Diane needed to stay with Chris and Jill so she could be debriefed, so Joseph and his family decided to head back to the hotel to wash up and wait for the soldier to arrive before they started working on the last of the preparations for their team.
Everyone was in good spirits on the drive back, especially Joseph, Cassandra, and Mandy. They had all been preparing for this day for months and were scared to death of what could happen, but things turned out better than they could have hoped. Nobody was seriously hurt, and Joseph and Mandy were even able to make amends with their mother. With this event behind them, nothing now stood between them and the triathlon. Everyone was beyond excited for it, but for now, they needed a good rest.
The warm water from the room's shower gave much needed comfort and relief to Joseph as he let it flow over his body. It was almost like it was washing away all of the stresses and worries he had when it came to confronting his parents. It was doubly comforting with Cassandra also washing herself next to him, humming a happy tune to herself as she did, which made Joseph smile. The couple kissed in the shower a few times, but didn't go any further than that so as to not keep Mandy and Daniela waiting. A few minutes after they got out and got dressed, there was a knock on their room door, which turned out to be a hotel staff member who told Joseph that a delivery for him had just arrived and was in the conference room on the ground floor.
The stuff Donna, Bela, and Elena had made for the team had arrived. So Joseph and Cassandra made their way downstairs, eager to see how their shirts and other things turned out. When they reached the conference room, they saw that some of their family were already there, along with another familiar face they weren't expecting to see.
"Duke?!" Joseph said, surprised.
The merchant turned to him and gave a warm smile.
"Ah, there you are, my friend! I have come to deliver your team's supplies!"
Joseph walked over and shook his friend's hand with a huge smile on his face.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here, but I'm not complaining. It's so good to see you!"
"You've been training for the triathlon for months, Joseph. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Oh, and Countess Dimitrescu told me of your engagement to Lady Cassandra! That is such joyous news! My sincerest congratulations to you both!"
Now the brunette was smiling widely as she walked up while looking at her ring.
"Thanks, Duke. It was so romantic the way he did it. I thought I was going to pass out when I saw the ring."
Joseph chuckled.
"I'm glad you didn't. That would have made it painfully awkward."
The Duke laughed as he nodded in agreement.
"It most certainly would have, but let's not dwell on what could have been. Please take a look at your new attire. I think Ladies Beneviento, Bela, and Elena did a fine job with them."
The couple eagerly nodded and went to one of several boxes that were resting on the conference room table. When they opened it, their wide smiles returned.
Inside was a bundle of shirts that displayed the Ying Yang symbol along with two koi fish on the sides, a wels catfish on the bottom, and a brown bear on the top. Written above the artwork was the title 'Koi Fish Outdoors', and below it were the words 'Love Triumphs Over All'.
"Wow." Cassandra said. "These turned out better than I could have hoped for, and such a good slogan too!"
"That was actually Me and Mandy's idea." Joseph said. "Those words were written on the pictures of us as kids Miranda gave to us for Christmas. It inspired us to use that as the businesses' slogan."
His fiancé nodded.
"That was a great idea, and it fits us perfectly. These shirts aren't thick either so I don't have to worry about sweating my ass off in them."
Bela and Elena chuckled.
"Oh yeah." The blonde said. "When we found out how hot it was going to be here, we made that our first priority. We did make Mandy's swimsuit thick though. I heard the waters of San Francisco Bay are pretty cold."
"Cold is not what concerns me." Miranda said. "When we got back, I found out that the bay is a gathering point for Great White Sharks."
Alcina's eyes widened.
"It is? Oh Mother Miranda, I'm sure they would take serious precautions against such an animal. Otherwise they wouldn't hold this race to begin with."
"They do."
Everyone turned to see Diane standing in the doorway. She had just gotten back to the hotel and was now wearing more casual clothes. Her hair was no longer in a bun, and it flowed across her back.
She put her hand up.
"Chris and Jill dropped me off to stay for a few hours, and I overheard what you were saying. But to go back to the topic, yes. They take all kinds of safety precautions to make sure the swimmers are safe, and it works. They've been doing this triathlon for years and they've never once had any problems with sharks."
The Priestess let out a huge sigh of relief.
"That is good to hear. I still can't help but feel nervous though. Animals are always unpredictable, especially predators."
Diane raised an eyebrow.
"How do you think I feel? That's going to be my own daughter swimming in that bay."
Miranda's eyes widened.
"Oh! No please, I didn't mean it that way!"
The soldier just chuckled and made her way to the table.
"It's okay. I know what you mean. Chris and Jill already told me you're Joseph and Mandy's legal guardian in Romania. I want to thank you for doing that. They needed someone to be their mother in my absence."
Miranda was surprised to hear those words from Diane, but was grateful to hear them nonetheless and nodded with a smile.
"It's been a remarkable pleasure, Diane. They are just so wonderful, and they made me happy in a way I haven't felt in years. After what happened to my daughter…I really needed it."
The soldier's face changed to a look of sadness and empathy.
"What was her name?"
"Eva."
"Oh, that's such a pretty name. I'm sure that seeing you happy like this is making her happy, Miranda."
The Priestess' smile grew wider as she wiped her tears away.
"Thank you. It took a long time for me to learn how to move on. Your words mean a lot to me."
Now Diane was smiling.
"No problem. We're both moms so we share the same pain and worries."
Now Alcina smiled.
"That is certainly something I share with you as well. Tell me, before Joseph left, how many times did he and Mandy make you want to pull your hair out?"
Diane turned to the countess and gave a chuckle.
"That depends, do you have all day?"
"Oh for God's sake." Joseph moaned as he buried his face in his hands, causing Cassandra to giggle.
"Oh do tell us, Diane." She said. "I'm sure you have plenty of stories to tell."
The soldier laughed.
"Oh I most certainly do. Why don't you have a seat Cassandra?"
Joseph groaned in his hands again, causing everyone to laugh.
"Hey, what's going on?"
They all turned to see Mandy at the door being pushed by Daniela. They had just finished their shower and had come downstairs to join the others.
Joseph waved his hand at his sister frantically.
"Mandy, run! Mom's about to tell embarrassing stories about us!"
The raven haired girl's face paled and took on a look of horror. She scrambled to turn her wheelchair around, but Daniela started pushing her towards the table.
"No! Dani! Please!" Mandy begged, causing her girlfriend to giggle.
"Oh no. You're not letting your brother suffer alone. Stop complaining and take it like a grownup."
Mandy folded her arms, pouting and grumbling to herself.
….
The next twenty minutes were absolute torture for Joseph and Mandy as their mother recounted some pretty embarrassing events that they'd rather forget. The worst was when she told the story of when her children befriended a fox and brought it home, as well as the chaos that followed. It was at that moment the two siblings wished they could just disappear.
Their suffering thankfully didn't last much longer after that as the rest of their group soon made their way to the conference room, signaling they could all start working on the banner. The talk among everyone quickly became casual and light hearted as everyone chatted among themselves about random stuff.
At one point, Diane turned to her son.
"So Joseph, I understand you and everyone else are fans of Godzilla."
Joseph chuckled.
"Oh yeah. It started when I showed Cassie and her family Godzilla Minus One. It just snowballed from there."
The Duke gave a laugh.
"I can attest to that. Godzilla has become quite popular in the village since Joseph arrived. It seems like every day now I get orders for Godzilla movies, action figures, books, you name it. The villagers just can't get enough of him."
Cassandra spoke up.
"I think that's because we watched Minus One at a time when we needed it. It's message about overcoming the past and forgiveness…really hit home for us."
This made Diane raise her eyebrows.
"Really? A Godzilla movie did that?"
"Oh my god, it was so emotionally gripping!" Daniela said. "We all cried like babies at least once when we watched it!"
"Guilty as charged." Bela said. "I think Godzilla represents a special meaning for all of us in some form or another."
"I wholeheartedly agree." Master Hisashi said. "He's a reminder of the horrors my grandfather overcame, which in turn reminds me of how strong he truly was."
Diane's head shot to the martial arts master with wide eyes. Even though she wasn't a Godzilla fan, she knew what he was talking about.
"Your grandfather, he was there when…" She couldn't even finish her sentence.
Master Hisashi nodded.
"Yes. He was there when the Hiroshima bomb was dropped, but surviving that and the years that followed transformed him into the strongest man I ever knew. He was truly remarkable."
Diane smiled.
"I think all of the survivors of those bombings were. I'm glad to hear you got to have your grandfather growing up, and to have him be such a positive influence on you."
Master Hisashi smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Diane. You are kind."
"Do you really think I am?"
"Yes. You were never a cruel person. You were just misguided and misdirected with lies and beliefs that weren't your own, but were fooled into believing so. Sadly, I've seen this happen numerous times over the years."
Alcina let out a growl.
"I can't believe the nerve of that man! Who manipulates their own wife to attack their children, all because of a grudge?! It's just sickening!"
Diane nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely. I'm so grateful I was able to have my eyes opened and see what a piece of shit he really was. It won't be easy to move on, but I think I can do it. If I can survive Afghanistan, I can survive this too."
"That's the spirit, mom!" Mandy said with a smile. "I'm sure Chris and Jill will make you feel welcome in the BSAA too!"
Diane smiled back.
"I have no doubt they will. Speaking of which, I'm supposed to report back to the BSAA by seven. So let's keep going with working on this banner.
Heisenberg chuckled as he shook his head.
"How do we always manage to flip flop in these conversations? One minute we're talking so casually, the next we go into some serious shit. Then we go back again."
Elena chuckled.
"That's just how conversations are, Lord Heisenberg. I know you're still new to the whole 'social group' thing, but I promise you'll get used to it."
The lord narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be an insult or not."
Elena giggled.
"It's a little of both."
Heisenberg sighed and turned to Diane.
"I'm warning you now, don't be fooled by Elena. She's all sweet and innocent on the outside, but on the inside she's a little gremlin."
The soldier chuckled.
"Oh don't worry. Mandy can be like that too, so I know what you mean."
The raven haired girl sighed.
"The worst part about that is, I can't argue with that."
"We already knew that though, Mandy." Alcina said with a smirk. "Your shenanigans on St. Patrick's Day proved that."
Diane sighed and put her hand on her face.
"She had you guys do Drunk Mario Party, didn't she?"
Mandy blushed while everyone laughed.
"You got it, Mom!" Joseph said. "But hey, it was pretty fun. Well, except for the hangover the next morning."
"Okay, let's get back to making this banner. Like, right now!" Mandy said hurriedly, causing everyone to laugh harder.
….
They spent the next two hours working on the banner. And when it was finally done, everyone was pleased with the results. The banner's artwork was similar to the one the T-Shirts displayed, but it was also different. The koi and catfish were shown to be swimming against a heavy current, but persevering nonetheless. The bear was shown to be climbing rugged terrain uphill in a thunderstorm to reach some unseen destination. Who knew what the destination was, but the bear looked determined to keep pushing forward to reach it.
At the very bottom were words that made Master Hisashi choke up a bit. They were the words of wisdom that he told Joseph when they first met, and the ones Joseph passed on to his family years later.
'It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life, you just do.'
This banner was more than just a representation of their triathlon team. It symbolized the challenges that everyone had endured to get to this moment. Overcoming their pasts, the guilt and pain, the doubts and criticism of others, even the ones who tried to hurt them. They had beaten it all, and it was all going to culminate in one big event.
Joseph was beyond excited. While he, Cassandra, and Mandy had prepared for the confrontation with Michael, the triathlon was their true goal. It was their chance to show the world what they could do. And with his mother now back in his life, Joseph's morale and confidence were at an all time high.
He called for Cassandra and Mandy to put their hands together with his in a team huddle, which they were more than happy to do.
"I don't know what's going to happen when we do this triathlon, but what I do know is that we will face it together. Let's make a promise that we will do everything in our power to win, or at least do the best we can. Not just for our families, but for us."
Cassandra smiled.
"I can't agree more! We've gone through so much to make this happen, and we sure ain't going to stop now! We can do this!"
"Hell yeah!" Mandy said. "It's about time we're rewarded for our hard work! Let's go out there and give it our best shot!"
The trio looked and smiled among each other before throwing their hands in the air and shouting.
"Go team Koi Fish!"