Death P.A.C.T. was always facing an uphill battle.
It doesn't take somebody with the intellect of Golf Ball or Basketball to figure out and appreciate the wonder that is life, that is consciousness. All it takes is any degree of perception, a modicum of awareness. The fact that they are able to get up, move around, talk to others, and enjoy life (even if just a little bit) is a complete and utter miracle in every sense of the word. It can be a bit hard to appreciate for most; for many of the contestants of the Battle for Dream Island, with their mind already concerned and fretting about this and that and 2,763 other things, having yet *another* thought enter that cramped space can be a headache, both metaphorically and literally. But for someone like Tree, whose distant, inanimate cousins are just a quick walk away, it's a little bit easier to digest. The only thing that separated him from his relatives, his family, was the fact that he wasn't rooted to the ground, that his existence wasn't relegated to just standing perfectly still in a single location and just... taking everything in. He had memories besides taking in sunlight, feeling the wind blow against his branches, and growing by just a little bit each and every day. And given just how vastly outnumbered he was compared to his ill-fated kin, it was very, *very* like that his life could've been exactly the same, just as boring and monotonous. As such, he developed an immense appreciation for the fact that he was alive, one that he wished to spread to everyone else.
But this particular corner of Goiky has been a rather volatile and hectic place. Again, the Battle for Dream Island was a lingering, permeating part of their lifestyle; a competition that constantly drove them towards each other, clashing and fighting along each step of the way. Not only did it give them not enough time to reflect and recuperate, but it also encouraged them to do the complete opposite: completely throwing away and ruining the sanctity of life, disposing of it as if it was absolutely nothing, nothing at all. It especially wasn't helped by the fact that this is a world where, *apparently*, death is something one can just shrug off like it was no big deal. With the press of a few buttons, or the turning of a crank, life can just be remade, as good as new, like nothing ever happened. One line of logic could be made about how this made the P.A.C.T.'s life easier, but Tree preferred arguing otherwise. This commodification of existence made it all the more difficult to truly come to terms with just how anomalous consciousness is, of how *extremely* lucky they are that they get to perceive this universe, this near-infinite sandbox of endless wonder and possibilities. And, of course, there's no need to recover life if there hasn't been any death.
And so, even after all this time, the journey continued. Even as Four (and now Two) continued throwing curveballs at them, even as the team continued to face further strife, they continued along with their noble mission, trying to make this proverbial sapling grow in a world that was trying it's *very* hardest to trample it.
And it was *really* trying now. It was the start of yet another new stage in the competition; well, a better way to put it would be the *first* stage in a brand new competition. Yet another algebralian has arrived and split the competition in twain, putting another, more captivating prize up for grabs. Death P.A.C.T. chose to make the switch for plenty of reasons: because The Power of Two was simply more appealing, because there were more contestants that posted a far greater risk, because everyone else was going, and so on. Besides, it's not as if this was gonna shake things up *all* that much. If anything, with a sizable portion of the contestants leaving, it was gonna make their job just that tiny bit easier. Also, if they were able to win that much-coveted power, they could use it to further their goals and ambitions. After all, who could stop them? Once they won, they'd be able to truly put an end to this cycle of pain and death. So long as they stuck together, so long as they stuck to the plan, they were gonna be fine.
They were gonna be *just* fine.
The team selection saw a little under half of their team defect, abandoning the death prevention cause for a variety of selfish, self-absorbed reasons. That's... *great*. They were replaced by brand new, eager and enthusiastic members, sure, but it was still gonna be a *massive* setback. They were gonna have to spend quite a bit of time bringing them up to speed, teaching them their way of doing things, making sure that they won't accidentally cause death themselves. But it can be done. It can *always* be done. After all, they were able to get a cosmic force, one whose specific purpose is allegedly to consume and destroy, to... *not* do that. It was going to take time, *precious* time, time that could've been spent preventing death and creating trust, but... what can they do?
