While Animalia Ambassadoria and many of the Dinotopians went on vacation to Mieni, Horizon, meanwhile kept busy with uplifting the animals that the Costa Rican drug lord had had on his property. There had been a lot of these animals and in bringing them to Animalia, there had been a fair amount of customs issues and the present US President's attempts to try and claim personal responsibility for anything good had its fair share of problems. When Costa Rica issued statements that NO American law enforcement agencies were even consulted in the hunt for Heather and thus the engagement that caught the drug lord, the US government further tried to interrupt the transfer of the animals until Costa Rica corrected its accounts so that the US got at least half the credit for the drug lord's arrest.
That back and forth continued for quite some time, and while Animalia and even some of the US government's own agencies forced the President to back off his attempts, this took time and meant that not every animal from the drug lord's menagerie arrived at the same time. The first groups to arrive were those that might have potential bond mates that were already American citizens. Many of the rest came in later, and that included a lone female Mexican Burrowing Caecilian, which supposedly had been kept as a pet in the drug lord's own home. Now, free of the drug lord, it was carried into one of the testing rooms at Horizon by Valerie Tombs. Normally, Valerie was a nurse that helped Jeremy out with some of the projects he had, particularly when it came to either uplifting animals or providing the doses for human conversion, since giving injections as a Syntixisaurus Rex was a bit difficult for him, but with him on his honeymoon, Valerie got a shot a little more work and responsibility.
"Don't worry little lady," Valerie said to the caecilian, "Soon... you'll get to experience a whole new way of looking at things and will be welcomed for who you are and not by some blowhard's agenda."
She then set the plastic container down and readied the two syringes needed for the double dosing. She then carefully reached in and managed get a hand on the caecilian and held it down in the bottom of the plastic container. The animal responded as was expected and panicked and thrashed a bit in Valerie's hands, but not to the point where Valerie was able to lose her grip. She managed to do enough so that she was able to deliver the injections at a point just behind the animal's head, and it worked perfectly with no needle being broken and no blood spilled. Valerie then set the tub down, with it actually getting a bit heavier as she did so, letting Valerie know that the caecilian was transforming and growing in size, as was to be expected.
She set the plastic tub on the floor and then stepped back to let the caecilian grow and change. It seemed to writhe as it grew larger in size, but didn't lose much of what made it a caecilian. It retained the folds of skin that made it look like a giant purple earthworm, and Valerie could see the caecilian open and close its mouth as its growing size began to reach the size where plastic tub was too small. Eventually it seemed to crawl out of the tub, opening and closing its mouth and from what Valerie could see was even "gritting" its teeth. It spilled out of its tub with its long tail growing ever longer and stronger, though Valerie also noted there were other changes now beginning form.
Halfway down its tail, the caecilian's tail began to widen, forming a set curved hips that set as wide as any other Animalian's. Beneath its newly formed and feminine hips, the caecilian rolled and climbed up onto its tail. Valerie watched in amazement as the caecilian soon stood, just like the snake Animalians and balanced on its tail. A bit below it's head, Valerie watched as nubs began to form and then stretched out, forming new limbs and mearing the hands of frog and toad Animalians. Valerie noted this as two more buds began to form on the caecilian's chest and swelled until they became a pair of generous breasts that set proudly on the new Animalian's chest. She looked herself over and then blinked newly formed eyes,
"This was... strange," the caecilian spoke with a slight Hispanic accent.
"It's okay," Valerie spoke, "You've just been uplifted. You're now what has been termed an "Animalian." And you're free of the drug lord who held you as part of his menagerie."
"The man who fed me?" the caecilian answered in a questioning tone, "I remember some things... he seemed to like money."
"Much of which was illegal and came from selling drugs to people," Valerie answered, "Illegal drugs that have negative effects, including addition... which keeps people buying the drug... until it begins to create bigger medical problems or worse... kills them."
The caecilian nodded, "Yes, he didn't seem to care about people... which doesn't seem right."
"And he will be paying for that now," Valerie answered, "and you... Cecilia... are free to live your life how you wish. You'll have to obey the law and abide by Animalia's Ten Edicts... but you will be free."
"Free..." the caecilian mused and then caught onto what Valerie called her, "Cecilia?"
"A name," Valerie answered, "I thought it'd work with you... you are a caecilian... a Mexican Burrowing Caecilian to be precise, and I thought the name would fit... it's something that humans and Animalians use to help identify each other, especially when there are others of the same species."
"There are other caecilian Animalians?" Cecilia asked.
"There might be," Valerie answered, "though... I can't say for certain as to what specific species they are. There were a few that were uplifted with the frogs and toads in the Lyre Zoo... and I think there were a few caecilians in Brazil that were uplifted in the colony there... but I don't know if they are Mexican Burrowing Caecilians."
Valerie watched as Cecilia shifted her weight slightly on her tail, moving in much the same way as many of the snake Animalians. The two stood silently for a few moments before eventually Valerie came up with a question that she drew on the basis of the silence she got from Cecilia.
"Do you not like the name?" Valerie asked, "If you don't like Cecilia... I'm sure we can come up with another."
"I'm fine with the name," Cecilia answered with a small smile and then raised an arm to look down the muscular limb, "It's just... everything is so new..."
"Don't worry," Valerie assured her, "Horizon and Animalia are more than happy to help."