The spirit of adventure

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The sun had just risen from behind the horizon, coating the lands in a slightly yellowish tint as its first rays broke the blanket of darkness, that had been covering the area during the night.
Having decided to pay a visit to the islands, that somehow were floating above the landscape, William exhaustedly admired the architecture of the strange pyramid, that seemed to have been built on one of them. What was its purpose? Did it contain treasure? Would it be dangerous inside?
As he began to shiver due to the icy cold winds up in the skies, the Gastly pushed that last thought away as he slowly floated into the construction.
What would await him in there?

The Chingling managed to see the Shadow Ball coming, but simply could do nothing about it. The bell was hit directly. It flew back a ways before it laid down, only to get back up and glare daggers at the ghost. The Pokemon was clearly injured, but it seems it wasn't stopping its assault just yet. The Chingling let out a ringing yell that was enough to make anyone's ears ring. It may cause William to cringe a bit. (It's Astounish.)

Nick, on the other hand, had just finished recovering from his shock. As he looked up, it was a little blurry, but the avian managed to make out the battle between his companion and the bell. He struggled to stand, but he just felt so dizzy, and fell back down before he was half way up.

Apparently William had overestimated the degree of confusion the Chimecho was suffering from, as it had apparently picked an attack, that didn't only do something, but even was super effective against the Gastly. Startled by the sudden noise, William couldn't do much but float in place and shake his head to try and get that ringing out of his ears. Someone spectating might have called it "flinching".
So he was alone with an easily frightened bird, a murderous wind chime and probably countless other enemies in an unknown pyramid, that had tons of secret passages and most likely was littered with traps as well. What was important enough to protect it that much?

The Chingling approached the Gastly with anger on its face, showing no signs of confusion any more. It readied itself for another Astonish, but before it could complete the attack, a sharp piece of ice cut at the clothe attached to it. The Chingling grunted in pain before turning around to see a very wobbly and heavily breathing Delibird half standing. He used a wing for support as well as his legs. The Chingling shouted once more. It charged at the bird, with it's arms ready to strangle the avian once more.

This time William was there to stop the attack however. Since there was no reason not to utilize the type advantage he had, the Gastly repeated the same process he had used so many times before, filling a dark sphere with ghostly energies once more. The evil, painful and sad thoughts flowing through his mind were so familiar, that it almost felt...warm. Comforting. William had spent so much time brooding in sadness in his earlier days, that those thoughts were somehow calming to him...
That one cut, that seperated the host and the thoughts was quick. Cold. Liberating. While William missed the familarity of those evil emotions, at the same time he was happy to have them leave his mind for the moment. Who knows...without that way of stress relief, he might have gone insane already.

Once more, the Chingling got a direct hit. This time, when it hit the ground, it didn't move. Rather it was dead or just unconscious was anyone's guess, but either way, it was no longer a problem. The avian was still having trouble standing on his feet alone. He looked to the ghost, attempting a smile, but too exhausted to give much of an expression at all. "T-thank you... William... Are you... ok?" For once, the stuttering wasn't caused by fear or shyness, but simply because he was having physical difficulties forming the sentences. The bird wobbled forth slowly, trying to reach the end of the hall.

"Uh...yeah...of course I am...I barely got hit after all...the question is: Are you okay? You don't look too good...but you shouldn't talk that much...are you sure you can continue in here?"
William had already been traveling with the Delibird once, but this was the worst condition he had ever seen him in by far. It was even worse than the time he got poisoned...
The Gastly was concerned. It didn't seem as if Nick could even walk a few steps and William was unable to support him. Should they get attacked again, they would be in deep trouble...

"Actually... It doesn't hurt all that much... It's just kinda hard to breath... and my throat is soar... and I'm really dizzy." And with that, the bird's wing slips and he falls into yet another face plant. "...Ok... now my face hurts too..." He looks back up to William and sighs in a bit of a defeated tone. "Ok... maybe I should... rest for a while..." He gently put his face back on the stone. Although this place was generally kind of scary, he had to admit there was one thing about it he liked. The surfaces were kind of cool, reminding him of the snow back home. He really missed snow.

"Oh, yes, I'm not hurt at all. I just can barely walk, merely talking hurts and I nearly died. So there's nothing to worry about.", the Gastly sarcastically commented.
Although he would have been too embarassed to actually admit it, William was happy and relieved to see, that Nick had been wise and had chosen to rest. Sighing, he decided to rest as well, having nothing better to do after all. Yet, the Gatly still kept glancing around the silent corridor, watching out for even the slightest disturbance in the blanket of dust, that had covered the cold floor they - or rather Nick were resting on.

Will's sarcasm kind of stung the bird. Not solely because it was sarcasm, though that certainly didn't help, but because it snapped him into a reality he hadn't fully realized until the Gastly brought it up. Nick was so injured he had trouble just walking, and meanwhile William was hardly even injured. It seemed to be kind of a norm for Nick to take more damage than anyone else. With his head lifted just enough for is not to be muffled, Nicholas asked a somewhat strange question. "William... am I... a liability?" Sometimes, the truth can hurt.

That was a question the Gastly had not expected. After taking a long while to think about it, William finally made up his mind and began to speak:
"No. In my opinion you are not. Not only did you help defeat that enemy, but you also are here with me. Just you being here gives me motivation to carry on. Before all these things about missions and teams happened, I was a lonely, depressed wreck in the forest. And do you know, why? Because I kept believing the other Pokémon, that society was no place for me. That I would never be able to have friends or be with others. I thought them to be right, so I began the worst time of my entire life. It was painful. But now, I'm here. I'm a member of a rescue team. I wouldn't have been able to do this without Pokémon like you. You gave me the strength to do this. You saved me from my own idiocy. And while I would never ever want to experience that time again, it has taught me a valuable lesson. If someone else tells you, that you can't do something; that you're too weak, too scary, too different or whatever else to do, what you like to do, they are ignorant little idiots and you should tell them to go to the Ghost World. No matter, what the others say, you can do anything you want. You aren't a liability. You are awesome. And you have proven that more than often enough. Don't become a pathetic little idiot, like I did. Believe in yourself."

The avian was a little surprised to hear the ghost's response. Nick honestly thought pretty little of himself and his fighting ability, but William opened his eyes to something else, even if just for a moment. The Delibird had just been taught that one's ability to fight isn't the only quality of a hero. Not by a long shot. No, one must also examine the hero's heart and true potential. Maybe Nicholas wasn't an elite fighter, but he was one of the nicest Pokemon there were and always willing to lend a wing. The avian realized he may be more heroic than he earlier lead himself to believe. After a moment to ponder all this, Nicholas rose to his feet and looked to his companion with a meek, but sincere smile. "T-thank you... Sorry I doubted myself. You're right. I guess I judged myself too quickly... I don't feel too dizzy anymore, so let's keep going."

William himself was surpirised. He would have never expected to say something like this or to think this highly of the Delibird. At least he wouldn't admit that. Not even to himself. Both because Nick had agreed to move on and because he had absolutely no idea what he should say, William silently moved further into the unknown depths of the structure, although he was floating slightly slower to allow the probably still injured Nick to keep up with him.
Hopefully something like this would never happen again.
Neither the attack nor the motivational speech.

Nicholas ventured forward until they came to another room. It had similarities to the last one. There were vines here and there. There wasn't much light, though there were spots to place torches if you had any. There were a couple key differences too. The most noticeable difference was a lack of a side room. If there was a secret path further, it would be harder to find, but it was very probable this was a dead end. One difference that may also be noticed is this room is a bit smaller than the last. Nick was more careful entering this room than the last one. He examined around with a bit more caution. Eventually, he came across something.

This dice is not existing.

As he hadn't found anything menacing in the previous room they had visited, William entered this room without a trace of fear as well. But as he inspected the place the secret alcove had been in the other room, he found nothing but cold, hard stone. Why was this chamber so similar to the other one and yet so different? There had to be a reason for this, although the Gastly had no idea regarding its nature.
Deciding to let other Pokémon answer that question, William continued to look for things of importance. Clearly this room had a reason. So what was it?
Just as he had finished that thought the mortar keeping a few of the stones of a wall right next to him began to bubble. Apparently William's gases had caused some chemical reaction to occur, so the Gastly watched as those few stones fell out of the wall, revealing a tiny niche with an item inside.
Had this building been designed with an otherworldly specter in mind?

This dice is not existing.

The avian saw a glittering in front of him. Even with the memory of previous events, his curiosity was too strong and he approached the object. He he came closer, he realized it was golden and shined quite well. It looked almost like a treasure chest. When the bird tried to open it, it was a no go. There was no place it seemed you could put a key, and even if there was, it wasn't like Nicholas had one to use. It looks like he's stuck dragging the chest with him until he can find a way to open it. The bird just hoped there was something good in their. After stuffing the chest into his treasure bag, Nick looked back to his companion. "William... I think this is a dead end."