Dan ran at the entranced Firedance, the pony still chucking fireballs like he had eaten a Fire Flower. Halfway to his target, Dan half-tripped and dug the looting sack into the sand, filling half the bag with sand into the process. Cap did his best to deflect the fireballs but it didn't even seem like Firedance was aiming at them. He was just hurling flames in their direction.
"Dert-derr, dert-derr, dert-derrr~" Firedance's head was raised to the sky, bobbing back and fourth. It was like he was listening to some kind of song that only he could hear.
Dan was still charging the former friendly guard. He rushed him, dodging another Super Mario Bros.-style flame.
"I'm sorry about this." Dan hit him with the loot bag, then poured the sand out all over him, extinguishing the flames. With the flames gone, he bagged him. "That's one!" he announced, holding up the bag.
"Does he plan this out or-"
"Probably," Phoenix interrupted Cap and grabbed him, Khan and Discord by the shoulders. "Now please, can we go now before the whole island explodes?"
"Let's go!" To add urgency to it, Dan ran past them. "Pinkie and AJ! Now! Then back to our universe!"
"Does anyone know exactly how we get back to our universe?" Discord asked.
"You're asking that question? You brought us here," Cap said. More calmly than Phoenix or Dan who said,
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, DISCORD!"
"Seriously?! You took us here and you don't even know how to get back?!"
"I take it back. We're not leaving him behind. WE'RE GONNA BURY HIM BEHIND."
"How did you even get to this universe in the first place?!"
"I'M GOING TO CUT HIM IN HALF AND BURY HIM IN TWO SEPARATE HOLES. TWO SEPARATE HOLES."
"I'm sorry! I don't know!" Discord pleaded. "I woke up here next to Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Fortunately, I was able to give the guards the slip and escape, but I don't know exactly how the castle works."
"Crossing from one universe to another, it has something to do with the castle, right?" Cap asked. While he asked that question, Dan relieved the captain of his shield and was trying to saw Discord in half with it. "Please stop."
Discord shrugged. "The castles are like that- it's not my fault! There's doors, mirrors, archways in all the Equestrian castles that are weird. Some lead to other universes- pocket dimensions, alternate realities, parallel worlds, you name it. I'm not entirely sure how they work; they don't exactly make a manual for ancient transdimensional artifacts!"
"Yes, because if they DID we'd know how YOU worked," Dan snarled. By the time they were done arguing, they had reached the entrance to the sand castle. The battle overhead and all around them was continuing. Resistance bombers, beasts and paratroopers fought the Solar Empire troopers. The castle itself, being magical in nature, had sustained little damage. One of the Resistance fighter-bombers crashed on the roof of the castle but didn't penetrate it. Even as the wreckage burned and un-detonated bombs exploded on it, the castle itself was barely scratched. That wouldn't last forever, though.
"This is Inquisitor Twilight Sparkle. To any and all remaining Imperial forces, your orders are to retreat. If you are unable to reach the transports, evacuate any way you can. The Empire endures. For the Empress, save yourselves!"
"Fall back! Fall back!!"
The army of the Solar Empire was in a fighting retreat. Their Flutterbirds were taking off from behind the castle, evacuating the ground-bound troopers first. One or two of them were shot down by Resistance forces, but more than a few made it. The transports headed to other islands, other places where the Resistance wasn't. The Solar Empire still had allies. It was possible they could form a counter-resistance. Even for these tyrannical fascist zealots, hope remained. Because hope is unbiased.
Dan and company entered the sand castle. "Okay, we came in an elevator so... we just try to look for that again." The castle shook as a bomb hit nearby.
"After we free our captive comrades," Khan reminded them.
"Yes, so, c'mon!" Dan shook the bag that Firedance was in and it glowed for some reason, turning into a makeshift torch. It wasn't really necessary, but it happened so... that's a thing. They hurried through the hall, stepping over wounded Solar troopers and their discarded armor and weapons. Most of them were incapacitated in one way or another, the mirror CMC moved about them acting as nurses. They did not even acknowledge Dan or the others.
They bounded into the mirror castle foyer. "Stevie! You and Khan go find the exit, me and Nicky are gonna rescue Pinkie and AJ!"
"I'm afraid that's out of the question."
"Sorry boys. You're not going anywhere."
Mirror Flim and Flam blocked their path to the prison wing. Their guns were trained on them.
"Guys! Look, I know you're under orders from the Solar Empire," Phoenix said. The castle shook as another brace of bombs hit it, three in quick succession. "But the Resistance is going to blow up this whole island! We have to get out of here, now! You guys should come with us and-"
The pair smirked. "My poor attorney friend, we're not under anypony's orders. We made a deal a long time ago."
"With the Resistance," Flam said.
"Not that we haven't done volunteer work for the Empire, too."
"But we never go back on a deal."
"And the deal this time was to lead the Resistance to the last of the Solar Empire's forces so they could be wiped out."
"It was you two!" Dan said. "So you guys are the reason the Resistance showed up!"
"Mm-hmm."
"Wasn't exactly easy, but hey, you all provided the perfect distraction when you showed up."
"Much obliged for that."
"Too bad we can't return the favor."
Dan rubbed his chin. "So you infiltrated the Solar Empire and acted all helpful to us so we would distract them long enough to signal your Resistance friends."
"More or less," the pair nodded.
And Dan nodded as well. "Wow... that's impressive. Good job, guys. Well, since we're not with the Solar Empire, we'll just be going to get our friends and-"
"Not so fast, bub," Flim said, poking him with a lance. "You're still coming with us."
"Why? We're not with the Empire," Cap said. He looked around. "You said you both make deals? What deal did you make for us? Are Pinkie Pie and AJ involved, too?"
Flam gestured at him with his own lance. "Very clever, Captain Rogers."
"But the deal involving you wasn't with the Resistance." The tromping of boots echoed behind them. The Mirror CMC, plus Mirror Twist, Mirror Silverspoon, Mirror Diamond Tirror, Mirror Cheerilee and her entire class(mirror versions) appeared. And leading them was another human.
"Eyyyyyyyyyy how's hanging, gang?" Mirror Phoenix Wright asked.
Dan gritted his teeth. "Nicky..."
Phoenix's jaw dropped. "I... I... orange... skin tan..."
"Heyyyy that's me!" Mirror Nick said. He slicked his hair back with both of his hands, dripping with more grease than Writhe N. Payne, wherever he was. "So, lemme guess: you're some kinda two-bit goody-goody public defender, right?"
"Defense attorney," Phoenix said. (I think I can smell his aftershave from here... or is that cologne?)
[Sheesh, this guy dresses like a total tool. Hope I can change his wardrobe when I crossover.]
(Are his teeth actually gold? Wait... how are you doing that?)
OB[Doing what? Hey! I'm the only one that can have inner monologues. They help the player follow all my schemes!]
(No! MY inner monologues help players through MY investigations!)
To the outside world that wasn't involved in an Ace Attorney game, the two Phoenixes were just staring at each other, rubbing their chins, inquisitively and slyly respectively.
"Nicky, I'm sorry but, I'm gonna have to kill your double. Okay? Because, I just, I just can't even right now. Weapon? Please, anybody? Discord?"
"Guys, I'd kill yas all myselfs, but I don't wanna get my hands dirty. Or more specifically, his clothes dirty," he pointed at Phoenix.
"You're planning on taking his place," Cap said.
"You're planning on taking my place!" Phoenix exclaimed. "You can't do that! I... I..."
"OBJECTION!"
"OBJECTION!"
Dan looked up. "Oh, see, all the mirror stuff is red. Yeah, we'll be able to spot you like, immediately. You're screwed."
Mirror Phoenix shrugged. "Heh. I'm a businessman. I've had to scam my way out of a lotta lawsuits. Unlike your Wright, who looks about as broke as it gets, I'm rollin' in it."
"Yeah, and we can smell it on you from here," Dan added.
"I own Bluecorp, biggest corporation on Terra. Bumpin' off stooges like you and those clowns from the Fey Clan Circus are what I do for a livin'," he grinned. "If I can con Von Karma, Edgey and the Judge, you guys ain't gonna be no challenge for me."
Dan was about to say something, when Phoenix cut in, asking, "What did you say about the Fey Clan?"
"Oh, was Mia your boss, too? Was she a looker in your universe?" Mirror Nick asked, grinning. "Boy, you could get lost on those legs, couldn't ya? Broke my heart havin' to do her in. Thank goodness me'n Grossberg were able to pin it on Redd White or I'd still be as poor as-"
Phoenix hauled off and slugged him in the face.