Athena Cykes

Overview

Athena Cykes is a defense attorney working under Phoenix Wright at the Wright Anything Agency. She is a specialist in analytical psychology, which she studied in Europe. She has highly sensitive hearing and has the special ability to pick up subtle emotions from witnesses' voices, which she can then examine using a program called the "Mood Matrix". The Mood Matrix is linked to her AI partner Widget, who hangs around her neck and changes color with her emotions.

Appearance.

Athena Cykes is a young fair-toned skin girl of nine-teen (19) years of age, with slender body frame, sea-blue/sapphire blue eyes, orange-red hair, fair curve measures and average height (1,75 cms tall). Athena typically wears a yellow jacket that has a blue line on each cuff, a matching skirt, a white shirt, a blue tie, black tights, and white boots with a thick blue line around the top, a line in the middle and gray soles. On her right hand is a three-fingered black glove that wraps around her thumb, index, and middle fingers. The glove has pads on the fingertips that interface with the holograms projected from Widget, which is worn around her neck. Her hair consists of one large ponytail that converts into two ends, the thigh-high long ponytail being held by a medium-sized bmue ribbon, and she has a little flick on her forehead resembling a crescent moon.

Personality (1)

Athena has strong emotions and a powerful drive to win, which can sometimes cause her to be reckless. She is energetic, optimistic, positive, cocky, respectful, humble, caring and overall a good person despite her past and traumas. Widget occasionally picks up on her emotions and blurts out what she's really thinking, much to her chagrin. She likes orange juice after a good workout and gratuitously peppers her speech with French, German, Spanish, and Italian, languages that she apparently picked up while studying in Europe. Athena also seems to have the habits of getting lost easily and falling asleep just about anywhere. In court, she uses Widget's holographic capabilities extensively; whereas her co-workers bring hard copies of notes and evidence to read and reference, Athena prefers to store and retrieve information digitally via Widget. Ironically, as a child, Athena was quiet and subdued, and had trouble grasping the difference between robots and humans due to her isolation. It was only after she grew up and was able to socialize more that she became the energetic presence that her colleagues and clients would come to know her for.

Personality (2)

Beneath her external cheerfulness was a deep-seated childhood trauma that threatened to overpower her during two of her trials. Although she would sometimes put on a brave face, Widget's expression would give an insight into her true feelings. When she was extensively ignored in court, especially when the case was going very badly for her, Athena would be reminded of her mother's murder and being ignored during Simon Blackquill's trial, causing her to shut down. In this state, her eyes would become blank, while Widget would go black to mirror Athena's emotional state. After the retrial of UR-1, she began to move on from her past trauma, no longer shutting down completely when things began to go badly for her in court. However, her self-confidence can still be fragile, as shown by her doubting herself during Bucky Whet's trial, although a few guiding (though harsh) words from Simon Blackquill put her back on track again.

Family.

Metis Cykes -- Athena's deceased mother, a psychologist who was the victim in the UR-1 incident.

Friends.

Phoenix Wright -- Athena's current boss and mentor in the Wright Anything Agency, Phoenix Wright is a veteran defense attorney. Mostly specializing in criminal trials, Wright is renowned for his ability to turn seemingly hopeless cases around. Apollo Justice: A young and determined man, Apollo Justice is a defense attorney who has operated in the United States and Khura'in working for the Wright Anything Agency besides Athena and Phoenix Wright. Trucy Wright: Phoenix Wright's adopted daughter which Athena sees like a little sister and spends time with her as if they really were blood-related. Ema Skye: Athena's bestie. Ema is a forensics scientist with the Los Angeles Criminal Affairs Department who was the detective in charge of Apollo Justice's first few cases. Simon Blackquill: the man who secretly played the culprit of Athena's mother murder in order to protect her. Athena is fond and close to Simon, despite the ten-year difference between them.

UR-1 Incident. (1)

The UR-1 Incident is the police designation for the murder of Metis Cykes that took place at the Cosmos Space Center in 2020.

UR-1 Incident. (2)

On the day before the HAT-1 rocket launch, an international spy known only as "the phantom" infiltrated the Cosmos Space Center with two aims: to sabotage the launch and to destroy a psychological report on him. His first task was easily carried out, with a bomb that he had planted on the rocket damaging many of its critical systems upon detonation. To complete his second aim, he went to the Center's robotics lab and stabbed Metis Cykes (who had created the psych report) with a katana displayed on her wall. In order to ease his planned escape, the phantom took Cykes's GYAXA uniform jacket, using its built-in ID tag to fool the Center robots' recognition systems, and ornamental Noh mask. Athena Cykes, Metis's daughter, then arrived at the lab to show her mother a picture that she had drawn. Instead, she found her lying dead on the floor. Athena grabbed a knife from a toolbox and stabbed the spy in his hand, thereby causing some of his blood to splatter onto a nearby moon rock.

UR-1 Incident. (3)

After knocking the girl unconscious, the phantom decided to put the bloodstained moon rock in the "Hope" Capsule, which was to go on the rocket he was going to blow up. He then escaped the Cosmos Space Center before he could be discovered. In a childlike state of denial and not really understanding the difference between humans and robots, Athena had Ponco move Metis to the robot disassembly table, thinking the machinery would be able to "fix" her like it did the robots. At that moment, Metis's student, prosecutor Simon Blackquill, arrived. Athena, covered in blood from the ordeal, explained to him - with a "sweet smile" and a "far-out look in her eyes," as Blackquill later recalled - what she intended to do. Blackquill, thinking that Athena had killed her own mother, used the murder weapon, Metis's katana, to forcibly dismantle Ponco, before removing Athena and the pieces of the robot from the lab. This left a bloodied imprint on his clothes from Athena's specialized headphones. By the time Athena had returned to the Center, Blackquill had been arrested for Metis's murder.

UR-1 Incident. (4)

Blackquill's trial was held soon afterwards. Athena tried to speak out in his defense, saying that "his heart is screaming that he didn't do it," but she was ignored because no one understood what she meant due to not knowing about her special hearing ability. Blackquill pleaded guilty and was soon convicted, leaving Athena traumatized by the ordeal and causing her to repress many of her memories of that day.

Aftermath (1)

After Blackquill's verdict was announced, a traumatized Athena was sent to live in Europe. Wishing to save Blackquill, but not knowing how, Athena eventually decided to become a lawyer after meeting former defense attorney Phoenix Wright. She was also determined to use analytical psychology for the task, which her mother had specialized in, but being ignored during her previous ordeal in court would cause her to suffer panic attacks when reminded of the incident and subsequent trial; the true events of her mother's death would be suppressed in the form of five black Psyche-Locks.

Aftermath (2)

Meanwhile, Aura Blackquill - Simon Blackquill's older sister, and close colleague of Metis Cykes - was devastated by the incident, having had her colleague/mentor murdered and her brother put on death row. She became embittered, antisocial, and nursed a deep hatred for Athena and the legal system for supposedly taking away those dear to her. Alongside Wright's disbarment a year prior, the UR-1 Incident helped to usher in the so-called "dark age of the law". Allegations of false charges and fabricated evidence abounded, and public opinion and confidence in the legal system were at an all-time low. Seeking to resolve this, Miles Edgeworth decided that he needed his old friend Wright's help again. Thus, while the prosecutor's office continued their investigations, Edgeworth pulled a few strings to allow Wright to successfully retake the bar exam and regain his attorney's badge.

Retrial (UR-1 Incident's finale.)

allow Wright to successfully retake the bar exam and regain his attorney's badge. Retrial Main article: Turnabout for Tomorrow On December 20, 2027, Aura visited her brother Simon at the detention center. With only one day remaining until his execution and her brother refusing to attest to his innocence, Aura took drastic measures to protect her brother. Organizing her robots, she took a group of visitors hostage at the Cosmos Space Center, including Phoenix Wright's adopted daughter Trucy. Aura demanded that a new trial be held, and indicted Athena as the true culprit behind Metis's murder. With all the other courtrooms occupied, Wright was forced to defend Athena in the ruins of Courtroom No. 4 (which had been destroyed in a bombing), Edgeworth as the presiding prosecutor and Aura observing the proceedings via Clonco. By this point, Athena had become convinced that she had murdered her mother. However, Wright eventually proved the innocence of both Athena and Simon. Simon was cleared of all charges, much to the joy of Aura. While she was subsequently arrested for her hostage taking, Aura nevertheless thanked Wright, Athena, and Apollo Justice for proving her brother innocent. Edgeworth permitted Simon to take over as prosecutor for the case, while he continued to search for more information regarding the phantom. Wright, Athena, Justice, and Simon would go on to reveal that the phantom had been watching them while disguised as police detective Bobby Fulbright.

Athena's early life (1)

Along with her mother, Dr. Metis Cykes, Athena lived at the Cosmos Space Center as a child. The employees there affectionately referred to her as "princess", and she in turn viewed them as family. However, she was very withdrawn, mostly due to her strengthened hearing ability being so pronounced that it gave her sensory overload when around large groups of people. Due to this, Athena often avoided others and missed many days of school. Athena did manage to bond with a schoolmate named Juniper Woods, who would also often miss school due to her poor health.

Athena's early life (2)

Metis spent much of her time working. She and her research partner, Aura Blackquill, made specialized headphones for Athena to wear, particularly when she had to go out in public. Athena hated having to wear them because they were heavy and uncomfortable, and they seemingly gave her horrible headaches. Unable to grasp her mother's explanation of the headphones, Athena felt that she was being seen as a mere test subject.[2] Seven years would pass before Athena found out that the headphones were actually sound-dampening; they emitted sound frequencies that nullified emotional inputs, and that their long-term effect was to rein in her sensitive hearing enough so that she could lead a more normal life.

Athena's early life (3)

Athena also grew close to the facility robots Clonco and Ponco that Metis had created, with the young Athena considering them part of her extended family. However, her sheltered upbringing left her oblivious to the finer differences between humans and robots. If one of the robots suffered from a malfunction, she would try and treat it like she would a human, by wrapping it in bandages. Conversely, when Metis would repair the robots using the disassembly table located in the robotics lab, Athena believed it would work on humans too, and often asked her mother if she could be "fixed" there when she was hurt, although her requests were always denied.

"Fixing" her mother (1)

On October 7, 2020, Athena went to see her mother in the robotics lab in order to show her a drawing she had recently finished. When she arrived, however, she stumbled upon an intruder dressed in Metis's Noh mask and space center jacket, with the bloody body of her recently murdered mother beside him. In a panic, Athena grabbed a utility knife and stabbed the man in the right hand. The masked man's blood splattered onto a moon rock. The intruder retaliated by kicking her, which knocked her unconscious, before fleeing the scene. After she came to, Athena tried to wake her mother. In her childlike state of denial and still not quite understanding the difference between humans and robots, she had Ponco move Metis to the robot disassembly table, thinking the machinery would be able to "fix" her like it did the robots.

"Fixing" her mother (2)

At that moment, Prosecutor Simon Blackquill, Metis's student and Aura's brother, arrived. Athena, covered in blood from the ordeal, explained to him — with a smile and a "far-off look in her eyes," as Prosecutor Blackquill would later recall — what she intended to do. Prosecutor Blackquill, thinking that Athena had killed her own mother, used the murder weapon, Metis's katana, to forcibly dismantle Ponco, before removing Athena and the pieces of the robot from the lab, accidentally leaving a headphone-shaped blood imprint on his clothes. By the time Athena had returned to the Center, Prosecutor Blackquill had been arrested for Metis's murder.

Blackquill's fate (1)

Prosecutor Blackquill's trial was held soon afterwards. Athena tried to speak out in his defense, saying "his heart is screaming that he didn't kill her," but was ignored because no one understood what she meant. Prosecutor Blackquill pleaded guilty and was soon convicted, leaving Athena traumatized by the ordeal and causing her to repress many of her memories of that day. After the incident, Athena stopped going to school; she lost touch with Juniper Woods as well, though the two would later start exchanging letters. At this point, she had stopped wearing the headphones, being seen without them while testifying on Prosecutor Blackquill's behalf, presumably because they had been submitted to the police as evidence.

Blackquill's fate (2)

After the trial, Athena went to Europe to live with her relatives, taking with her two gifts that her mother had given her: Widget and a small piece of moon rock made into a necklace. She later came to wear Widget around her neck instead, and fashioned the moon rock pendant into an earring.[3] She wanted to save Prosecutor Blackquill someday, but did not know how.

Law Career

Athena first met Phoenix Wright when he was in Europe studying their legal systems. He told her that her psychological abilities could help people. Athena decided not to give up on saving Prosecutor Blackquill. She exercised hard and studied law and psychology.[4] Despite her resentment toward Metis while she was alive, studying psychology made Athena feel closer to her mother. Eventually, she finished her law studies and was invited to join the Wright Anything Agency. She was able to become a lawyer at a young age due to skipping some grades while studying in Europe.