Name: Athena Cykes
Vehicle: Lightning Bug (A Dodge Charger named after its bright yellow color scheme that is so vivid that it would put a bumblebee living in a lemon to shame.)
Vehicle Armor: 2/5 (People who put a lot of resources into their vehicle's armor are just pessimists who think they'll lose before the competition starts. And while that may be fine with them, that's not how Athena Cykes rolls. If she can become an attorney at 18 and save her best friend/brother figure from death row, then she can do anything!)
Vehicle Speed: 3/5 (Athena may want to go as fast as humanly possible, but given her young age and psychological profile, no insurance provider shares her opinions. Therefore, despite her strongly worded protests, Athena had to compromise and settle for a vehicle with moderate speed if she wanted affordable coverage.)
Handling: Tight (It's no secret that Athena loves competition. So when she gets behind the wheel of her vehicle, don't be surprised when she pushes it to its limit.)
Special Attack: 3/5 (Widget of War- After making a few upgrades to Widget, Athena can now use her robotic pal to control the emotions of nearby drivers- causing them to fly from fits of extreme happiness to crippling sadness to blistering fury to spine-tingling fear in a matter of seconds and throwing them off. However, given the… eccentric emotional disposition of a good portion of Ace Attorney characters, this power isn't as effective as you'd think.)
Bio: Hey guys, I'm Athena Cykes, courtroom revolutionary with a specialty in analytic psychology, and this is my friend, Widget, my trusty computer who can read other people's emotions and my thoughts! Though sometimes, that latter one's a mixed blessing… How much longer until I can beat everyone to tears? Widget, be nice! As you can probably guess, I love competition and am so excited just to get a chance to compete here! Though then again, that would mean going up against Mr. Wright and the others… Screw them! I want my wish! Widget, don't talk like that! They're our friends! Anyone that gets in my way is getting crushed into dust- especially Apollo! That asshole can take those Chords of Steel of his and scream right up his- Ok, I think that's enough from us.
Athena has done it. She's won Debauched Steel and, with a grin on her face and a skip in her step, approaches Kristoph, who is standing off on the side of the road, to claim her prize: the ability to wish for anything she could possibly desire. However, with the glare that the host of Debauched Steel is flashing her, the yellow-cladded attorney feels a bit reluctant to do so.
"Hi, Mr. Gavin!" Athena cheerfully states with a toothy grin, holding up a peace sign with her right hand. "I'm Athena Cykes and-"
"You make me sick." Kristoph venomously hisses with crossed arms, his voice oozing disdain as his face scrunches into a look of disgust.
"Excuse me?" Athena asks as she cocks her head in confusion.
"You heard me, Ms. Cykes. You make me sick… Almost as much as that irritating, idealistic idiot that you call a boss."
"Yeah, but I don't get why you'd feel that way about me. You haven't even met me until now."
"You're just jealous that I'm prettier than you!" Widget yells, his screen colored red as he glares at the demented ex-attorney.
"Believe me, Ms. Cykes; I am far from jealous of you. On the contrary, I don't hate you because of anything you have, but a quality that you are sorely lacking: character." Kristoph smirked.
"What's that supposed to mean, buster?! I have more character in my pinky than you do in your entire being!" Athena snarls, her fists tightly clenched as she flashes the host of Debauched Steel a fierce scowl with pupiless eyes.
"Don't make me laugh." Kristoph sneers with crossed arms. "You are one of the most clichéd characters to ever come out of this series. You're an upbeat, attractive woman- at least by the standards of the dregs of society- who has a unique ability that is a mixed blessing and, at the age of 18, not only became a defense attorney, but mastered several languages, martial arts, and analytical psychology. You, ma'am, are the very definition of a Mary Sue."
"I am NOT a Mary Sue!" Athena snaps. "Sure, I may have a lot of accomplishments, but I'm just as flawed as any other person."
"Yes, Ms. Cykes, because being a little clumsy and freezing up in court because of a childhood trauma are the most original flaws in the history of character design." Kristoph sarcastically states with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh, like you're one to talk? You're the guy who stalked my boss for seven years because you lost a game of poker."
"Get a life, girly man!" Widget angrily chimes in.
"One, my disdain towards Wright is out of principle, not a single solitary action." Kristoph growls through gritted teeth. "And two, I'm not the only one who despises your character. In fact, my complaints are actually quite common amongst the fan base, who have voiced such riveting opinions like 'The biggest flaw I remember is her trauma, but that asks for sympathy from the player, so that's just even more circlejerking about how lovely Athena is.', 'I felt like everything she did was super overdone and annoying. I didn't like how everyone treated her powers and, as someone who actually studies Psychology I don't like how she talks and talks about analytical psychology.' , and 'The only thing missing from the typical Mary Sue checklist is Athena having a romantic relationship with Phoenix.'" Ugh…" The demented host shudders at the mere thought of Phoenix being in a romantic relationship with anyone. Why does this feel so familiar…?
"Why are you telling me this?!" Athena wails with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't help it that I'm the way I am!"
"Simple. I am an evil person, and I enjoy seeing anyone so closely associated with my arch nemesis suffer." Kristoph nonchalantly states with a warm grin. "And it's especially satisfying when the person suffering is someone who has no reason to exist. Your character is a poor man's pancake mix of Franziska von Karma and Maya Fey with a watered-down version of Edgeworth's backstory served on the side. Hell, even Juniper Woods, despite her overall dry nature, is leagues better than you are because she is at least aware of her grating flaws and knows her proper place in the background. But you, on the other hand…" The demented host pushes up his glasses. "You parade yourself in amongst the main cast as if you're the next best thing since sliced bread. Sure, I may hate Wright with a burning passion, but he at least has a reason to exist. However, as for you, the only benefit you've yielded as a character is by making Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, and by extension me, look better when compared to Dual Destinies. And for that, I am grateful." Kristoph warmly states with a smile.
"If you look good, then I don't want to know what ugly is." Widget slyly comments, his screen glowing green.
"Ok, I've had just about enough of you." Kristoph growls, causing Widget to vanish without a trace with a snap of his fingers.
"WIDGET!" Athena shrieks before running over to the Host of Debauched Steel and grabbing him by the collar of his jacket, hunching him over so that he is staring right into her rage-filled blue eyes. "What did you do to Widget?!"
"If I were you, Ms. Cykes, I'd be less worried about your chatty little friend and more concerned with gently letting go and backing away from a man capable of killing you five different ways in four seconds."
"*Sigh*… Fine." Athena reluctantly states before releasing Kristoph and taking a step back.
"There's a good girl." Kristoph coolly says with a collected smile. "Now, as much fun as this little chat has been, I feel it's time that we get down to brass tacks. What would you like to wish for and claim as your prize for winning Debauched Steel?"
"Easy! I want all the orange juice I can drink!" Athena confidently states with a toothy grin and hands placed firmly on her hips.
"Orange juice?" Kristoph askes, cocking his head in confusion. "Really?"
"What? I can't get enough with the stuff. And with how little Mr. Wright pays me, it's a miracle that I can by any at all."
"Why does that not surprise me…?" The host of Debauched Steel groans, pushing up his glasses as he thinks back on the numerous times he had taken his arch enemy out to restaurants as acts of 'friendship', only to find himself paying the check in its entirety every time. "Nevertheless, I shall grant your wish." The demented ex-attorney states with a sinister grin.
Kristoph raises his arms in the air, causing bolts of electricity to stream between his hands, emitting a blinding light. When the light diminishes, Athena finds herself submerged in a large glass box completely filled with orange juice.
Under normal circumstances, such a large quantity of orange juice would be a dream come true for the young attorney; but unfortunately for her, this is far from normal. So instead of savoring the citrusy goodness of her beloved beverage of choice, Athena finds herself frantically swimming around the glass box, desperately searching for a way out. But alas, the box is perfectly sealed with not even the smallest of air pockets to be found- not surprising considering that it was created by a psychopath with the thoroughness to stalk four people for seven years just to cover his tracks.
With each passing second, Athena grows weaker and weaker, her chest feeling tight as the air in her lungs slowly diminishes and her cheeks puffing up like a squirrel with a mouthful of acorns. She knows that she has to get out of this Vitamin C deathtrap, and with what little energy she has left in her body quickly dwindling as her face starts to turn a lovely shade of blue, the young attorney becomes desperate.
That is why Athena immediately stops swimming when she spots Kristoph sitting in his posh purple chair, watching her struggle with a grin on his face as he ironically enjoys a tall glass of orange juice, and starts pounding on the glass with both fists as hard as she can.
"Don't worry, Ms. Cykes. I'll help you out." Kristoph calmly replies, causing a large boombox to appear next to him with a snap of his fingers which proceeds to loudly play the classic downing theme from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
As the song's tempo speeds up, so too does the rate at which Athena pounds on the side of the box in an attempt to break herself free; but no matter how hard her punches are, they don't even make a dent in the orange juice-filled box of death. And when the song comes to its chilling end after about 20 seconds, Athena's body goes limp as she slowly flips over on her back and floats towards the top of the box like a dead fish in its bowl.
"She was drowning, but I enjoyed watching her struggle." Kristoph sneers before turning to the camera. "I am Kristoph Gavin, and I thank you for watching Debauched Steel."
A/N: I would like to thank DJJ680 and AceAttorneyFantic for submitting the idea for this episode. Specifically, the wish and vehicle stats, respectively.