A quiet little town on the coast. Neither Blaze nor Silver gave the name of the town any attention. They wouldn't be staying long. The pair were headed straight to the docks.

"I've got a good feeling about this mission. We get to venture out into the ocean with our own boat! We'll be like pirates!"

Blaze led Silver to the appropriate area. "We're not pirates, we're representatives of the DWMA. We don't need to alarm any civilians with talk of pirates,"

Silver stopped walking before stepping onto the dock. A tiny rowboat was the only naval vessel attached to the walkway. "We're going in that thing?"

"We are,"

Silver looked at the meek little boat. Two oars sat neatly inside. "And you expect me to row,"

"You're the psychic death scythe,"

Silver sighed. His shoulders slumped. "Aye-aye Captain,"

Blaze perched herself on the wooden post that stuck out from the rowboat's bow and looked out at the ocean. Her posture was straight and her balance was precise. Silver sat at the back of the boat and tiredly waved a finger through the air. The boat untied and pushed off of the dock. It's oars floated into the air and attached themselves to the row locks. Silver used his psychic mind to move the rows and in turn, the boat. It didn't take long for them to build a decent amount of speed.

"Hey, this is easy!" Silver declared with a grin. Blaze rolled her eyes and continued looking ahead.

They drifted along the calm water toward an island in the distance. Silver added a bit more mental effort to get there faster.

"What's been going on with this island that they need us to visit?"

"A dense cloud of fog approached the island recently, resulting in a series of missing person cases. Enough to give this mission priority over hunting the darkling,"

"If people are vanishing out of thin air, are we really the right people for this job? A team of investigators would be more help than a death scythe,"

"They aren't vanishing out of thin air. Or at least, not without a trace,"

"Okay. What trace are they leaving, then?"

"You'll see when we get there,"

Silver stopped rowing with his mind when he saw the island up close. A cliffside had become much more visible now that they were nearing the port. A massive chunk had been taken out of the island's land mass. Part of the town had been removed along with it. The newly formed cliff had clean, round ridges cut into it.

"Is that a bite mark?"

"Most likely,"

"From what?" Silver noticed they were drifting towards an unoccupied dock and focused on parking. Blaze hopped off the boat and onto the boardwalk.

"A ghost ship," She said.

Now was the time for the DWMA associates to head for the town's library. The streets were understandably empty after the recent disappearances. Anyone still left in the town wouldn't be taking any chances. Silver and Blaze had the library to themselves.

Half an hour passed with little fanfare. A wide variety of unsorted books that had been neglected by the library staff were now floating in the air around Silver. He examined the titles and stacked them into neat piles with his kinesis.

"I didn't think the pirate's life would involve so much reading. It's boring in here," A book caught Silver's eye and he plucked it from the air. He brought it over to Blaze who was reading quietly. "If we're looking for a ghost ship, maybe this could help?"

He held up a book titled Ghosts of the Future.

Blaze barely spared a glance. "I've almost found what we need. Give me a few more minutes,"

Silver took a break from sorting books to read the one he found instead. He became absorbed enough that the next few minutes passed quickly. "This isn't half bad. I really feel a connection to the protagonist,"

"This is all I could find,"

Blaze held up her book, revealing a detailed picture sprawling across two pages. It featured a monstrous black dragon underneath a network of roots.

"The black dragon Nidhogg is a creature of myth said to feast on the wicked. Many of the townsfolk that were interviewed believe the ghost ship's appearance is tied to an old legend."

"Sounds like typical religious hysteria. The idea of a ghost ship is strange enough on its own. What made them tie it to a mythical dragon?"

"It seems we'll have to find out ourselves,"

"Okay then. How are we going to find the ghost ship?"

"The report stated that witnesses saw the mist retreat back along the direction it came in from. We'll start by heading out from the bite mark and see what we find,"

Blaze and Silver returned to their boat so they could do just that. Heading out into open water made their progress seem slow. Silver sighed. It would take a while to find a lead at this rate. A sudden idea raised his spirits.

"Maybe I can speed things up,"

Using his psychic powers, Silver brought the oars inside the boat. Their speed slowed only for a moment. The boat then began accelerating quickly. Blaze stayed perched at the very tip of the boat, her suit jacket blowing in the wind from their high speed. A wake formed behind them, stirring the calm waters.

"I love being a pirate!"

"We're not pirates,"

The small island they'd just visited vanished in the distance after a short while. Peaceful waters surrounded them as they continued their journey. No boats or landmasses were in sight. All that came to greet them was a cloud of fog.

"I can't see them, but I can sense a large amount of souls somewhere inside the mist,"

They entered the cloud. Sunlight was being dimmed, and Silver still couldn't see anything but water. Blaze pointed and he steered the boat accordingly. Deeper into the fog they went until a ship did appear.

It was an old, withering thing. The front of the ship was split open, resembling a mouth. Silver became uncomfortable after seeing what looked like eyes as well. 'Nidhogg," was engraved on the ship's side.

"The boat's name fits our legend. We better board," Blaze announced.

"Okay, uh, let me figure out how to stop,"

The death-scythe slowed their boat, but not completely. They collided against the side of the ship. Blaze backflipped gracefully from the bow of the rowboat to the back. Silver was flung forward underneath her and face planted against the side of the newly appeared boat. He groaned, rubbing at his nose and cheeks.

"If you want to ram a boat, you're supposed to hit it in the center," Blaze noted.

"Oh, ha-ha,"

"Cheer up Silver. Ramming a boat means, we're officially pirates,"

He perked up immediately. "Wait, really?"

Blaze began climbing a ladder carved into the ship's wood. "Boat ramming is a form of naval violence," Blaze finished climbing and stood on the deck. Silver floated himself through the air and landed next to her. The princess scanned the deck of the ship with the same calm expression she'd been wearing since they left dry land. "We didn't do any damage to the boat, though. We'll have to steal some cargo instead,"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

Silver walked with Blaze along the deck of the ship. The fog in the air gave everything a dreary look. No other people were in sight. It's wood was faded and decaying. Silver decided that it all seemed so lifeless, which resulted in him receiving quite a shock when he saw the ground move.

Silver watched what he thought was a wolf man melt out of the ship without making a sound. His fur was purple aside from his muzzle, which was white. He wore dark clothing under a worn jacket. His gloves and boots were the same shade of tan as his stetson hat. He had a pointed tail that was long enough to touch the ground without being fully extended. The man grinned wildly at Sliver, revealing a large, razor sharp fang amongst his other teeth.

"Blaze!"

Blaze turned immediately after hearing her weapon yell. There was a man standing between her and Silver now readying a kick. The man's boot crashed into Silver's stomach and sent him hurtling into the floor of the deck. Instead of colliding with him, the wood below opened like a large, splintered mouth. Silver had no time to react before the wood closed up again. He fell deeper into the ship, lost in the darkness.

"Silver!"

Blaze watched her weapon get swallowed by the ship before noticing that the man was pointing a revolver at her. He fired. Blaze rolled to dodge, positioning herself within striking range. She blocked her opponent's kick and retaliated with a punch of her own. The hit landed, making him flinch. Blaze threw out a heavy kick to his hip followed by a series of punches at the man's face. Every blow made contact. Blaze finished things by cloaking her right hand in fire to throw a haymaker. Her fist crashed into the man's jaw and knocked him back with a fiery burst. She watched the man stumble backwards and crash into the base of one of the ship's sails. His head and arms slumped forward while his back leaned on the wooden pillar. He then stood up straight, grinning as if nothing had happened.

"Is that all you got, Princess?"

Blaze gasped. The man fired his revolver again. She cartwheeled through a cluster of barrels. More shots came, but she was safe behind cover for the moment. Blaze didn't know why her attacks had no effect, but she couldn't worry about that now. She had to get to Silver. An entryway that led below deck was only a short distance away. She would have to expose herself to enemy fire again to make it there. The man reloaded and spoke again.

"I'm Fang the Sniper. This is my won't be leaving alive,"

Blaze grabbed onto the rope that tied the stack of barrels next to her together. Fire from her hand burned through the rope, allowing her to tear it. The stack tipped and the wooden cylinders bounced about the area between her and her opponent. More gunfire came when Blaze took her chance. She made it to the entrance unscathed.

Silver landed on his back with a yelp. He wasn't particularly interested in getting up, but he knew he had to get back to Blaze. He got up, and the only thing he noticed was that he couldn't see through the darkness very well. The sides of the ship were cracked, and they let in a small amount of light despite the fog. His eyes adjusted after a bit of stumbling around. Now, he walked cautiously through some hallway, hoping to find his meister.

Being stranded on a ghost ship wasn't a calming thought. He hadn't been worried before they'd arrived, but being in this situation without his meister left him feeling anxious. Silver also had to keep his guard up in case that man appeared out of nowhere again. Although the lurking anxiety made it feel longer, Silver found a door before long.

"Please no ghosts. Please no ghosts," He muttered.

His gloved hand opened the rickety wooden door. A pale glow poured out of the doorway and Silver gasped.

"Souls?"

There were dozens of them. Pure souls with bright white lights floating around the room.

Silver let out a sigh of relief. Souls being hoarded like this wasn't a happy affair, but at least he hadn't run into any ghosts. He closed the door behind him and turned around.

"Hello,"

Silver screamed at an unusually high pitch upon seeing the ghost of a young girl in the hallway. She was a small, blue feathered avian girl in a plain beige dress. Her expression was blank and she looked like she hadn't slept in ages.

"You scream like a girl," The ghost child noted.

"You don't want to mess with me. I'm a pirate. And a psychic. And a death scythe."

"I'm not here to fight. I want to help you,"

"Help me?" Silver recalled his research and looked around suspiciously. "You're not from the future, are you?" He whispered.

"No, are you?"

"No, but sometimes I wish I was," Silver adjusted his clothes and tried to ignore his panicked heartbeat. "I've seen plenty of disembodied souls, but I've never seen a ghost before. Is it because I'm psychic?"

"The ship is a living vessel for souls. It gives us form, but we are prisoners here."

Silver was confused by what the girl meant by 'we,' but he didn't have to wonder long. He looked behind her and saw many, many more phantoms. They aligned to form a pathway for him to follow.

Silver partially stifled a groan. "Oh, boy," He muttered.

"The ship will change to keep you trapped. Your friend came down here too. We'll help you find her,"

"Thanks," The hedgehog attempted a smile.

Silver trudged down the corridor that was now lined with a wide variety of ghosts. Each of the translucent figures had tired, sunken expressions. They hung in the air unnaturally, pointing their fingers to lead him and mumbling.

"This way," They said.

Silver did his best to keep a calm composure despite feeling thoroughly disturbed. It felt rude to be overly reactive regarding all these ghosts, seeing as how they were helping him. Although, it was possible that they were leading him into a trap. The whole sweet innocent ghost girl schtick did seem a bit on the nose now that he thought about it. Silver sighed quietly. What would Blaze do in this situation? She would likely run off on her own. Probably berate the young ghost girl for being a ghost. Maybe it was better that she wasn't around just yet.

But why did he have to be going on a paranormal, psychic adventure now of all times?