Man...am I glad to see you!

Yeah...I'll bet. I'm [name]...who are you?

The name's Marshall. If you don't mind me asking...how the heck are you breathing right now?

Oh. Ummm...that's a very long story, but let's just say that, well...I don't really know!

And yet...here you are. Well, I can't argue results. I'm glad to see you. These sea spout Animated are the most advanced specimens I've seen to date. They *spoke*!

I noticed that. That Sea Witch...Lorelei?...seemed pretty intent on doing *something* with you, keeping you a prisoner like that.

Well...there's no guarantee that she wasn't just mimicking behavior she had seen somewhere else, but I'll agree that it seemed like she had a purpose. And I'm afraid that it might have been something that is a serious departure for the Animated.

Like what?

I'm not certain. But these sea spouts certainly seemed to be patterning themselves after traditional Sirens from mythology...and that doesn't bode well for any captives they might take.

You sound like you know a lot about this area.

I should. I've been studying Shallow Sea zoology for over a decade now, even more intensely since the Event.

Event?

The Gambino Event. As far as I can tell, it's the reason the Animated started to appear.

What? How do you know that?

Hmmm...well, firstly, the Animated definitely originated here. Some of the oldest Animated inhabit these depths. And this is where Gino and Johnny fissioned with enough energy to draw the Zurg here from outer space.

Okay...I can see that, but it seems like pretty serious guesswork still.

Oh, I think you'll see that I know what I'm talking about. I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

Really? Is someone else studying this area?

More than studying, I'd say. 'Farming the area' is more like it.

Huh?

You'll see. Just keep doing what you're doing and you won't be able to help it.

Maybe I should tag along for a while? I really do know a lot about this area.

Sure! Sounds like a good idea.

Great. I'll stay out of the way, trust me. I haven't got any of those fancy rings you used on the sea spouts.

Sounds good. Pipe up if you see something we should know about.

I've only been down here a few times, but it's pretty hostile.

What did you see here?

More hostile Animated and some man-made sub-like constructs from which I've kept my distance. Also, the remnants of the Gambino Tower that fell when everyone thought Johnny Gambino was assassinated. And...something else you'll have to see to believe.

Oh?

Yeah. I'm certain it's the source of the lights everyone's seeing on the surface of the water above.

What is it?

You'll have to wait and see. Trust me.

Okay, I guess I don't have much of a choice. Let's move.

Do you know what you're seeing here?

It's a piece of the Gambino Tower that fell a few years ago.

In many ways, it was the start of the entire mess that we're dealing with now.

And it's almost certainly part of why everything seems centered here, in this area of the Shallow Sea.

Do you see now why I didn't try to explain it to you, wanting you to see it for yourself instead?

What the heck IS all that?

I don't know. I was in this area about a year ago, scouting the depths here for unusual wildlife, and I didn't see *any* of this here.

Do you think this is made by the *Animated*?!?

No. Or at least, I don't *think* so. The Grunny Subs make me very, very suspicious that the Gambinos and G-Corp are behind all of this.

Why is that?

Well...lots of folks missed details like this, but the Grunnies, G-Virus and the Gambinos seem to be really tightly tied together.

When the towns were getting overrun by zombies a few years back, the news reported that it was experiments with a 'G-Virus', created by G-Corp, that somehow caused the zombies to be created.

Okay...but what does that have to do with Grunnies?

I'm not sure...but the number of times that Grunnies have been mentioned in the same articles as 'G-Virus' makes me think there's some sort of connection.

So, if that's the case, then what do you think the Gambinos are *doing* down there?

I have no idea. In fact, this is as far as I go with you. If you keep moving down this ledge, there are grunny guards and other...things...that are too dangerous for me to get by.

Yeah. I getcha. Without any rings, I wouldn't have even gone as far as you've gone so far. You're a brave man, Marshall. Go home and take care of Jesse.

Perhaps. There are a few more things I'd like to check out here first...but I wish you the best of luck. Whatever is down there is going to be challenging, I'm sure. Be careful.

See ya, Marshall.

Here...let me give you these blueprints as partial thanks for saving me from that Sea Witch, Lorelei!

Well, this is as far as I can accompany you. The Lab is far too dangerous for my old bones.

I wish you luck, you will need it. Farewell.

So...the gibberish about intruders that the grunnies were gabbling about was true. You even made it past the robofish. Impressive!

All ultimately futile, of course. Even if you make it past these defenders, our Sealab forces grossly outnumber you.

Ta, ta for now! Your doom awaits...so don't tarry too long!

Wait! I give up! I surrender! You weren't supposed to make it this far! I'll tell you everything...just don't hit me!

Everything? Like what? What is this place?

This is a deep-sea research laboratory, funded by the NeXuS Corp., investigating the unusual fauna in the area.

'Unusual fauna'? You mean the Animated!

What does NeXuS have to do with G-Corp anyway?

You think all THIS is just about ruining G-Corp? Well...sure...we all have our grudges here, but the demise of that empire is a mere byproduct of our true purpose. This sealab is about much more than Gambino's paltry vision of financial domination! This is about POWER!

What sort of power?

Why here, so far under the water?

That fission event that attracted the Zurg detonated nearby...and when that occurred, it left a signature behind...a sort of *wound*...that's leaking energy into our world in way that has never before occurred.

You mean Ghi energy?

Is the world wounded?

The leak is massive, but even so, the world is gigantic in comparison. We didn't even know there was such a thing as a biosphere or Ghi energy before, but we know it's size now and this leak should bear no threat, even now at its increased dimensions.

What the heck's a biosphere?

Increased size? You mean the rip is getting bigger?!?

Apparently, we're *all* part of the biosphere. The world seems to contain the biosphere's energy somehow, like a charged battery, and as near as we can tell, we all pull a charge constantly. We usually call it 'life', but that's messy nomenclature, so we call it Ghi energy instead. Same thing.

Get on with it!

Yes...of course. Anyway, the rip wasn't leaking fast enough, so we built this complex to harvest the Animated that teemed across the sea floor close to the fissure. We extracted the rings and then distributed them as weapons to all of you so eager to protect your homes.

What? But that means...!

Yes. You need the rings to protect your homes against the Animated, which are only affected by the Ghi energy focused through a ring, but in using the rings, you force the rift to widen further, loosing more Ghi energy upon the world which, in turn, creates more Animated!

Isn't it all just so symmetrical? And the boss man has captured and focused a lot of that extra Ghi you so unknowingly provided us.

Focused it into what?

Ha! I'm not telling you! Even if you tripped all three security checkstations at once and got into the main lab, you'd still be too late. The boss has already started the breeding program!

Breeding program?

You'll never know! And now there's been enough time for my reinforcements to ready their teleport mechanisms. Enjoy your battle! Ta ta for now!

Mwu-ha-ha!

Lookout! Another teleporter!

Who is it?

Who am I? I'm the shadow of the man to whom you all bend your knee. I am progeny ex machina. Simply put, I'm death insurance.

Death insurance?

What the heck does *that* mean?

It means that I have pretended for years, working steadily for my 'father', managing his companies as if I *was* him already.

But if Johnny Gambino has the intellect of kings, why should it surprise anyone that his *copy* shares that same capacity for intellect?

Copy? Of Johnny Gambino?

Is this guy talking to *us* or *himself*?

Even so, I was loyal. It was I that saved my father *and* his birth son, Gino. It was I that released the pent up Ghi energy with a timely injection of a critical catalyst.

Wait a minute! This is the guy that triggered the Gambino event?!?

The energy released when the Gambinos separated was primordial, but surprisingly non-destructive in nature.

Non-destructive? It sure made a heck of a hole!

Yeah...but no one was killed, remember?

Yeah...no one but Labtech X anyway. Or at least that's what we were told..

I was plunged over a cliff into the sea by the Gambino fission, falling to what seemed certain doom...utterly ignored by my own father, whose only thought was for Gino...with no thought for the fate of a *REPLACEABLE* clone.

Oh, poor baby. Daddy doesn't want you...

Mock me not! For while the Gambinos were distracted by the Zurg invasion, and everyone else thought I had perished, I summoned to my side those Labtechs I had suborned over the years, solidifying my power base from assets I had hidden while I ran *his* businesses.

Gotcha. You stole from your Dad and snuck around while everyone was busy defending the world.

Nice one!

I did not *sneak*. I investigated the energy that continued to resonate from the nearby fission crater, and built this complex of undersea laboratories from which to study it.

And what are you doing with all these labs?

My ultimate purpose is now nearly complete. This laboratory houses my gargantuan Sealab X prototype, and in mere moments, I will infuse it with Ghi energy and force it to fully Animate!

Prototype?

Gargantuan?

*You* are going to Animate it? You can *do* that?!?

That's right, I have learned much since that fateful day on the ocean cliffs. Soon, the unattached Ghi energy in the area will copy my prototype, as is the way of the Animated everywhere, and a whole host of them will come into existence!

But...that's insane! The Animated hate us 'naturals'!

You'll kill us all!

Not so! I built slaving mechanisms into my prototype. When the Animated copy themselves, they will also copy those controls, and I shall be able to command these new Animated as my own private army!

He said 'army'. We can't fight an army!

We may not have a choice!

Your choices are over! The infusion is complete and I leave you now to control my Sealab. You shall be the first to feel its full might, but certainly not the last. I regret that you shall not survive the encounter.

He teleported away!

But to where? And for what?!?

What's that coming out of the darkness above us?!?

Look out! It's huge!

That's what she said.

Come to me, my Grunnies!

Grunnies! Protect me!

Don't just hide, you radioactive rabbits! Help me!

Ha! You think yourselves victorious, but the loss of the tail unit is nothing!
This Animated is entirely modular. As you will soon find out!
But meanwhile, let destruction rain down!

Now you face the awesome might of the main battle structure of this prototype Animated!

It will *all* be mine! At last!

Bow before the might of SEALAB!

Doomed! Doomed! DOOMED I SAY!

Prepare to be torpedoed!! haHAhaHAha!

Death from above!

You cannot win!

I'll crush you ALL!

NO! How is it possible?
But this is just a setback. With the detached Head unit, I can still remake the Sealabs.
My plan can still succeed! But first...you all must die.
My Animated mines will keep you busy while I prepare the Head unit for your destruction!

Mwu-ha-ha! This head unit is protected by invulnerable force fields. It will make short work of you!

What? The force field compensators should be nullifying the damage!

Must...defeat...you all! This Sealab must not be destroyed!

There are labtechs out there that will pay for this failure.

The whole town is proud of you! Well done! Everything seems to make so much more sense now that we know about the Gambino event being the source of our troubles!

Yeah...but all I did was stop a megalomaniac from launching an invasion of remote-controlled Sealabs. We still have to deal with the Animated out there!

Even though stopping Labtech X from his plans doesn't actually get rid of the Animated, at least we know more about WHY they're appearing and that's a lot more than we knew previously.

I mean, we have to keep using the rings or the Animated will overwhelm us, but we'll get the science-types focused on the crater and the concept of a global 'biosphere' right away!

I suppose that's true.

Heck, maybe now that we know a little bit, some way will be unveiled so we can know even more! This could be really exciting!

Heh. That's a great attitude, Leon.

Hi, hun! It's so good to see you in one piece again!

You too, Agatha.

Now that you've revealed who's behind the NeXuS corporation, we've sent messengers to the Gambinos about the situation. No one knows where Johnny is at the moment, but we wanted him to know right away about his clone's escapades.

I still can't believe it. Labtech X is a clone of the most senior member of G-Corp?!?

Well...now we know. And although the clone may have stolen a lot more from Johnny than he revealed this time around, now that he's been destroyed, it's just a matter of time until G-Corp recovers all those hidden assets.

The faster the better. There were a lot of Labtechs down there, and I'm not going to assume they were all captured or defeated. They might have a 'Plan B' or something that we don't want to find out about.

Too true. Of course, we still have our hands full with the Animated, and we still have to restore reliable communications with Durem, Aekea, and Gambino Island itself. It might take us a while to tie up all these loose ends.

That makes sense.

Greetings once more, young ninja-to-be.

Hi again, Kin!

I am quite interested in how Labtech X was able to control the G'hi energy itself. The concept of a life aura surrounding and permeating everything in our world will be embraced by my Clan's mystics.

Yeah...it sure seems like a lot of people are going to be trying to use that energy once word gets out that it's a controllable resource.

That is true. But if this G'hi energy surrounds and embraces us, then perhaps there is more to it than even Labtech X may have suspected.

That's an interesting way to look at it, Kin.

We shall look into it further as soon as I return to my Clan in the forest.

Hey there, junior. It's about time you made it back to Barton Town.

Yeah, yeah. Harass me some more, Logan.

I'd be happy to, but for right now, I guess I'm gonna have to break down and congratulate ya instead.

Nah. Nevermind. I can't do it. Let's just say you did 'passably well' and end all this complimenting once and for all.

Ha, ha. Thanks a load there.

Never a problem. Listen, it stinks that everyone that's defending their homes is now officially 'part of the problem' as we keep pulling more G'hi energy out of this 'biosphere' you keep telling us about and making more Animated because of it.

So we're going to need to find out a lot more about the nature of that energy, and that sort of research is almost certainly going to involve a lot of traveling beyond the Barton Town area.

Sounds interesting!

It had better! 'Cuz when we get our strategy figured out here, you can bet that we're going to come callin' to see if you'll help us with it.

Anytime, Logan! I'm happy to help any way I can.

I know y'are, bub. I know y'are. But don't call us, we'll call you. In the meantime, just get out there and help folks any way you can.

Can do!