Animalia Aquatica had been working on uplifting different varieties of fish for quite some time now. However, there were some limitations. As the Animalian virus needed bone marrow to latch onto to begin the uplifting process, invertebrates could not be uplifted. Deep sea fish were not used, but it was more due to inaccessibility than inability. The fish that had adapted to the dark, crushing pressure of the deep ocean wouldn't likely be able to survive being taken to the surface to be given the Animalian virus. And all but the smallest of whales were off-limits. It wasn't just because there were whale species still endangered, but there was no way to tell if a whale would be able to survive the massive decrease of mass to match normal Animalian scale, if they shrank at all.
But there were still plenty of other notable fish to uplift. One type of fish that hasn't been uplifted yet is the seahorse. Some might question whether a seahorse actually has bones, considering it already has bony plates covering its body, but there was a spine inside it. A pair of Pacific seahorses were selected for the project, both because of its availability and it was one of the bigger species of seahorses. Hence its other common name, the giant seahorse.
However, there was something that had to be factored in before the project began. Seahorses lacked pelvic or caudal fins, their locomotion being limited to their dorsal fin and their prehensile tail. As such, there wouldn't be anything for the Animalian virus to adapt into legs. Though this wouldn't be the first time Animalia Aquatica had to deal with a finless fish. The simplest thing would be to add sea snake DNA to give the seahorses more mobility on land. However, the scientists had another idea.
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Cecilia did like the opportunity to travel to Mieni Atoll, though she was still adapting to a lot of things about Animalia. Such as grasping why she needed to be there. "So, you want my DNA so these seahorses can slither on land?" she asked.
"Well, not just yours," said Harold, "We also need some of hers." He indicated to the other amphibian who had come to Mieni. Chel was proving to be an extremely useful worker in Horizon's labs. Much like Judy, her exposure to lab studies prior to her uplifting made her rather gifted at laboratory work.
"I'm not seeing how my DNA is that necessary either," said Chel, "Kirana was able to help Teela slither on land. It seems a bit redundant to be adding two sources of amphibian DNA when sea snake DNA has worked before."
"Your DNA is more of a catalyst," said Harold, "As you know, axolotls have a unique DNA structure that makes them very adaptable. And caecilian physiology would fit a seahorse's a lot better than a sea snake's."
"Hmm...that makes more sense to me," said Chel.
"Not to me," said Cecilia.
Chel patted her fellow amphibian on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. You'll get more used to these sort of things."
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The two seahorses were a dull green in color and floated around in their tank. Well, they couldn't really move very fast, seahorses being the slowest swimmers in the animal kingdom. They didn't pay much attention as the scientist stepped into their tank, with his two syringes, which contained a cocktail of mudskipper, caecilian, and axolotl DNA. The seahorses squirmed a bit as they were grabbed and injected before the scientist hurriedly stepped out.
The changes didn't take long to start. The most obvious sign was that the pair were growing. They had started at seven inches long and were quickly become much longer than that. Unlike most fish, the seahorse's pectoral fins were located behind its eyes. Instead of migrating down to become arms, a completely new pair of limbs grew out from the sides of the seahorses as shoulders came into existence. As their heads grew, they started taking unusual shape. The fins behind their eyes became noticeably longer, much like an axolotl's gills. The distinctive snouts became shorter and the mouths developed more into what Cecilia's looked like. Likewise, their hands didn't have the webbed fingers like most other fish Animalians, but looked more like the kind of hands that amphibian Animalians had.
Pretty soon, the seahorses were using their new hands to grasp the sides of the tanks and pulling themselves out of the water. They both took their first gasp of air but didn't start suffocating. It was fairly easy to tell them apart now as the male named Triton now had broad shoulders and muscular definition on his chest. The female, Thoosa, had a very feminine figure, with larger breasts that didn't look out of place on her mermaid-like body, despite it still having bony plates.
The seahorses found themselves able to lift out of the water using their tails. As they came out of the tank, Triton looked at his tail and said, "I don't remember my tail being that strong before."
"Well, I don't remember having these before," said Thoosa, "Or these for that matter." She hefted up her new breasts in demonstration.
"You two are now members of Animalia," said Harold, "A community of uplifted animals like yourself."
"Are we really?" asked Triton.
"Well, your DNA isn't pure seahorse You've had other DNA put in you, from these two ladies," said Harold before indicating Chel and Cecilia who waved.
"I was wondering about these," said Trion, feeling his longer head fins.
"So what does this Animalia have?" asked Thoose, slithering forward on her now-powerful tail.
"I think you'll like what you're about to see," said Harold.