it Torlak, their Pledging has already begun."

"I just hope the Council sees it your way, for all your sakes." The screen went blank again as the connection closed.

"What do you think-" Lex began in English.

"Standard," Kala-Ai snapped.

Lex sighed. "What do you think he meant?" he asked, this time in Standard.

"It means Council will work hard to force Kal-El away from Earth so they can direct his power wherever they wish."

"What can we do about that?" Clark asked, also in Standard.

"You'll have to complete the Pledge quickly, almost as soon as I can get together who and what we need. Kal-El, we'll also probably need to get you pregnant."

"What?" asked both Clark and Lex.

"Pregnant. With child. Knocked up. Ready to lay."

"I understood that, Kala-Ai, but I thought I was male," Clark said quickly.

"So did I," seconded Lex.

"You are male, Kal-El. Both male and female Kryptonians are capable of carrying and laying fertile eggs. However, males are also capable of fertilizing eggs other than their own. Females cannot do that."

"Ok, I'll deal with that later. Now, why do I need to get pregnant?" Clark asked, overwhelmed.

"First of all, it will solidify the bond with your mate, preventing the Council from breaking you two apart and sending you elsewhere. Secondly, it will give the Council a reason to allow you to stay. Third, the Council would not pass up the opportunity to study a hybrid between such a cross. Council is very interested in hybrids, especially between a cross between intelligent and primitive parents. They find such hybrids to be useful in the annexing of the planets of the primitive species. Also, they're very curious as to find out what hybrids can and cannot exist."

"Wait, if I get pregnant my kid is going to be studied?!"

"No child of mine is going to be a lab rat," Lex injected with great venom.

"The child would not be studied. The child would either be raised by you two on Earth to help Kal-El take over or would be raised as a Kryptonian while you two stay on Earth waiting for the child to be stationed with you to help Kal-El take over. After invasion the child would remain on Earth to act as a bridge between humanity and the civilized galaxy. At that point it is uncertain whether Kal-El would be assigned another planet to conquer or would be stationed on Earth to help the child keep order. Look, we'll discuss this later; right now I've got to land this thing. Sit down and shut up, both of you."

Clark and Lex quickly strapped themselves into the copilot's seats. They both thought about what Kala-Ai had said. She had seemed very adamant about an invasion of Earth, as though she wanted it to happen. She also wasn't too worried about their child being an object of study. Well, they had made it this far out, there was little else to do except forge on ahead, especially since she was their ride home.

The thick atmosphere buffeted the ship as they descended toward the surface of Titan. As they broke through the first layer of clouds, Clark and Lex were treated with a breathtaking sight. Just under the cloud tops was suspended a circle of a dull metal. An energy field within it pulsed with unseen power. Ships flew around it like flies around a hula-hoop, almost monitoring it, but they never went through. All of a sudden the ships all clustered around the edges, staying away from either of the open ends. The circle built up a glow until white beams of energy shot out from crystals embedded every three degrees along the inside. The energy collected in the center for a half-second and exploded in a starburst of color. From the starburst grew a hole in space and a ship, dwarfed by the size of the circle, flew out of the wormhole and into the atmosphere.

"That, boys, is how we travel," Kala-Ai explained. "That is the Hub itself, it can connect you to any other Hub in the galaxy through a wormhole, but we're not headed there. Look down."

The boys looked down as Kala-Ai cleared the second level of clouds and came within view of the surface. Below them was stretched a vast city of lights. Ships, mostly of small size were flying in barely detectable patterns around the towers of the crystalline city below. Windows graced some of the towers they passed, aliens of countless different species behind them. Toward the horizon Clark could make out a shining lake of something oily and vast cliffs of ice in the distance.

Kala-Ai flew around the city once more so they could look their fills and then descended toward a docking bay a few levels above the ground. Kala-Ai took the ship in slowly, passing the force field without incident and settled down on the deck softly. She powered down the engines and secured her ship for short-term storage. "We're going to wait a few minutes," Kala-Ai said as she finished powering down.

"Why?" Lex asked as he felt the life support systems fade along with the rest of the power in the ship, including the lights.

"It's about 100K outside right now. For your sake we're going to have to wait for the temperature of the bay to raise to about 250K before we can even think of heading out there."

"How can it be so cold?" Clark asked. "And what will he breathe? Humans do need oxygen."

"The atmosphere outside right now is a mix of nitrogen and short chain hydrocarbons. Neither is particularly poisonous. It's required for a ship to power down completely before they start pumping oxygen into a bay because of the high risk of fire. They also warm the air in the bay so the passengers can exit without freezing to death. After the passengers have left the bay, the hydrocarbons are removed and the bay opened to the rest of the city. When a ship prepares for departure, the passengers board, the oxygen is removed, the bay is opened to the atmosphere, and finally the ship can power up and depart. Oh, and one more thing you need to know. Despite the fact that the actual Hub is in the upper atmosphere, this entire moon is known as the Hub, specifically Hub 381."

A muffled grating sound came from outside as Lex started to gasp for air. When the sound stopped, Kala-Ai got up and placed her hand on a panel near the hatch. "Before we go out there, I must ask one thing," she said. "Kal-El, will you please remove that human skin and take your natural form? It's embarrassing."

Clark huffed as he took his natural form. Lex would have huffed if he could breathe. Kala-Ai opened the hatch, allowing in the first methane-scented breath of an alien atmosphere. Kala-Ai jumped down to the deck and an alien Clark followed. Lex looked down to the deck twenty feet below and saw them both standing there, waiting. "One small step for Neil Armstrong, one giant leap for me," Lex said cornily and stepped out of the hatch.

Two-and-a-half seconds later, Lex hit the deck and bounced slightly. At his questioning look, Kala-Ai explained. "This is Titan, Lex, there's a lot less gravity here, about one eighth the amount you're used to. There is a no hopping rule so I had better not hear that either of you has been hopping around, you hear? Walk as you normally do. Let's go." The three left the bay, Clark and Lex slowly getting used to their space legs.

-----

Zor-La looked up when her lover entered their quarters. "Kala, I'm back," she said smugly.

Kala-Ai stopped her conversation with Clark and Lex and looked at her lover. Her eyes lit up as she grinned and with a wordless cry of joy jumped into Zor-La's waiting arms. Clark and Lex watched from the door as the two of them rubbed against each other in greeting and in love. After a few moments, Kala-Ai leaned back and gestured toward the door. "Zor, I'd like you to meet my nephew Kal-El and his mate Lex Luthor."

"Pleased to meet you, Kal-El, Lex Luthor. If I might ask, why haven't I seen you before?"

"I was raised on the third planet of this system by humans," Clark answered tentatively. "Lex is a human."

At Zor-La's disapproving look, Lex spoke up. "We're not all barbarians, despite popular opinion."

"And what if you find out that your mate Kal-El was sent to conquer your world?" Zor-La asked seriously.

"I already know that," Lex answered. "I fully accept that he has his mission and what it means for the future of my planet."

"Do you? If so, you are wise. If not, you are naive. Be prepared to be seen as both."

"I am."

"Kala-Ai, if I might speak to you a moment," Clark asked. They headed to a quiet area to talk. "You didn't tell me you were mated," he began. "She acts as though she's never even heard of me."

"I'm sorry, Kal-El, but your parents and I needed to leave her out of this. She works for the Council, directly with the representative from Krypton. If she had found out sooner you would have been taken from Earth before it was time."

"Then why can she know now if Council can't know?"

"Council already knows. Remember the ship that came through the Hub as we flew in? That was an Ambassador-class ship. The Council has sent agents to find you. Now that Zor-La knows I cannot be accused of hiding you. You'll need to complete your Pledge within 24 hours otherwise the agents will want to take you with them to Hub 001, the Council itself. As a member of Council, Zor-La can officiate. We have a satellite in orbit around Earth, a small station on the asteroid acting as Earth's second moon, which can bounce a signal so that your human parents may watch. I know some friends of the family who would be delighted to see you mated and can act as present witnesses."

"How long is the ceremony?"

"Including proper set up, the ceremony itself, the post ceremony rituals, and the consummation rites, about 20 hours."

"Then let's get to work. I want us to have enough time left over to get used to the idea."

Kala-Ai snorted. "Sure. But you're right, we do need to get started. Come on, let's go see if our mates have killed each other yet."

"I hope not."

When they reentered Kala-Ai's quarters, Zor-La and Lex were sitting companionably. "I like this human," Zor-La said, grinning. "I doubt there are many that good." Lex smiled at the complement.

"Good, Zor, because I need to ask a favor," Kala-Ai said quickly. "We need to get these two properly Pledged."

Zor-La stood up and stretched. "Very well, then. Let's go gather the group."

End Part 2