Crossword Genius

Really without a key part, we gather (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rally

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'gather' is the definition.
(I know that rally is a more specific form of gather)

'really without a key' is the wordplay.
'without' suggests deleting specific letters.
'a key' becomes 'E' (musical key).
'really' with 'e' taken away is 'RALLY'.

'part we' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rally that I've seen before include "Get better; car meet" , "Recover strength after illness" , "Get-together" , "exchange over the Net?" , "several shots" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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