[from here]

Kratos squinted as the purple aura surrounding the pad slowly died away. "Interesting." He stepped off the pad and turned on his flashlight. The next room was quite different from the previous one, whose contents had only been the strange arch and conveyor belt. This one was stacked, from floor to ceiling, with rows and rows of small metal lockers, each one featuring the same black combination lock on the door panel. On each locker was a name card, and at first, Kratos's heart began to beat a little faster at the possibility that perhaps this was where the institute stored all of the things confiscated from its patients, but then he passed by one that read, "Thayer, L." and realized that these were not for the patients, but for the staff--although, clearly the names hadn't been updated for some time, since Lydia Thayer had since been revealed as a member of the rebels.

"I don't see another pad anywhere," he called back to Castiel as he walked through the rows, looking for the telltale light.

[From here.]

Another hallway, and this one had a number of doors branching off of it. Castiel walked the length of the small corridor and counted nine doors, not including the one that was directly across from the door they'd just walked through.

With so many paths available to them and no idea of which was the right one, this had suddenly become much more complicated, as if they'd needed that. He sighed to himself and then turned back to Kratos.

"We'll need to check them all and see which rooms have one of those pads," he said. And hopefully none of these doors would lead to more hallways.

[From here.]

They'd made it.

Sora stepped into the hall, letting out a heavy breath as he took in the familiar scenery. Not that there was much to see, other than a row of large, imposing doors that he already knew were impossible to break through.

There wasn't any sound here, either, which meant that they couldn't even guess at which room Tsurugi was in. But the knowledge that he was behind one of those doors, having horrible things to done to him... It was enough to make Sora's stomach twist up.

After a long pause, he glanced over at Ishida and shrugged. "I guess... all we can do is wait."

He still thought it was important that they'd come, though. Because when Tsurugi eventually made his way through that door, he shouldn't be alone. He should have friends there to support him.

[from here]

This room was much smaller than the one they had visited the night before. It also was not so bright, but there was one thing that stood out--a giant creature that very well could be a Shadow had it worn a mask of the higher arcana. As it was, Aigis felt her breath leave her in a quick gasp. Could they really fight such a beast after having already fought off the enemy from before?

She could call on Athena but... no, after all she had done that night, she feared she could not rely on her Persona again. She was much too fatigued.

What were they going to do?

It was the moment that almost every patient dreaded. The intercom came on, signaling the end of night and of any progress they might have made.

And the Head Doctor sounded appropriately smug. "Well, you little rats have been scurrying all over tonight, haven't you? Down below, up high, it's certainly fun to keep track of everything..."

He chuckled. "Inch your way a little further each night, and eventually you think you'll find an end to this maze? That's the idea, isn't it? We'll just have to wait and see if you're right about that."

Oddly calm in comparison to how he'd been at the start of the night, the Head Doctor left it at that. The intercom switched off and the night came to a sudden end.

When the light of day rolled around once more, it was thanks to a sun unobscured by clouds, granting the patients a bright morning. It was calm and quiet in all of the rooms until the intercom interrupted that silence, and Landel's chipper voice only added insult to injury.

"Sleep well, everyone? Our beds are far more comfortable than what you'd find at most institutes, so I'm going to bet you did! But you've all had more than enough sleep now, I imagine... so it's time for breakfast! And what's on the menu today?

"Well, we've got little pigs in blankets for you! And there are sides, of course -- fresh fruit, cereal, toast, the whole nine yards."

The Head Doctor laughed, but it was more of a chuckle, far too similar to the way he'd laughed at the end of the night. It was the sort of bleedover he usually didn't slip into.

"The nurses will escort everyone to the cafeteria now. Enjoy your meal, everyone!"