(A/N: This is the intermission/first chapter of the third arc! Everything's all downhill from here…for better or worse. This chapter's a bit shorter than some others, but it still gets enough done.)
Back in June, Flavia had asked for Marth and Malin to come to Ferox while Basilio sent a letter to the royal family asking them to go to the same location. The plan was for the mercenaries to meet Emmeryn—who Basilio had found during the reunion—and reunite with Chrom and Robin, but two things went…differently than planned. First, the mercenaries never showed up; second, the Mini Shepherds went instead of the adults.
To rectify one of those, Marth and Malin visited by the latter's insistence. The khans both knew who Marth and Malin were, so Marth didn't wear her mask; most of the people around were told to call them by their aliases to respect their choices, however odd they may be. When the siblings came, it was almost amusing to see how Marth reacted to being told their original plan.
Marth apparently had to take a breath before she spoke, standing in a Feroxi training area where Basilio and Flavia had been before the mercenaries' arrival. With controlled evenness, she noted, "You were intending to have us meet Chrom."
"Wouldn't have worked anyway," Basilio said with a shrug. "Those kids showed up instead."
"I'm more concerned about the intent, rather than the outcome," Marth replied, frowning. "You know I don't want to talk with them again."
"That's what I told him," Flavia said, gesturing to Basilio. "Then again, I don't think I can remember the last time the oaf listened to me."
Marth sighed again and picked up a sword so she could join them in training; Malin sat down to simply watch. After a while, the youngest of them all said, "Do you two have a job for us while we're here? Things are pretty calm in Ylisse, so we're running out of things to do other than wandering and offering our help whenever we can."
Basilio put on that idiotic smile—the same one that started this mess. "Actually, would you care for a tournament?"
"You're planning something," Marth noted dully. "If it involves Chrom again, I swear—"
"Peace, girl; I know you have some issues and I won't force you again unless I have a good reason," Basilio replied, frowning for a second before his smile returned. "But would you be opposed to fighting the Mini Shepherds?"
"They're teenagers," Malin pointed out.
"They might accidentally break them," Flavia agreed, looking at the other khan. "These two are almost stronger than us."
"It'll be fine," Basilio said, nonchalant. "I just want to see how the kids fare against their parents' next favorite people!" He looked at Marth, and added, "Besides, you don't want them to know who you are and you don't want them to miss you, right? Why not just beat them!"
"You forget people by not associating, not by losing to them," Marth replied simply.
"Consider it," Basilio insisted. "You can throw the match for all I care; I haven't seen you fight anyone but me or Flavia in a long while. It'll be refreshing." He gave a proud look to Flavia, saying, "I'll take the kids."
Flavia blinked at him. "If you honestly think they'll win, you're more deluded than I thought."
"Hey, maybe Lucina won't let me lose this time!" Basilio joked. "That girl is strong—I've seen her fight when she visits with Chrom! I want to see what the present has to offer this go-around."
"Well, if you're letting me pick my men," Flavia replied, "Then it'll be Marth, Malin, and Lon'qu against the Mini Shepherds; I might as well take your whole team while I'm at it."
"Fair!" Basilio said, chuckling. "Right then. Marth and Malin, you have to think this over—I'm excited now!"
The training continued, with Malin joining in after a little while. It was mostly just Malin against Marth or Malin stepping aside to let Marth have a go at fighting Flavia or Basilio (the latter of which usually backed down fairly quickly because she had an advantage over him with a sword).
The mercenaries left after an hour or two of stories that they decided they could share, and then they left to do their own things for the rest of the day. When she knew they weren't there, Flavia looked at Basilio. "You're not going to uphold what you said earlier, are you?" She asked, unsurprised at either outcome.
"Of course not," Basilio replied simply, moving to put away his axe. "The girl has problems—the boy does, too. Their parents need to figure out how they're going to present the future kids, and this might give them an opportunity. I'm helping them all out."
"So you don't think they should stay away from the kids?" Flavia said.
"What, do you?" Basilio asked.
"I personally think the kids have a right to know what came before them," Flavia maintained. She started putting away her sword as well. "Or who came before them, in this case—and I think that it'll be better if the older ones know who took their place."
"So you agree with me?"
"Partly—probably not with your methods, though."
"Undoubtedly. I'm going to head out soon. I'll be at Ylisstol if you need me."
Flavia could only really murmur any disagreement since she knew he would do it anyway. She decided to figure out where Lon'qu was and make sure he was willing to fight against teens. When he proved to mostly not care, she went back to training with whatever passerby came near.
She just knew one thing for certain: this was going to be interesting, if not a complete failure. The only way to figure that out was to sit back and watch whatever mess Basilio made this time.