CHAPTER NINE

Clark had finally arrived at the cave. He stared all over the walls. In thw walls were many symbols. They were symbols from his home. Many symbols connected to him. On the cave wall was a story told. The story was of the savior, Naman, who came in a rain of fire from the sky to save the world. Clark didn't have time to dwell on that, though. He needed to speak with Jor-El.

Clark then placed his hand on the cave wall. The cave wall illuminated. The symbols rotated, and three symbols illuminated the colors of red, blue, and yellow. The cave wall then opened and illuminated. Clark entered into the chamber and in the chamber was a stone table. On the stone table was a circle of symbols with a diamond-shaped recess, where lied at the corner of the diamond, a transparent crystal with a symbol on it. Also near the diamond recess, was a keyslot.

Clark held the key in his hand, and looked upward. "If you're my father, talk to me," said Clark, as if talking to the key. Then, Clark inserted the key into the keyslot. "TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

After he inserted the key into the keyslot, a backlash of energy enveloped Clark, and he had entered a nexus of energy, where there was a void, with an energy plane where Clark stood. In the midst of the void, Clark heard a voice, say, as if in accusation, "It was you who brought you upon yourself, Kal-El."

"What did I do!"

"I sent you here to unite the three elements."

Was that why Clark was sent to Earth? To collect those crystals that Lana and Lex were searching for?"The crystals! But they have nothing to do with me!"

"But they do, Kal-El, for the knowledge of the universe was meant for you alone. Yet you chose to deny your heritage. Today you will witness the consequences of your actions."

"So you sent a meteor shower? For my mistakes?" asked Clark.

"I have done nothing, Kal-El. Human blood has stained one of the elements and awakened a great danger from the darkness of space."

A danger headed for Earth? That must've been the meteor shower Jor-El was talking about."What can I do to stop it?" demanded Clark.

"There is nothing you can do to prevent what is already in motion. But the meteor shower is not the danger. It is just the beginning, Kal-El. I warned you that the elements could not fall into the hands of a human. The three must become one. It is the only way to save Earth from total annihilation."

"I don't know where they are! I don't have time to find them."

"If you don't unite them at once, you, my son, will be seared by a fire from the sky. Even you can't survive. The future of mankind rests in your hands, Kal-El."

So Smallville was not only in danger, but it was the whole world if he didn't unite the three crystals? "Please, help me", he begged Jor-El, "I can't do this alone"

Then, immediately, a surge of energy backlashed him from the nexus and blasted Clark back into the cave. He immediately awakened after the backlash and looked at the stone table and saw the diamond-shape recess on it, which had one crystal in it. One of three, he reminded himself. He also looked at the keyslot next to the diamond-recess, and it was empty. The key had disappeared. He couldn't believe it. Not only need to find the remaining two crystals, but the key, as well.

Then,as if inside his head, he heard a voice. "Remember, Kal-El," said the voice, which Clark recognized as Jor-El, "Time is of the essence."

Then, Clark stared at the stone table with the one crystal in the center and ran at super-speed out of the cave to find the remaining two crystals and the key, as well. If he didn't, the consequences could be severe. Not only for Smallville, but the entire planet.

Above in the darkness of space, meteors were rocketing towards the planet Earth at an accelerated rate. Many meteors began to burn up under the pressure of Earth's atmosphere.

The meteors continued to go on their trajected path with one goal: destruction!

Clark ran out of the cave, and couldn't find either of the crystals or the key. He was beginning to get frustrated. Everything and everyone in the world if he failed to act. Clark needed to head home, but that would be a good place on this mission or quest or some other thing that you find in a comic book.

Clark finally arrived at the Kent barn to find his mom putting their dog Shelby into the truck and his dad was securing all the objects in the truck. His dad looked up and saw Clark arrive quickly. "Clark, great," he said, as he got down from the truck, and handed Clark a cord, "Why don't you help me secure the truck?"

Clark shook his head. "No, dad, you two are going to have to go ahead without me."

Clark's mom looked at him with a look of absolute shock. "What?"

Clark's dad just looked at him with stern determination. "Do I have to remind you, Clark, that the last time there was a meteor shower in Smallville that it was full of green meteor rocks?"

Clark's mom nodded in agreement. "If the same thing happens today, the meteor shower could kill you. You have to come with us now."

Clark looked at his parents with a look of grim determination. "I spoke to Jor-El."

Clark's parents looked at him in dissatisfaction, which was reasonable considering what they bknew of Jor-El. He had pushed Clark to do so many things that caused unhappiness and tragedy within the Kent family.

"Jor-El told me that I have to find the other two crystals right now and unite it with the one in the cave, or the whole world will be destroyed," explained Clark.

"NO! YOU'RE MY SON! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO ON SOME KIND OF SUICIDE MISSION!" cried out Martha to Clark.

Jonathan stood beside his wife and held her tightly to calm her down. "Clark, you might be stronger than steel, but you are NOT invincible."

Clark nodded in agreement, and said grimly, "I know, dad, but I'm the only one who can do this."

Jonathan Kent stared at his son with sadness, but Clark only stared him down with a look of sad determination, saying he was scared but kn ew he had to do it. Then, Jonathan looked at his wife Martha and she looked at Clark and saw the same thing. Jonathan then nodded. "All right."

He then held Clark's shoulders tightly, and looked him in the eyes. He could see in Clark's eyes the eyes of a child and the eyes of a man. "All right. But I want you to listen to me right now. All the years that your mother and I spent raising you from a . . . wide-eyed toddler running around on this farm to the man who is standing in front of me right now was for this moment."

Clark stared into his father's eyes. Clark was scared, and was glad that he had his father to turn to when he needed him. He was glad he had a father like Jonathan Kent. But he could tell Jonathan was scared for Clark, but at the same time, he sensed that strong belief in him, as well. "You do this, son. You make us proud."

Clark nodded with that grim determination. Then, both Jonathan Kent and Clark Kent sank into each others' arms in an intimnate father-son embrace, hoping that they would see each other again. Clark didn't want to let go. He hoped that the longer he held onto Jonathan's embrace, he could leech some of the inner strength that his father had.

Then, father and son broke off the embrace, and Clark turned to his mother, who stood there, as if she was about to break down right there. Then, Martha Kent sank into her son's arms. She held her son in a n intimate embrace in which she hoped would not be the last. Then, both Jonathan and Martha Kent stared into Clark. They looked at him, as if telling him to go do this thing he was about to do.

Martha just looked at Clark and said to him, "Now, go, Clark. Be brave and don't look back."

Jonathan nodded at Clark, as if telling him to hurry his butt on over. Clark then turned around to go to the barn to see if the key might've disappeared there after Jor-El spoke to him in the cave. So he headed into the barn, and did not look back just as his mother had told him not to.

Martha Kent turned around and faced Jonathan with a look of grim sadness and worry that they might not see their son again. She then reminded her husband of one grim fact. "Those meteors can kill him, Jonathan."

As Jonathan secured the truck with all their stuff they would need for the evacuation, he replied and faced his wife. "I know that, sweetheart. But if we have faith in our son, then we can't let that faith waver now."

Martha then began to cry as she sank into Jonathan's arms, and they held onto each other tightly, hoping their son would come out of this quest he had decided to embark on.

Clark then walked into the barn furiously, trying to see if the key was in the barn. As he was in the middle of doing that, he saw a young slender woman leaning on a beam in the barn, very sad. She was slender, and had long black hair. Clark knew in an instant who it was.

It was Lana.