(The Terror is written by Dan Simmons)
(Azur Lane is property of Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi)

- Night Terrors -

This elusive quality it is, which causes the thought of whiteness, when divorced from more kindly associations, and coupled with any object terrible in itself, to heighten that terror to the furthest bounds. Witness the white bear of the poles, and the white shark of the tropics; what but their smooth, flaky whiteness makes them the transcendent horror they are? That ghastly whiteness it is which imparts such an abhorrent mildness, even more loathsome than terrific, to the dumb gloating of their aspect. So not fierce-fanged tiger in his heraldic coat can so stagger courage as the white-shrouded bear or shark.

Herman Melville
Moby Dick (1851)

- Terror -

Lat. 70.0500° N. Long. -98.2300° W.
October, 1847

The shimmering folds of light kept up their assault upon her and the men on watch. Always fast to lunge; always just as swift to retreat. The celestial spirits of the North were usually like this, viscous and unyielding with their attacks… At least, that's what Captain Crozier imparted to her all those years prior upon first laying eyes on said spirits swimming effortlessly through the night sky.

Terror was equal parts amazed and terrified back then when she first laid eyes on the apparition's, having not the chance to truly see them up close during George Back's ill-fated command over her. But even now, almost a decade since then, they were still far outside her reach to fully understand their purpose in this world. Why they were the way that they were in many ways…

Currently however… Terror couldn't help to be somewhat thankful for them choosing to ravage the barren, ice and snow covered lands which their ruled over with arrays of simmering tones of blue, violet and green lights. They presence soothed her as she huddled further into the warmth of the woollen comforter currently wrapped around her small body.

Though she wasn't necessarily human by natural means, simply just another spirit within this deathly land, and the cold not having an effect upon her as much as it did the rest of her crew, Terror still appreciated the sense of solace the comforter provided.

Hearing some commotion towards her bow - out of sight - Terror and the few men on watch near her place at the stern and port railing were momentarily roused from their posts until they noted the calmness of the voices which fallowed. From that alone, she knew it was nothing to worry about. In fact, if Terror's ears weren't mistaken, one of the voices sounds an awful lot like her Captain's - probably doing his rounds of the deck again, or maybe he also heard the scream which sounded off not too long ago... She knew he didn't fair very well when it came to such things.

A small smile came to her normally glum face however at the thought of said man. Terror had always held a true fondness towards Captain Crozier ever since their first expedition together, even if he was somewhat loud and easy to anger at times given his Irish heritage. Still, she'd known him for several years by this point and the bomb-turned-expeditionary ship thought their relationship was overall near perfect besides that; both knowing as much, if not more, about the other as one would their own life long spouse in many ways. Terror couldn't say she would've preferred any other man to command her now within this frozen wasteland besides Captain Crozier - even if it was in bad spirits to dishonour Captain Franklin in such a way.

… The sudden thought of their expeditionary leader and what had befallen him only made to sour the good feeling she'd only just restrained mere moments ago. Memories of consoling her dear sister months prior still lay heavily upon Terror's soul. It was obvious the loss of her Captain lay heavy on her even if she tried to appear steadfast for her crew and Commander Fritzjames. Though, from what she was told by Warrant Officer Thompson upon his last run, Erebus was anything but well - even he could see it…

Terror wished she could simply just run over to Erebus right this instant and be with her sister now, but she firmly knew that she couldn't. Not only because she had a duty to her own crew, and to Captain Crozier, something she wouldn't dare disgrace so shamefully, but also because of what was waiting outside for them within the snow laden darkness the spirits above didn't dare touch. The thing… The monster which had killed Sir. John and countless other members of their expeditionary force was still laying in wait for them out there to make any wrong moves. She knew this as well as anyone else trapped here, and it just made distressful tears come to bear at the simple thought of again seeing the thing which plagued her nightmares so readily.

As she cried silently to herself, a fur covered hand came up to her face; gently wiping away the wetness so that it didn't freeze and cause her any unnecessary harm. It wouldn't, of course. Even if the cold did bother them, it didn't affect spirits such as herself like it would any normal human. At least, not traditionally at least…

Sniffling, Terror acknowledged the person currently seated in front of her with a reserved smile as she snuggled even further into her comforter. She didn't know the true name of the esquimaux woman who always found herself way by her side - or to Erebus's if the opportunity even presented itself. Despite usually finding herself in the company of the native, the converted bomb ship in actuality knew very little about the woman. What she did know however was the information which came from what was said in passing by her crew and what Dr McDonald had reported after the incident when they first came across her.

... Now, Terror wasn't some foolhardy little girl, unlike what most of the none-commissioned crew were allowed to think. She knew what the men were saying, the meaning behind their sly words, and she always report such dishonourable conduct to the Captain whenever she was able, along with the names of the men who were chattering alongside them. Even though through her own admission she herself didn't know much about the woman personally, Terror knew truly that Lady Silence - an apt, though somewhat mean spirited, name given to the woman by the officers from Dr McDonald's findings - wasn't responsible for their plight, nor the monster which was stalking them out in the darkness, despite her sorts mysterious and mystical ways.

No. She was as much in danger as were the rest of them, and thankfully her Captain rightfully understood such as well. It was primarily why if Silence wasn't with Terror, or on the off chance her sister Erebus, Mr. Diggle - her ships master cook - or Third Lieutenant Irving would be watching over her in case any of the men had any unsavoury ideas…

On one of those minor points however, Terror was beginning to think that maybe said Lieutenant might just be outreaching his natural capabilities as a guardian somewhat… The subtle sound of frost breaking on thick clothing as a person adjusted themselves as well as the restrained chattering of teeth only made to solidify such thoughts as Terror looked up towards Lieutenant Irving.

The young man had been standing - well, more so leaning at this point - against her port side railing for over an hour past his allotted watch shift by this point. The dark coloured wool of his cold weather clothes were coated in a fine but still consistent layer of frost, and worryingly still, because the man seemingly refused to properly use his comforter properly to shield his face from the biting cold, icicles were now starting to form out of his exposed nostrils like malformed tusks.

If Terror wasn't so upset with the man's reckless endangerment of his own wellbeing, she might've made a somewhat out of character joke about him looking like some glum-looking walrus. But no, if he so wished to refuse her aid - which she had repeatedly attempted to supply to the young man for the past hour - to either help properly cover himself up or to retreat to the warmth of the lower decks instead attempted to make garden talk with Lady Silence, then so be it. The Lieutenant will just have accept that he'll likely be visiting Dr McDonald again at some point to remedy his seventh case of frostbite…

… Oh… dear… Terror couldn't help but think to herself at the prospect of being so worked up by this whole thing… How she just knew her Captain wouldn't like any of this when he finally gets round to them…

And if by naming the Devil himself allowed, Terror could hear the slow gliding of boots as someone made their way up towards them and past Midshipman Evans - the man who was supposed to take Lieutenant Irving's station over an hour prior; now left standing almost aimlessly ten feet away from them trying to continue his allotted job to the best of his abilities. The conversation she'd noticed from earlier having died out peacefully during her prior musings and now her Captain had finally made his way to them… and Terror knew he most definitely wouldn't be pleased with what he was about to find.

"Lieutenant Irving." Captain Crozier barked out towards the wayward Lieutenant suddenly upon reaching their small group; causing the man in question to almost jump out of his skin out of sheer fright. Taking hold of the port railing with his mitten covered left hand to steady himself, Lieutenant Irving immediately made to raise his right hand to his head; giving the Captain a respectful salute upon realising who had frightened him - though with how the man was still shaking from the cold as well as the scare he'd just experienced a couple moments prior, it was a rather poorly executed for one in Terror's own opinion… Not helped by the fact that he still very much looked like a snow laden walrus and not a respectable English officer of Her Majesties Navy…

"As you were." snapped the older man as he proceeded to look over the scene laid out before him in full. Lieutenant Irving rigidly standing where he stood by the railing, seemingly trying to find something to say but falling short, all the while Lady Silence and herself sat together a few feet away in apt silence - Terror, for her part, not truly wanting to get involved with the conversation which was to come unless it was required of her. Still, that didn't stop Terror, nor her Captain for that matter, from sharing a brief glance or two with one another for curiosities sake. Both of them likely wanting to know what the other thought regarding this… incident, for the lack of a better term.

With a bit of a sigh on his breath, the Captain placed his focus back on Lieutenant Irving, "This isn't your watch, Lieutenant." he continued with the same bite to his words as before, though Terror herself could tell he really didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it ultimately did. He was indeed still very much angry, that shouldn't be downplayed, but his anger was more towards the Lieutenant's blatant lack of self care then anything overly malicious. Terror truly knew just how much Captain Crozier cared for his men, it was just that he tended to both be bad at showing it and the fact that he needed to keep an steady order of discipline for the men so as for them to not turn mutinous; which in turn could jeopardise the survival of the entire expedition.

"Aye, aye, sir." the Lieutenant began to stutter out in response through the continuous chattering of his teeth, "I mean, no, sir." whilst also continuing on to correct himself again and again, "I mean, the captain is correct, sir. I mean…"

Seemingly having enough of his attempts to find the right collection of words to say however, Captain Crozier decided to simply get down to the point of the matter - though this time taking a far more calmer approach than he had previously. "Why are you still out here, John?" he asked carefully, causing Lieutenant Irving to blink in visible confusion, or at least he tried to blink - sadly it seemed like the man's eyelids were quite literally frozen open by this point and he was having some trouble actually shutting them…

"You ordered me to watch over our guest… to look out for… to take care of Silence, Captain." the Lieutenant tried to explain despite his own troubles; as if what he was doing still standing around out here was within some semblance of sound reason - at least to him - but all he got immediately was a heavy and exasperated sigh from Captain Crozier.

"I didn't mean every minute, Lieutenant." the Irishman snapped once more, "I told you to watch her, report to me on what she does, to keep her out of mischief and harm's way on the ship, and to see that none of the men do anything to… compromise her. Do you think she's in danger of being compromised out here on deck, Lieutenant? Especially when Terror herself is currently seated right next to her, and likely has been since I was last on deck?"

Lieutenant Irving momentarily looked down to the two of us then, seemingly a bit unsure with what he should say in response to such an inquiry. Terror, in many ways, despite believing that the Lieutenant was more so a liability at this point with how he was continuing to disregard his own health, understood the man's internal plight in this particular moment… "No, Captain…" he ultimately responded after some consideration, though in many ways it sounded more like a question than a solid answer.

Something to be expected she supposed…

"… Do you know how how long it takes for exposed flesh to freeze out here, Lieutenant?" Crozier asked then in response.

"No, Captain. I mean, yes, Captain. Rather quickly, sir, I think."

"You should know, Lieutenant Irving." her Captain then offered knowingly, "You've had frostbite six times already, and it's not even officially winter yet."

The Lieutenant could only nod dolefully at that. His posture drooping noticeably upon hearing such a fact.

"It takes less than a minute for an exposed finger or thumb, or any fleshy appendage, to freeze solid," her Captain them continued to explain the process in detail, though Terror knew for a fact that his words were mostly a complete fabrication. She didn't need to have personally witnessed first hand how long it actually took for such a process to occur to know that what her Captain was saying was completely false. Still, Terror thought that such an exaggeration of the truth might just work to possibly make Lieutenant Irving see some semblance of reason… "After that, the exposed member will snap off like an icicle." her Captain then added finally with a sudden twist of the hand for effect.

"… Yes, Captain."

"So do you really think there's any chance that our visitor might be… compromised… out here on deck, Mr. Irving?"

The Lieutenant honestly seemed to think about it some more after that, thought it was obviously not in the way they'd hoped. The man seemed to have already been thinking the same question himself to some extent for some time now given the almost solemn and torn look plastering his features, to Terror's own pity… There was indeed a chance. In many ways as she'd previously noted, even though Lady Silence did tend to always stick close to her out of some as yet unknown reason, Terror truly disliked leaving the woman's side all the same. Like the Lieutenant, Terror didn't alway feel it completely safe to leave the esquimaux woman alone.

"Go below, John," her Captain orders then with a low sigh, the man obviously feeling some form of innate defeat after coming to the same foreseen conclusion as everyone else, "and see Dr. McDonald about your face and fingers. I swear to God that if you've gotten seriously frostbitten again, I'll dock you a month's Discovery Service pay and write to your mother to boot."

"Yes, Captain. Thank you, sir." Irving spoke, starting to give another salute, but apparently thinking better of it half way through the action. The Lieutenant instead simply just made his way slowly past Captain Crozier and towards the ladderway, right arm still partially raised.

He didn't look back towards them even once as he went.

With the man now gone, her Captain released another sigh at the whole ordeal. Terror could only imaging what he must be thinking within his head, "Captain…?" she asks suddenly; gaining the man's attention almost immediately.

"Yeah, Terror, I'm good," he spoke reassuringly whilst stepping over to give her comforter-covered head an effectuate rub, "just a bit of reminiscing is all. The three mates from HMS Excellent."

Oh… So he was thinking about the Lieutenant's prior posting then alongside Second Lieutenant Hodgson and First Mate Hornby. Though, considering Excellent herself was older than both Erebus and herself, that and she was currently a massless, three-decker training vessel which was permanently moored in Portsmouth, maybe it was more likely her Captain was thinking about the time when he'd introduced the three officers to both Erebus and herself for the first time… If she wasn't mistaken as well, Captain Crozier was also rather badly drunk that day also…

Still, if memory serves her, none of the lads seemed to have minded the rather unconventional briefing her Captain had given them after showing them around. The three lads in fact seeming more eager than before in many ways.

It was indeed a very odd day, but a good memory nevertheless.

Crozier gave a short snort of a laugh to himself before giving a side eyed look towards the ladderway the Lieutenant had just escaped down, "All exited for being stuck in the ice, and now the poor young pups is in love with an esquimaux witch. Oh how the world works." he muttered in a way as so only the two of them could hear, though given how Silence suddenly turned to stare at the Captain, she also seemingly understood to some extent his words. Her dark eyes reflecting the spiritual lights above rather hauntingly.

Crozier gave Silence a mild stare done at that, likely considering his wording to invoke such a reaction from the usually reclusive esquimaux or some other such thing alike, before raising one of his gloved hands to the bill of his cap to tip it at the woman who was truly alien to him. It was a practice a bit hindered however by the fact that said cap was firmly secured under two wraps of heavy comforters and therefore impossible to move. "My compliments to you, madam, and I would suggest you consider going below to your quarters soon. It's getting a bit nippy out here." the man said rather respectfully, as if speaking to a woman of the upper class. Silence for her part just continued to stare at him, unblinking. However, unlike the Lieutenant's, her eyes were somehow free of any ice.

Captain Crozier, understandably feeling a bit lost at this point, proceeds to simply tip his fixed cap towards the woman once more before looking down towards Terror. "Your good keeping watch over her until she sees fit to come back inside?"

"Yes… Captain…" Terror spoke slowly, looking up to the man with a fond smile, "Mr. Diggle's still… making biscuits… is he not?"

Crozier chuckles, "Yeah, and working those assistants of his as cruelly as ever. I'm sure he'll notice, but make sure you give him a proper heads up before Lady Silence retreats to her cave."

"Of course… Captain…" Said cave being of course the assortment of crates and other such bits of useless material which was then fashioned into Lady Silence's current residence whilst she stayed aboard.

"Good." the man the looked over to the ice laden stern of the ship with a low grumble, as he continue his rounds of the deck; occasionally stopping to speak with the other men on watch to see how things were looking.

Moving around and finishing up his chat with the last of the lookouts, her Captain seemed to be making his way back to her before heading back down when suddenly one of Terror's Marines, Private Wilkes she was reasonably sure, came rushing up from below - beelining it towards Captain Crozier. The young man, from what Terror could see, seemed to have thrown on haphazardly whatever layers he was able to before coming up. She could just make out the subtle chattering of his teeth as well as the shiver in his voice as he stopped before the Captain to relay some important message. "Mr. Thompson's compliments to the captain, sir, and the engineer says that the captain should come down to the hold as quick as you might." Mr. Wilkes informs the man as crisply as he can given the current environment.

"Why?" her Captain asks, his face momentarily showing some semblance of dread, potentially at the thought that something had happened to her boilers. Thankfully however, when he looked to her immediately fallowing this, Terror simply shook her head at him to relieve his worries. Her boilers were still good, even if her ever dwindling coal reserves to fuel said boilers were starting to worry her deeply…

"Begging the captain's pardon, sir," Private Wilkes carried on regardless of Terror's musings, "but Mr. Thompson says that the captain is needed because Seaman Manson is near to mutiny, sir."

Terror blinks owlishly at that; her Captain's posture straightening up as well. "Mutiny?" he asks as if he was in fact hearing the man correctly.

" 'Near to it' were Mr. Thompson's words, sir." the Marine replies.

"Speak English, Private Wilkes." Crozier stated, wanting Wilkes to elaborate further as to exactly why Seaman Mason was 'near to' committing mutiny.

"Manson won't carry no more sacks of coal past the Dead Room, sir." Mr. Wilkes relays straightly, "Nor go down in the hold no more. He says he respectfully refuses, Captain. He won't come up, but he's sitting on his arse at the bottom of the man-ladder and won't carry no more coal back to the boiler room."

"What is this nonsense?" her Captain barks back, his anger flaring up again at this apparent lunacy.

"It's ghosts, Captain," Wilkes then explains, a bit more hesitantly now, "We all hear'em when we're hauling coal or fetching something from deep stores. It's why the men won't go down there below orlop deck no more unless the officers order'em to, sir. Something's down there in the hold, in the deck. Something's been scratching and banging from inside the ship, Captain. It ain't just the ice. Manson's sure it's his old mate Walker, him… it… and the other corpses stacked there in the Dead Room, clawing to get out."

Terror could see that her Captain was trying to restrain himself from laying out the facts for the Marine regarding what exactly those scratching noises likely were. She doubted very much if the man would like to hear that it was most likely the countless number of large Norwegian rats which have taken roots within her hold. Less so that said rats were more than likely currently feasting upon the frozen bodies of their comrades such as the deceased Mr. Walker.

It was indeed quite the grim image. Less so to Terror to some meagre extent seeing as she had seen in happen countless times now over the winters long past… As much as she did very much cared for the wellbeing of her crew, you could only see their bodies being eaten in such an efficient way until the prospect of it simply happening inside your hull became somewhat numbing…

… At least they were already dead… Terror tried to reassure herself as she tightened her hold on her comforter…

But still, thinking about it some more, the rats tended to usually be rather quiet all things considered - outside of their blood-curdling screeches when they inevitably turn on one another for sustenance when the bodies were no more. So then what was making all the banging the crew were hearing…? Definitely no ghosts…

… Rubbing at her bruised and stitched sides, Terror had a rapidly sinking feeling she knew what it was, and it deeply terrified her…

Without truly noticing it, her Captain has been looking to her for assurances for his own similar speculations this whole time. Silently taking in her cradling her sides protectively, he seemingly realises that there's indeed a definite problem before soon rushing back inside the ship at full pace - fallowed swiftly by Private Wilkes.

Closing her eyes tight, Terror didn't fallow them in. Instead she stayed where she was with Lady Silence and allowed the darkness to take her whole. Still, she found a comforting arm wrap around her, bringing Terror in to a comforting embrace. Silence having at some point moved over to her side and began to gently bring her in close to her. Terror simply leaned into the esquimaux for what comfort and warmth her presence so readily provided.

… The monster was trying to break into her hull from below… tunnelling up through the ice and snow to get to them… and Terror sorrowfully knew that she could do nothing to stop it…

- Terror -

Lat. 53.4656° N., Long. -3.0228° W.
…

Blinking, Terror wakes with a slight pause as she suddenly felt the mattress of a modern bed beneath her and not the hard wood decking nor the woollen quilts of the ship she was just on…

Another… dream…? she soon realises after a moment to properly gather herself - thoughts of a ship she once was, but not at the same time coming back to her in waves… The memory, like so many others which have come in countless days past, steadily settling themselves back within the corners of her mind almost as if she wasn't physically there only a few moments prior. A small part of Terror could even still feel the slightest chill of the ice and snow upon her perpetually cold skin as she made to huddle herself deeper within her covers of her bed for solace. The relatively thin nightgown and cap she usually wore to bed however doing little to help with these efforts.

But indeed, even though the now Monitor could barely see through the darkness which currently enveloped her still, Terror could just start to make out curtain elements which spoke volumes to her being back once again within her Royal Navy dorm room in Liverpool; namely it being far more spacious then the cramped, cubicle-style cabins of her older wooden hull. Looking over to the opposite side of the room from where she lay for further confirmation, Terror was thankfully able to just visualise Erebus's own bed nestled against the wall within the darkness - the slight lump laying atop it undoubtedly being her sister's sleeping form.

With a little bit of trepidation on her part, Terror carefully folded her bedsheets off of her small form; in turn opening herself up to the chilly air which tended to permeate their dorm room during Autumn nights such as these. Shivering all but slightly within her nighty at the returning - though substantially dulled - sensation upon her pale skin, she got up out of bed and swiftly made her way over to Erebus, who Terror could now clearly see was indeed sleeping, and rather soundly at that.

The slightest feeling of uncertainty took over her mind for a few seconds then as Terror considered if she should just go back to the her own bed and not potentially wake her slumbering sister, but ultimately her own personal desire for warmth and the immediate sense of comfort from being besides her sister would bring to her aching soul won out against her worrying in the end. And so, Terror, without any warning, lifted up her sister's own comforter and carefully crawled into Erebus's bed. The younger of the two Monitor carefully shimmying her body up against her elder sister's back as Terror's arms made to wrap around Erebus's equally as small body.

Unsurprisingly, such an invasion of ones own bed and personal space didn't go unnoticed by said elder sister, with Erebus soon waking up upon feeling an unknown presence moving across her bed before gingerly embracing her from behind.

"… Terror…?" she called out slowly for confirmation.

"Yeah… I… had another dream…" Terror admitted somewhat reluctantly, "Sorry for waking you up…"

In response, Erebus simply 'hummed' in acknowledgement before making to loosen her sister's hold upon her waist just enough so that the elder Monitor could more easily turn herself around to a point where the two sisters would be comfortably resting front-to-front with one another. "It's okay… I understand your desire for warmth well enough sister… You need not apologise to me…" Erebus spoke neutrally before releasing a quiet yawn, her own arms soon returning her young sister's embrace in full as she made herself even more comfortable, "I'll always be here for you when you require it, no matter what you may need. Just go back to sleep now… Rest yourself… We have a long day of exercises tomorrow alongside our fellows…"

Nodding into her sister's chest, taking solace within the kindred warmth they shared, Terror was about to close her eyes to go back to sleep as instructed but stopped herself for the briefest moments - a query coming to her. "Erebus…?" she asked cautiously.

"… Yes?"

There was another pause from the young Monitor, "Do… Do you think they're truly at peace…?"

Terror could instantly feel her sister's breathing slow slightly, more controlled, at her question. It was the same question Terror tended to ask Erebus every now and then whenever the dreams came and she was sent back to those years her past self spent trapped within that froze world.

"I know so." Erebus ultimately spoke with the same assurance she'd always held when talking to her sister about the fates of those who were apart of that ill-fated expedition, "They are all at peace now, despite the hardships and the inner turmoil they faced in their final moments. Though I hold no such memories of that time, as you yourself know, their souls are still very much dear to me, as they are to you. They do not blame either of us for what befell them in the end, for our prior selves did everything that they could to shelter and protect them in their time of need."

"hmmm…"

Erebus gave pause at her sisters mumbles as Terror drew herself further into her sister and to the warmth of the bond they shard with one another. "Worry no more of the past for now dear sister... Instead, make heed, and look to the future." Erebus went on, continuing to comfort her sister with gently rubs to her back, "Of our fellows, and our new Commander. All of whom love and cherish us."

Terror felt a new sense of warmth reach her at that as she gently closed her eyes again. New and happier memories of this life she and her sister now lived filling her mind - of friends, both new and old, and of someone she could feel as close to as her past self once did with Captain Crozier. She barely even noticed the solitary tear which escaped her closed eye as she started to drifted off.

"Keep them all in mind, both past and present. For I know that they would all want us to find our peace, warmth and happiness within this new chance at life we've been granted."

And with that Terror was back in the land of dreams. For the time being at least, gone was the ghastly white expanse which had imprisoned her in a nightmare of ice, isolation and snow. Gone was the monster which sort to take everything she held dear away from her. Instead, replacing it, the loving and ever so warm atmosphere of a crisp Spring morning where the two sister walked hand-in-hand as they made their way over to a collection of smiling friends and loved ones; all ready to make the most out of the coming adventure which was to come that day. With a small smile of her own, Erebus closed her eyes as well; noting the coldness of her sister's body lessen as she too allowed the dreamworld to take her whole.

"Sweet dreams sister."

Y'know… I'll say that I'm generally rather happy with how this turned out all things considered. Not the greatest concept I've had by any means, that and I feel that there definitely could've been something more substantial added to the second half then what I ultimately went with… maybe, but… eh, at the end of the day I feel that it was a nice little one-off story - just in time for Halloween too.

But yeah, been re-reading 'The Terror' lately and this whole idea simply just came about after finishing Chapter 3 of the novel… That and I've been wanting to write something with Terror, and to some extent Erebus, for a good while now since getting fully into Azur Lane, so I thought "why not?". Again, not sure if it reached whatever mark I originally wanted it to, but eh…

Still, if you've read the source material or not, or perhaps you're simply new to this whole thing entirely, I hope you've enjoyed reading this little one-off either way.

Till next.