A/N: I've barely slept in two weeks so here's some whump no plot to project my misery. This is also just a ficlet because no brain power.

"Sleep Deprivation"

The lights were too bright, the stark white walls amplifying the blinding intensity. Even so, dark splotches floated across Rios's vision. He pressed his palms against his eyes, desperate to close them. His head dropped forward.

A jolt from behind his ear sent lightning forking through his skull, and he jerked upright again. He slammed his head back against the wall behind him in helpless frustration. He had no idea where he was or who his captors were; they hadn't made an appearance since the torture began. Prolonged sleep deprivation. For what purpose, Rios couldn't guess. It wasn't a reliable primer for interrogation. And no one had been in to question him.

He shifted on the floor, drawing one leg in and stretching the other out. His back ached fiercely, not only from the hard surface but also lack of sleep. He had no idea what hour they were going into, but it felt long enough.

A deep cold had settled in his marrow, also a combination of the environmental controls and lower body temperature sleep deprivation caused. His muscles jerked. His head, which felt heavy as though filled with lead, began to droop again.

He was used to the accompanying shock now but it didn't lessen the reaction of contracting muscles. He could barely keep his eyes open, even with the pain, and so he pushed himself to his feet and began to stagger around the room, trying to keep himself awake, trying to get the blood flowing and warm himself up some. The lurching steps only made his head swim more, and he began to pace almost frenetically to keep himself upright. At some point he was going to collapse regardless of the brain stimulator and either be unconscious through the resulting continuous seizure or not, but either way death would likely soon follow. Maybe that was the end goal. Sadistic bastards.

"What do you want!" Rios yelled, turning in a circle to scan the monotonous white walls with no clear entry. His vision darkened and tilted, and then he was falling.

He hit the floor hard, followed by the zap of the stimulator. He still had enough of a reflex to roll onto his side and crawl back to the wall so he could prop himself up. Clenching his fists and pressing them to the sides of his head, he rocked in place as hot moisture pricked at his eyes. He couldn't take it anymore.

But there was no relief. The blazing white lights burned the backs of his eyes; the buzz behind his ear made his head snap up before the electric shock could fully deploy. Every second was an eternity. He was about to lie down and let the lightning come for however long it took to finally end it.

There was an echo of something, muffled and distant. Rios couldn't tell whether it was real or in his head. He wasn't sure it mattered anymore. One of the white panels slid open, but he couldn't see into the darkened corridor outside. Blurry figures moved into the room. Rios was too exhausted to care what his captors finally wanted.

"Cris, hey," one of them said urgently but with a touch of gentleness, crouching down in front of him. "Look at me, babe."

Warm hands cupped his face and he blinked rapidly at the strange visage framed in frizz. He slurred something, incoherent to himself as much as to them. There were still loud noises emanating from outside. More stimuli to keep him awake.

"Come on, we gotta go," the woman went on, shifting her hands to grab his arms and tug him up.

His head slumped forward like a sack of weights anchored to his shoulders by string, and this time he barely reacted to the electric jolt.

"Shit!"

He lolled lifelessly as he was leaned back against the wall and those soft hands were cupping his face again.

"Cris?"

He moaned, not understanding the question. He didn't understand the answering voice, either.

"It's a neural stimulator."

"Can you get it off?"

There were fingers combing through his hair, prodding the back of his head. Then there was a beep and sharp sting as the device was yanked out of his skin. When he'd tried to claw it out, it'd been activated.

Strong arms heaved him up again, but he couldn't keep his feet anymore. The lights and shadows swirled together in a dizzying kaleidoscope that finally sent him out of orbit into blessed oblivion.

When next he woke, he was lying supine on a soft surface, and he immediately tensed in anticipation of an electric shock. But none came. There was still a floaty sensation in his head, but not the horrible pulsing. Rios lay there for a bit, not wanting to move in case it wasn't real.

There was the soft sound of a page turning, and he finally cracked his eyes open. He was in his cabin on La Sirena, in his bed. He shifted his gaze to the side and found Agnes sitting in a chair, her face puckered as she read one of his books on the existential pain of human existence.

"Agnes?" he croaked.

She startled, almost dropping the book.

"Hey!" she exclaimed and quickly set the book aside so she could lean over the mattress. "How are you feeling?"

He furrowed his brow slightly. "I'm not quite sure. How should I be feeling?"

"Hopefully well rested. You've been asleep for over seventy hours."

Rios stared at her in incomprehension.

She quirked a sympathetic look at him. "You probably don't remember much. Sleep deprivation can do that."

He vaguely remembered a bright room and the electric jolts, but everything after a certain point was just a muddled morass of misery. "You got me back," he said hoarsely.

"Well, not me personally," Agnes said. "Raffi, Seven, Soji, and Elnor did the rescuing bit. Although, I helped Emil once they brought you back and your internal functions were on the verge of collapsing. Everything's fine now," she added hastily.

Rios hummed. That was good to know. He wanted to ask who had taken him and why, but his brain was still on the sluggish side.

Agnes reached out and began to card her fingers through his hair. "No rush," she said softly.

He closed his eyes and let himself bask in her gentle touch. He'd slept long enough…but maybe a little more wouldn't hurt.