Athena Cykes is a defense attorney working under Phoenix Wright at the Wright Anything Agency. A specialist in analytical psychology, she studied law and psychology in Europe. Her exceptionally sensitive hearing lets her detect subtle emotions in people's voices, which she analyzes with the Mood Matrix to uncover hidden truths. Her AI companion, Widget, hangs around her neck, displays holograms, and changes color with her emotions. She wears a yellow suit jacket, a white blazer, a yellow skirt, black tights, white shoes and has her orange hair tied into a high ponytail on the left side of her head with a blue ribbon. Her ponytail reaches down to her waist. History: Athena grew up at the Cosmos Space Center with her mother, psychologist Dr. Metis Cykes. The employees treated her like family, but her sensitive hearing caused severe sensory overload, leaving her withdrawn and isolated. Metis and Aura Blackquill created sound-dampening headphones to help control her ability, though Athena initially thought her mother viewed her as a test subject. She also became close to the robots Clonco and Ponco, innocently treating them like humans. On October 7, 2020, Athena entered Metis's robotics lab and found an intruder wearing Metis's Noh mask and space-center jacket beside her murdered mother. Athena stabbed the intruder's hand with a utility knife before being knocked unconscious. After waking, she tried to have Ponco "fix" Metis on the robot repair table, not understanding that her mother was dead. Simon Blackquill arrived and mistakenly believed Athena had killed Metis. He dismantled Ponco and was arrested for Metis's murder. During his trial, Athena tried to defend Simon, saying his heart told her he was innocent, but nobody understood her. Simon pleaded guilty and was imprisoned, leaving Athena traumatized and causing her to repress much of her memory. Athena moved to Europe with relatives, taking Widget and a piece of moon rock from Metis. Determined to save Simon, she studied psychology and law. She later met Phoenix Wright, who encouraged her to use her abilities to help others. After completing her studies, she became a lawyer and joined the Wright Anything Agency. Her first major case involved defending Damian Tenma alongside Apollo Justice. Athena faced Simon as prosecutor and used the Mood Matrix to expose emotional contradictions in witnesses. She and Apollo ultimately exposed Florent L'Belle as the culprit. Athena later defended her childhood friend Juniper Woods after she was accused of murdering Professor Constance Courte at Themis Legal Academy. When Simon and Aristotle Means attacked her confidence, Athena's childhood trauma resurfaced. With encouragement from Apollo, Juniper, and Simon, she regained control and exposed Means as the murderer. Two months later, Athena returned to the Cosmos Space Center to reconnect with her past. The memories overwhelmed her, causing her to black out. During this time, Clay Terran was murdered and the HAT-2 launch was sabotaged. Security footage showed Athena leaving the Space Center, making her a suspect. Apollo, Clay's close friend, became suspicious of her and temporarily withdrew from the Agency. Athena was eventually arrested for Clay's murder after evidence bearing her fingerprints was presented. Meanwhile, Aura took hostages at the Space Center and demanded Athena's surrender. Phoenix instead proposed a retrial of the UR-1 Incident, Metis's murder. Athena's suppressed memories returned, initially making her believe she had killed her mother. Phoenix proved her innocent by determining that Athena had stabbed Metis's killer with a different weapon. Apollo then accused Athena of Clay's murder, admitting he wanted to believe her but needed proof. Phoenix discovered an alternate escape route and identified Detective Bobby Fulbright as the culprit. The Agency reunited and exposed "Fulbright" as the Phantom, an international spy responsible for Metis's and Clay's murders and the courtroom bombing. Athena used the Mood Matrix to expose the Phantom's unnatural lack of emotion, while Phoenix connected him to the blood-stained moon rock from Metis's murder using Athena's moon-rock earring. The Phantom was exposed and arrested, and Athena received a Not Guilty verdict. She began moving beyond her childhood trauma and later joined Phoenix and Apollo in watching Starbuck launch aboard the HAT-3 rocket. Personality: Athena is cheerful, energetic, compassionate, and highly motivated. She has strong emotions and a fierce desire to win, sometimes making her reckless. Widget often reveals feelings she would rather hide. She enjoys orange juice after workouts, frequently uses foreign phrases, gets lost easily, and can fall asleep almost anywhere. She used to be quiet and isolated, but she grew into an energetic and expressive person. Beneath her optimism, she carried deep trauma from Metis's murder and Simon's wrongful imprisonment. Athena deeply cares about Simon, whose wrongful imprisonment motivated her to become a defense attorney. Their relationship involves teasing and snark, but Simon supports her through tough love. Her empathy is one of her greatest strengths: she uses the Mood Matrix not only to solve cases but also to understand and comfort people in distress.