The "herm gene" was something that extremely rare for vertebrate animals, and thus something that would be rare for an Animalian. The Animalia Virus's unique affects had been something that had allowed for those specific genes from some animals to be bonded to others and it had served for a decent collection herm Animalians. However, when new animals were found that had these herm genes, this attracted Horizon as part of Project Hermaphroditus. A lot of the theory was to find samples and sources that could perfect it and see what the resulting Animalian would look like. Thus with some Deep Sea Lizardfish being found to have that "herm gene," Horizon was quick to see what they could do to catch and uplift one.
This resulted in Harold going out with the specialized exploration sub for deep water missions carrying a large diving basket and one requested volunteer that could dive down into the depths of the sea. Allura was often content to be with hir wife and family, but accepted the offer in dealing with the uplifting of another deep sea hermaphroditic fish, though one that wasn't exactly like Allura. Allura was a hermaphrodite because of the unique way Anglerfish bred with the male being absorbed into the female. Now she swam alongside the submarine carrying the capsule that carried the dose of the Animalia Virus, and one that also included the certain adaptations that were used for Cousteau's uplifting. It would serve to uplift the Deep Sea Lizardfish that was desired.
"We won't run into another Giant Squid out this deep, will we?" Allura asked nervously. She generally didn't fear the colossal invertebrates all that much, as she felt she could detect them coming. However, the submarine was small in size and likely fragile. And while Harold as a Sea Krait Animalian could swim well, he couldn't breathe underwater and they'd come far enough down that he'd likely be crushed by the water pressure before he would have a chance to drown. And Allura could feel the water pressure around hir, but benefitted from the fact that hir species naturally lived in areas where the sun's light didn't reach.
"We can't be sure," Harold answered over the radio, "the water out here would be deep enough that one could come up to us... but in theory we shouldn't be anything that would be that appealing to one. The sub's hull isn't as armored as a battleship, but enough to prevent it from getting in with me and you swimming close to me would make them uninterested in you because of my presence."
Allura gave a slow nod and followed along with her eyes looking out into the darkness while keeping her own lure lit in order to look out beyond where they were. At the same time, Harold kept the lights on the submarine off, though more in power conservation and would turn the light s on if they needed to. The real test on finding the Deep Sea Lizardfish was going to be done by the sonar on the submarine and moving to what would indicate the presence of an animal that was only about two feet long. Once they found one, Allura was to deploy a bait fish with the pill with the Animalia Virus in it and let the fish eat it and then be uplifted as a result. So far this had been a slow and failed attempt, but the expedition had a fair amount of time arranged for it. After a few moments, Harold seemed to note something on his sonar and reported something to Allura.
"I believe we have something to our left about ten feet away," Harold spoke, "be prepared to move quick as it may not react well to the sub's lights."
Allura nodded as the sub began to pivot to face toward the left. She readied the cap on a plastic cap that carried a dead bait fish with the Animalia Virus pill inside it. Once she had it out in her hands, she moved to a side and waited for Harold to turn the lights on. They came on brightly and that soon lead to a flash of white scales that quickly retreated into the darkness. Allura then swam up and forward to let the bait fish float there and then moved away, and it actually served to work as she could see some reflected light off of two eyes that weren't too far away, meaning that the fish had retreated but hadn't gone far. Eventually the eyes came closer and a white scaled flat headed fish with large eyes on the top of its head and many tin pointed teeth in its triangular mouth swam forward and within a matter of moments it practically inhaled the bait fish and prepared to move away.
It did move away, but didn't get out of the range of the sub's lights as it came to a stop and seemed to shake slightly for a bit. Allura then watched as its long pectoral fins grew longer and the rays on its fins moved more to the end as they slowly evolved into webbed hands. The fish made no noise, but Allura could also se it opening and closing its mouth as it began to spin a little bit in the water. As the fish spun, the fins that were normally just below and behind the pectoral fins on the Deep Sea Lizardfish were moving down the body as it began to assume a more hominid shape and needing those fins to become the new Animalian's legs, and they began to form at the same time with the tips of those fins looking like it had webbed toes. The most surprising thing, and one was that while the new arms and legs gained the thickness to hold weight on land, they still outwardly looked like the rayed fins that the fish normally had. There were no lobes of flesh behind the fins.
From there the fish soon began to grow in size with the remainder of its tail shifting out from behind its legs and the anal fins moving to stay underneath the tail. Allura continued to watch as the new Animalian continued to grow and develop, and began to show more outward signs of being a hermaphrodite. For its dorsal fin moved to the back of its head and actually ran down its neck onto its upper back. Hir shoulders grew a bit wider while two white scaled breasts began to blossom on the new Animalian's chest, with a set of round larger scales that looked like a nipple forming at the center of those new breasts. It was at this point that the new Animalian began to actually make a sound, which sounded like a low moan rather than anything painful. Hir "hips" widened out while a nub-like fin seemed to form just above a lone slit opening and would likely serve like a penis for the new Animalian. It didn't resemble the claspers on the Shark Animalians, but Allura had the sense that it was pretty clearly "male" in nature.
"That... that was weird," the new Animalian spoke as shi looked hirself over.
"Yes... becoming an Animalian is new and different," Allura spoke as she approached and noted that the uplifted Deep Sea Lizardfish was actually a bit smaller than hir, "but it also presents new opportunities."
"An Animalian?" the new Deep Sea Lizardfish asked, "like you?"
"Like us... some are," Allura answered, "though most are mono-gendered and a great many are also based on mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animals that breathe air. But the uplifting for you would also include Lungfish DNA allowing you to breathe air as well as water. So you can journey to the surface and explore a new world."
"Us?"
"Oh, we... I... am Allura," Allura explained, "technically, as a mature Anglerfish, that mated before being uplifted, we are two fish. The male and the female. Which has led to our case of being a hermaphrodite, though more of being a combination of two fish."
"That is different from me," the new Animalian answered, "I mean I'm both genders... but not because I absorbed a male..."
The two floated there for a moment.
"I suppose I will need a name," the Deep Sea Lizardfish said slowly, "maybe Ghost... since I'm largely all white."
"With Halloween coming up... many would like that name for you and hope you can provide some "frights" for people," Allura chuckled.
"You must tell me more about this Halloween," Ghost answered.
"And I will," Allura answered and began to swim to the surface, "if you come with me... we can talk and at the top, you can talk with the chief Horizon scientist on Mieni. A Sea Krait Animalian named Harold."