"So Niijima," One of the male officers, a man named Takai, leaned Makoto's desk as she finished filling out her report. "What do you think of going out to dinner this Saturday?"

"You should do it." Makoto replied, not looking up from her work. "From the looks of it you've been spending too many nights eating takeout at home."

"C'mon, don't play coy." He smiled. "A new Indian place opened up not far from here. Do you like Indian food? I mean I enjoy spicy food but-"

"I'm not interested." She interrupted him, finally looking up to shoot him a glare. "Don't you have paperwork to finish?"

"Eh," He shrugged. "After you've worked here for so long, you start to realize that there's really no need to follow the rules so strictly. I mean seriously, we're not robots."

There that word was again. Goddammit. Would it seriously follow her around her whole life?

Grabbing her papers angrily, she stood up from her desk and marched toward the chief's office to turn in her report. The secretary wasn't in at the moment, as evidenced by her empty desk, so she would just turn in the report personally. Opening the door, she was surprised to find the secretary sitting on the chief's desk with her back facing the door and the chief nowhere in sight.

"Um, excuse me?" She asked. "Have you seen the-" She was cut off as the secretary let out a loud moan. "Huh?"

The secretary let out another moan before her head turned to face the door, spotting Makoto, her eyes widened and she let out a panicked shriek.

"What? What is it?" A gruff voice asked before the chief's head appeared from behind, or rather, in front of the secretary. "N-Niijima! What the hell are you doing here!?" He asked angrily before turning toward his secretary. "I thought you said you locked the door?" He whispered.

"I thought I did!"

"Um, I just...The report…" She held up the stack of papers before weakly pointing to it, still grasping what she'd just seen.

"Just put it on her damn desk and get the hell out!"

Nodding quickly, Makoto shut the door and left them alone. Setting the documents on the desk, she walked away as fast as she could, heading toward the locker room. Thinking over what she'd just seen, Makoto changed into her civilian clothes hastily.

'What were they doing!?' She thought to herself in shock. 'I mean, it's obvious what they were doing but...The chief is married! I've met his wife! Does she know about this?'

Makoto shook her head in disgust, almost every notion she'd had about the Tokyo police force had been disproven in the short time she'd worked here. Bribes, debauchery, and corruption seemed ever present among her fellow officers, so much so that it made her wonder how any criminals were ever actually brought to justice.

She felt like she was back in high school again, only now everyone was Principal Kobayakawa, abusing what actual power they were given. The other notable difference was that this time, she didn't have her friends by her side to support her through these trying times. Instead, they were all busy either off saving the world or pursuing their own goals like she was.

'I wonder what he's up to right now.' Makoto pondered, her thoughts drifting to a certain frizzy haired boy.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, she pulled on her leather jacket before stepping toward the door. Before she pushed it open however, she heard faint voices speaking from the other side. Normally not one to eavesdrop on people, (the incident with the Phantom Thieves didn't count, she'd been ordered to! Plus Ryuji made it pretty easy.) Makoto would've stepped away for their privacy, if she hadn't heard her name clear as day. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened closer.

"I toldja dude, you had no chance of gettin' with Niijima, she's way too much of a hardass."

"Ah shut up." A second voice responded, this one clearly Takai. "I'm not done yet, not nearly. She wants to go out with me, she just doesn't know it yet. I'm telling you, by the end of the month I'll have her in bed crying out my name."

"Doubt it." A third voice chimed in. "Pretty sure she's a lesbian."

"Yeah, and whaddya even see in her anyways?" The original voice asked. "You ask me, chicks oughta be nice and thin with a big rack, not...whatever she's got goin' on."

"Are you kidding me? Muscular girls are the fuckin' best! Those abs? Those biceps? God, I want her to crush my fucking head between her thighs!"

"..."

"...You're a fuckin' freak."

"You guys just don't understand because you aren't men of culture like myself." Takai defended himself before the trio exited earshot.

'...What!?' Makoto thought, shocked by what she'd just heard. 'H-He wants me t-to WHAT!?' Her eyes wide, she shook her head and rubbed her temples. Was this really what her coworkers thought of her? Just an object for sex? These people were supposed to be upholders of justice! So why were they acting no better than hormonal teenagers?

Exiting the locker room, she stormed out of the police station, fuming angrily over the earlier comments as she entered the parking lot. Makoto wasn't traditionally feminine by any stretch of the word, she still kept her hair in a bob cut and paid little attention to fashion trends. Plus, as stated so eloquently before, she made it a habit to exercise regularly and eat right which made her body...well defined. But all of that aside, she was still regarded as pretty by her friends, and according to her sister Sae, she looked more like their mother every day, and that was more than enough for her.

"I think I get why Sis developed a Palace now." Makoto remarked, entering the parking lot. It was difficult being the only female officer at the station, it put up a divide between her and her fellow officers, not that she liked them much to begin with.

Getting onto her motorcycle, a gift from her sister for her 21st birthday (long winded lecture on road safety included), she revved up the engine before booking it home. As she rode through the Tokyo streets, Makoto couldn't help but wonder why she put up with all of this. The comments, the unprofessionalism, the borderline harassment she endured each day, why not just quit? It's not like she'd have any trouble finding a new job, the Shadow Ops made it clear that their doors were open any time, plus her resume was already pretty impressive.

But no, she couldn't. She'd made a promise to Ren and to herself that she'd see her dream through. She would become commissioner and fix the corruption that ran rampant through this city, no matter how difficult it got along the way.

Still though, she couldn't help but wish she had him by her side along the way. Things were always so much easier with him, impossible dreams seemed within reach, monotonous tasks became enjoyable, her world just seemed brighter when he was around.

'Speaking of brighter, that's odd.' Makoto thought, looking up. The sun had long since gone down and yet...why was the sky red? Realization suddenly dawned on her and she immediately stopped her motorcycle, the people in front of her stepping out of their vehicles confused and scared.

This was the Metaverse leaking into their reality. A cognitive world created from human thoughts and emotions, it was a dangerous place filled with monsters known as Shadows that came from the darkness that lay in human hearts. The Metaverse had existed since man had first developed conscious thought and, from time to time, was known to collide with the real world and cause chaos. As time progressed, these collisions were becoming more and more frequent, whether that was due to humanity's increasing population or the general feeling of disillusion people were beginning to feel towards life, they didn't know. The only thing they knew for sure was that this was a very bad thing that could put a lot of lives in jeopardy.

"Tokyo P.D!" Makoto shouted, stepping off her bike and holding up her badge. "Get back in your vehicles and remain calm!" As she walked by, making sure everyone was safe in their cars, she felt a tug on her jacket and turned to the source.

"Ms. Police Lady?" A small girl clutching a doll gazed up at her, a frightened expression on her face. "What's happening? Are we gonna be okay?"

Kneeling down, Makoto smiled at the girl, her crimson eyes staring into soft brown ones. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Where are your parents?" She asked, looking around.

"I live with my big brother. He's working right now, so I'm waiting for him." The girl explained.

"Well why don't we go find your brother and-"

"What the hell is that!?" A voice cried from the crowd, followed by several screams of terror.

Makoto immediately turned to the source, seeing what the commotion was about. Looking out into the horizon, she saw their cause for alarm. From the ground a small army of Bicorns, Beriths, and Eligors were being led into battle by a Red Rider, his sword raised for battle. And from the air, a legion of Incubus, Succubus, and Lilims hovered above with a Mithra at the head. So many Shadows, more than Makoto believed that she could take on alone, especially with so many civilians to protect, but regardless, that wouldn't stop her from doing her job.

"Get inside." She told the young girl, stepping forward as blue flames enveloped her body. "Everybody get indoors now!" When the flames cleared, Makoto's civilian clothes were gone, in their place was strange attire composed almost entirely of leather and metal.

As the Phantom Thieves grew older, it was only natural that their cognition would change as well, and with it, their image of rebellion. Makoto's outfit had changed to suit her growing body quite nicely. As Ryuji had once put it, she'd gone from 'Post-Apocalyptic Biker Chick' to full on 'Queen of the Apocalypse.'

Makoto's iron mask, which had at first been modest, now featured large spikes protruding from the top that resembled the points of a crown. Her black scarf became a tattered cloak that billowed behind her in the wind. Her black and blue jumpsuit more or less remained the same, only now sporting brown leather padding that reinforced the shoulders, elbows, knees, and knuckles. And finally, perhaps the strangest of all, her makeup changed. Her lipstick and eyeliner became a deep black in an almost twisted homage to her sister's Shadow self.

"Ms. Police Lady?" The girl asked in awe, unable to believe what she'd just seen.

"It's okay. I'll protect you." Makoto responded, placing her hands on her mask. She hadn't done this in nearly a year, hopefully she wasn't too rusty, these people needed her. "PERSONA!" She tore the mask from her face and almost immediately, a ghostly blue construct in the form of a motorcycle began to form beneath her feet.

Agnes, Makoto's ultimate Persona, revved itself to life before taking off in the direction of the approaching Shadows. Despite the dire situation, it felt good to be back on her Persona, the difference in power between her real bike and her metaphysical one was palpable. Agnes had engines far stronger than any actual vehicle could possibly have, and that was far from its only advantage.

"Atomic Flare!" Makoto shouted, sending a large blue burst of energy forward that exploded with nuclear energy (perfectly safe to use in a city, despite the name, it didn't actually leave behind any radiation, she'd checked) and sent a large group of enemy ground forces flying. Turning her attention upward, Makoto pulled her revolver from her side before unleashing a quick barrage of .38 rounds into the sky, dropping a large group of winged Shadows above her. Suddenly, her attention was drawn back to the ground as a spear flew past her face.

'Damn!' Makoto thought angrily as she revved up her bike once again. 'That was too close!' Charging straight forward into the oncoming army, Agnes tore through their ranks, the Shadows dissolving as they were crushed under the metal chassis. As she approached a particularly large Eligor waiting for her with spear in hand, Makoto turned the bike 90 degrees, using her forward momentum to send herself flying. The Eligor was shocked to say the least as an ironclad fist caved in his face, causing him to dissolve shortly after.

Landing with a roll, Makoto looked around her to see the swarm of Bicorns ready to trample her in revenge. Reacting quickly, she raised her hands to her lips, whistling loudly. Nearby, Agnes's engines roared to life before the bike began to drive itself, tearing straight through the enemies in defense of its owner. Not wanting to be outdone by her own bike, Makoto quickly reloaded her pistol and began firing at any stragglers, clearing out the rest of the ground troops. Now all that was left was their general.

As she prepared to take on the Red Rider, Makoto heard a voice cry out for help and turned her attention to the sky once more. Up above, the young girl she'd spoken to earlier was being carried off by a flock of Lilim, devious grins on their faces.

"NO!" Makoto cried out, her hand reaching out, unable to stop the Shadows from taking her.

While she was distracted, the Red Rider saw his advantage and swung at her, aiming to cleave her head off in a single swing. Reacting in the nick of time, she put up her arms and blocked the attack, but not without being knocked from her bike and sustaining heavy damage. Her will to fight severely damaged as well, Agnes faded back into Makoto's mask, leaving her defenseless.

'Dammit.' Makoto thought as the large Shadow loomed over her, sword raised. 'I...I wasn't strong enough. I failed and now that little girl is going to pay the price. I'm sorry everyone, I couldn't keep my promise. I'm sorry Ren,' Tears began to build up in her eyes. 'I...I never got to tell you that I-'

"PHANTOM SHOW!" A voice called from above.

Suddenly, a strange noise hummed through the air for a moment before being replaced by dead silence. Three seconds later the silence was replaced by the crashes of bodies against the ground as the Shadows up above began to rain down. The Red Rider in front of Makoto was then slashed from behind, dissipating into a black mist.

"Joker?" Makoto questioned, recognizing the signature move of Ren's Persona, Raoul.

"Hey there Queen. Sorry I'm late." Ren's voice answered, causing Makoto to turn in shock. Here he was, right next to her with the young girl from before in his arms snoring softly.

Ren's costume hadn't changed nearly as much as the others' had. The only major changes being his jacket, which had changed from black to a faded red, and his gloves which had inversely gone from red to black. Besides that, his white bird-like mask now sported two small protrusions at each end that resembled Arsene's horns, and his eyes, dark grey in the real world, now became a glowing crimson when in the Metaverse.

"Y-You're here." Makoto stated, still shocked. She reached out her hand and caressed his cheek, wanting to make sure that this was real.

"I am." He smiled softly, gently grabbing her hand in his own. Releasing it, he reached up to his own mask, removing it as another ghostly figure appeared behind him. "Maria. Holy Benevolence." Casting his strongest healing spell, Makoto felt the pain from her wounds quickly dissipate. While they couldn't repair broken bones, cure sicknesses, or replace lost blood, healing skills were still quite useful in the Metaverse, both Makoto and Ren having been saved by them many times.

And thankfully he'd casted it when he did. As Makoto looked up, she saw the red sky begin to fade, returning to its normal black. The collision was ending now that all of the Shadows had been defeated and thus, their Metaverse attire began to fade, returning to their normal clothes. They were no longer able to use their Personas and any damage that hadn't been healed would stick with them.

"Huh? What?" The girl in Ren's arms slowly awoke. "Ms. Police Lady?" She asked, looking at Makoto before rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Hey there you." Makoto smiled, glad to see the girl unharmed. "I thought I told you to get inside."

"I was worried about you!" The girl protested. "You went and fought those monsters all by yourself!"

"Yeah well I'm alright now." Makoto replied sheepishly, sitting up as she scratched her head.

The girl turned her gaze to Ren, then back to Makoto. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"WHAT!? NO! W-We just work together!" She denied, waving her hands frantically with a flushed face.

"Alrighty then," Ren stood up, setting the girl on her feet. "If everyone's okay, why don't we get you back to your parents?"

"Big brother." The girl corrected sullenly. "M-My mom and dad are gone...It's just me and my big brother now." She looked down at the ground, kicking a rock. The atmosphere suddenly became somber and Makoto and Ren exchanged sad glances, only for it to shift once again as the girl suddenly looked up excitedly. "I know! Can you two be my new mom and dad!?"

'Exactly how old do we look to this girl?' Ren wondered, chuckling to himself. Makoto meanwhile, was on the verge of collapsing from embarrassment, the majority of remaining blood in her body going straight to her face.

Flustered, but not wanting to outright deny the girl, Makoto began speaking rapidly. "I-I'm sorry but no, w-we're not nearly old enough for that and we're both just so busy with our jobs I mean this is our first time seeing each other in months and-"

"What my partner here means is, we'd love to. However, we have a really important job to do. It's our job to make sure that those monsters don't hurt anyone, and to do that we need to go all across the country to save people."

"Wow! That's so cool! You're like real life superheroes!" The girl replied in amazement, not the least bit disappointed by her request being denied.

"That's right." Ren nodded, kneeling down. "What's your name?"

"Yui." She replied. "Yui Ishida."

"Well Yui, we've got a special mission that only you can do. We need you to help us get you back to your brother, I'm sure he's worried sick about you."

"Okay!" The girl nodded eagerly, grabbing Ren by the hand. "He's this way!"

Makoto couldn't help but watch in amazement at how Ren handled the situation. When had he gotten this good with kids? And if he was this good with a kid he'd just met...Makoto couldn't help but picture Ren with his own kids. A boy and girl, both with his fluffy black hair, playing together in the park as she and Ren watched from beneath the shade holding hands and-

What? She shook her head. Oh god she was doing it again. That damn fantasy that played in her head whenever she was sitting at her desk, bored out of her mind. Why did she have to picture that now!? When he was right next to her!

"Makoto? You alright?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-Yep! Perfectly fine!"

"C'mon, Mrs. Police Lady! Let's go!"

"Yeah." Makoto nodded before pausing. "Wait...I'm Mrs. Police Lady now!?"

[Shadow Operative Profile: 026]

Makoto Niijima

Codename: Queen

Status: Standby

Species: Human

Age: 21

Sex: F

Persona: Agnes, formerly Anat, formerly Johanna

Description: Former co-leader of the Phantom Thieves, Makoto Niijima is a third-wave Persona user with a unique skill. Possessing a rare 'vehicular' Persona, her fighting style is unlike any other agent in the Shadow Ops. Though she is an official member, Makoto has never worked directly on the team, instead choosing to focus on her studies and police work. The few times that Makoto has worked with the Shadow Ops, she's shown a natural talent for leadership, so much so that she is to be designated Team Leader if neither Operative 012 or 024 are present.

Notes: While no direct complaints have been made about her, after being sent the formal contract to join the Shadow Ops, the compound received several aggressive phone calls from one 'Sae Niijima' requesting changes to be made to said contract. After a total of 5 phone calls, each lasting more than 45 minutes, a new contract was finally agreed upon. 'Sae Niijima' is now the first person on the Shadow Operatives' blocked callers list.