Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome Chapter 5

Morning had finally dawned. The sun was beaming in from behind the curtains adorned on the many hospital windows. Maisie was sat behind the desk, seemingly using the computer. Had she been here all night? The clock read 9:34am.

Sonic had just awoke. Admittedly, he had barely gotten any sleep at all last night. He lay awake for hours, laying on his back looking up at the ceiling, many thoughts rushing through his mind. Thoughts of what the hell this mysterious illness could be. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was scared of today. X-Rays and MRI scans were serious stuff. The doctors wouldn't use this sort of equipment unless they were worried. Sonic had also been suffering muscle spasms and joint pain throughout the night.

He looked pale, compared to his healthy azure coat. Cheeks ashen white. His quills were unkempt and sticking out in all sorts of directions.

Tails was already up. He had slept the whole night through on the bed to the left of Sonic. He knew he slept well, because Sonic had heard him snoring all throughout the night. The poor fox must've been exhausted after everything that's gone on recently. Sonic felt bad for having to put him through this. He was only young. Tails was playing on the Wii U, from what the hedgehog could see. The room had their own flatscreen TV, equipped with all the latest consoles.

"Hey, lil bro." Sonic greeted, not attempting to get off the bed.

"Sonic, you're up!" Tails immediately paused the game and rushed over to sit at the hedgehog's bedside. A big grin adorned his face.

"Sleep well last night? Heard ya snoring!" Sonic said, whilst grinning back at his little brother.

"Yeah. I was out for the count! Best I've slept in weeks. This room really is a luxury, even have tempur mattresses!"

"Don't get too used to it. We'll be outta here by tomorrow, I hope!" Sonic noted, hoping his statement was true. He ran his fingers through his quills, smoothing them down. His quills were always unkempt and messy in the mornings, after he had slept on them. He then reached over to his shoes, socks and gloves, left on top the bedside table next to him (along with a half empty cup of orange juice). He managed his gloves ok, but whilst lifting his legs up from underneath the blankets, the spasms kicked in and a jolt of pain sprung into his right knee.

"OW!" He winced, rubbing his knee with one hand, holding a sock with the other. Eyes tight shut as he grimaced in pain.

"You okay?!" Tails panicked, concerned. "Want me to help you with that?"

"NO! I'm fine, Tails. Just a pain in my knee, that's all." Sonic snapped, not sounding too happy at the offer of being helped, as if he were a baby. Tails watched on worriedly as Sonic struggled with putting on his socks and shoes. His legs had terrible spasms and were going haywire, you could visually see his whole legs jerking around uncontrollably. He glared, looking angered at the world falling apart around him. The fox wished he would accept help, even just once in his life...

"Want me to go order breakfast?" Tails offered, still looking concerned but wanting to change the subject. His tails swished in a nervous rhythm.

"Yeah, please. Need to build up my strength for today's torture!" He laughed, now sitting upright in bed, arms folded in annoyance. The spasms had finally stopped, but the pain was still knifing through his right leg.

"Okay. Although please don't go getting out of bed whilst I'm gone. Don't want you getting hurt."

"Tails..." Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes. Just because he was unsteady on his feet did NOT by any means mean he was bedridden.

Tails left the room, fists clenched and his steps fast. The anxiety really did show in his body language. Maisie noticed him exit the room and decided to walk over to Sonic, now the hedgehog had awoke. The annoyance on his face was already building. He hated being made a fuss of over. But he knew they meant well.

"Hello, Sonic. How are you feeling today?" She looked down to the hedgehog, who was now reading a gaming magazine, 2 months out of date which he picked out of a magazine rack, on his bedside.

Putting on a false smile, the hedgehog put his magazine aside, left open on page 2. "I'm doing good. Will just be glad to get outta this dump!" He admitted, not worried about being honest about how he felt of hospitals.

"Aww. We're not that bad here. Honestly! Are we?" Maisie laughed.

"You're cool. Just the whole hospital thing isn't my thing. Tails insists I be here..."

"I think Tails is right. It's for the best. Would you like me to assist you to the bathroom?"

"Umm, yeah. Would be good. Any toothpaste in there?"

"There's toothpaste by the sink, yes. But we don't supply toothbrushes for hygiene reasons. The patient usually brings their own along."

"No worries, I'll manage." He answered, now worried on exactly HOW he's going to make it there without his weak legs collapsing. He didn't think he would be capable of walking, as much as he loathed to admit it.

"Would you like me to get the wheelchair, or the walker?" The nurse kindly offered. She could read the anxiety just by looking at his face. Poor guy looked so anxious...

"I'm not an old man. No!" Sonic snapped, quills on edge, hauling himself to the edge of his bed. He would -not- accept being ill, under -any- circumstance.

"Sonic, your legs are weak and you cannot walk around without support. I will go fetch some crutches. You must use these, as for hospital regulation, we are not allowed to put our patients in further bodily harm." She explained, unable to accept 'no' as an answer.

No further words were said from Sonic. He just lowered his head, closed his eyes and shook his head in disgust. He was still sat on the bed's edge, waiting for Maisie to return with the crutches. He kept his head lowered.

The deer quickly returned with a pair of regular silver hospital crutches, to which, she handed to Sonic. He had never used crutches before in his life. He slipped them through his arms, and held onto the handle, nervously hauling himself to his feet, holding onto the crutch handles for dear life. His right leg was already slipping, and he slowly took another step, and then another. He was no better. Every step felt like a mile, his legs shook, his feet slipping, the poor guy could barely walk. His hands shook with the worry, making the crutches harder to use. He had hoped today would be the day things would start to get better...

Maisie had kindly already opened the disabled toilet door for him. And, she waited for him to finish. It took him a while, a good 10 minutes. Until he re-entered, crutch in both hands, feet currently curved inwards. He looked so unwell, and iller than what he had done before he arose to his feet. It's like walking was making the hedgehog sicker. The walk back took a while. Sonic was painfully slow, and... unsteady. His eyes determined, fixated onto the bed. He would never give up.

Setting the crutches aside, Sonic slowly climbed back up onto the bed, muscles crying out in pain. He rubbed at his legs in a circled rhythm.

"Tails should be back with breakfast in a minute. I will have a chat with you about everything you have experienced with your condition so far, and check you over, after breakfast. It won't take very long. Are you still feeling ok for this today?"

"Yep. I'm all prepared. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can get out of here!"

"Another doctor will then take over and run an MRI scan along with an X-Ray."

Sonic cringed at these words. He felt humiliated having to let someone stare into his brain. And, for what?

The hospital door opened with a creak, Tails entered with a tray containing 2 side plates and 2 chilli dogs, one for Sonic, one for Tails, along with 2 cans of coca cola.

"Sorry it took me so long! The queue was pretty big." Tails apologised, walking up to Sonic's bedside handing him the chilli dog, setting his cola to his bedside. He opened the lid for him. He then took a seat next to Sonic and started nibbling on his food.

"No need to apologise kid." Sonic downed his chilli dog like a starved lion, who hadn't eaten in a year.

"The chilli dogs here are the BEST! We're gonna have to pop by here more often once we leave, JUST for these dogs. Huh Sonic?"

"Uhh, nah. I'll pass on that one. MY chilli dogs are still the best." Sonic winked, taking another bite.

"Hey! You told me the other day that MY chilli dogs were the best." The fox pointed out, speaking through a mouthful of food.

"Okay okay. ANY chilli dog is the best. Each and every one have their own beautiful, gorgeous, unique taste!"

Tails looked down, shaking his head. What was he going to do with his brother.

...

11am arrived, and Maisie walked on over from behind the desk. She was carrying a blue note board in one hand, and a black medical box in the other, she walked on over and stood behind Sonic. He and Tails were sat in front the plasma TV, playing a 2 player racing game on the Wii U. Tails was winning, despite Sonic being a pro at all things speed. Tails sensed someone behind him and he turned around, pausing the game.

"Sorry to have to disturb your game. I see you were having fun there."

Sonic, now quickly whipped his head around, putting the Wii U controller down to the side of the luxury sofa.

"Hey again." Sonic stirred, a touch of quivering in his voice.

"Is it ok if I take a seat?" She questioned, not wanting the hedgehog to feel more uncomfortable than he already felt.

"Sure." Sonic shuffled up a bit to the left, making room for his assistance to take a seat beside him."

"You're not scared, are ya Sonic?" Tails asked, curious. This sure came out of nowhere, it set Sonic off-guard, a bit.

"Me? Scared? Nah! I'm never scared!" Although deep down, he WAS nervous about today. Nervous about the results of the tests, and what the outcome was going to be. What could he do if the results were fatal? He feared for Tails. Who would look after him if he were to... die? He quickly pushed the thought aside. He had to stay positive, or at least for Tails' sake.

Tails could see right through Sonic. He knew Sonic never opened up to his true feelings, so no more words needed to be said between them. The nurse took a seat next to Sonic on the sofa. She set the black medical box onto the wooden pine table affront of them, clip board in her lap.

"Now Sonic. I have received information, regarding the symptoms you have been experiencing. Although in order to give a proper diagnosis, would you mind explaining to me, exactly everything you have experienced so far, from the very beginning. Or, at least everything you can remember. And when it all started." Maisie asked. Her hands were held together, and she was sitting to the right of Sonic, facing him. She gave off a calm, relaxed presence, whilst Sonic on the other hand, was white as a sheet. He was fidgeting with the cuff of his right glove. Tails, was to the left of Sonic, leaning forward anxiously.

"It all started... 3 or 4 days ago. Tails and I had come back from a run. We'd spent the day at the seaside. It was a hot day. I went to grab a drink from the kitchen and.. and my legs suddenly went all funny. They felt tingly, and almost like jelly. I fell over and, my legs haven't been the same since. I had a seizure the following day, hence why I was brought into hospital."

"Have you had another seizure since?" The deer enquired. She was jotting down notes on the note board, using a black biro pen.

"No. Anyway my legs are the same. I keep getting sudden jolts of pain shoot through my body, it happens suddenly, usually in my arms or legs. I had muscle spasms in my legs this morning, as well." Sonic was slightly flushed, with embarrassment. He felt humiliated talking about himself, and his problems. He was only used to helping out other people. He turned his head away from the eye contact, another thing the hedgehog had always found difficult. He let out a yawn.

"Thank you for the information. I will hand this over to the doctor who will be examining you, so he will understand everything." She told him, setting the note board aside onto the table. She then unclipped the medical box, and lifted the lid open. The contents inside included equipment such as a stethoscope, otoscope, pulse oximeter, sphygmomanometer, torch, and numerous other pieces.

Sonic's eyes widened in fear, fixated onto the medical bag's contents. He had never been to the doctors before, and the equipment to him looked deadly. Like they were either going to cause him excruciating pain, or electrocute him as soon as they made contact with the sickly hedgehog.

Tails noticed this. He landed a hand on his brother's shoulder, to which he turned around to face Tails. "Please don't panic. Nothing will hurt you." He reassured. Although Sonic, didn't look so convinced. To him, these things looked DEADLY. Like he was about to undergo a massive operation, with his insides being mauled about.

"That stuff looks p-painful..."

"No, no! It's not. Honest. It won't hurt you at all. I promise." Tails reassured, now rubbing his brother's shoulder. He hated seeing Sonic distressed.

"Tails is right. Nothing you will experience today will cause you any amount of pain. I think I should explain the process clearer, so you have a better understanding of what is going to happen. I'm going to use this device just to check inside your ears to see if your eardrums are healthy (to which, she showed Sonic the otoscope), I will then place this onto your chest and back in several positions, just to see if your heart and breathing is functioning as it should do (to which, she held up the stethoscope to show Sonic), now it MAY feel rather cold, but I promise, no pain is involved! I will then take a blood sample from you."

"WHAT?!" Sonic flipped, completely startled by this. He may not know a lot about medical equipment, but he wasn't stupid. He knew the -only- way to draw blood was by a needle. And Sonic hated needles.

"It will only take 10 seconds, tops. It will just feel like a small prick, nothing more."

"I will pass on that one."

"Sonic, brother, you will not 'pass on it' at all. You want to get to the bottom of this illness, right? Well, this is a vital thing in getting a diagnosis. Don't be such a baby." Tails noted, giving Sonic a serious look.

"Tails is right. The blood test is a vital thing for getting a clear diagnosis. It gives us a lot of answers. It really is advised you go along with it, but if you wish not to, the choice is up to you. We cannot force a patient."

"Fine fine, I'll let you do it... And if it hurts, I expect a free chilli dog afterwards. You DID promise me there would be no pain involved!" Sonic pointed out, smirking a little. He was getting impatient now, arms folded and he was flaying his legs about on the edge of the sofa in annoyance.

"If it hurts then yes Sonic, you can have a free chilli dog afterwards." Maisie reassured. She pulled out the otoscope again. "So then Sonic, if you could turn around I will start by looking into your right ear."

With this, Sonic turned around, now facing Maisie. Hands wringing together in a tight grip. Eyes tightly closed.

"It'll be fine!" Tails added, lightly slapping the hedgehog on his shoulder jokingly. He let out a sneeze.

The otoscope was inserted into the hedgehog's right ear, and Sonic's body was completely tense, his stance tight and upright, like a statue.

"Looks fine to me! Although a bit... waxy. You will need to start swilling your ears out" The nurse joked.

"Nah. Water doesn't go anywhere near my ears. Thank you very much!"

"He has a fear of water." Tails informed.

"Oh sorry. I didn't realise." As Maisie said this, Sonic automatically turned to his left a little, body still tensed, his quills bristling on edge. She inserted the device into the hedgehog's other ear, looking for anything abnormal. She then removed the otoscope and inserted it back into its place in the box.

"Both ears look completely healthy! Although your left ear especially, is crammed with wax. I would suggest to have your ears syringed, but seeing as you dislike water..."

"I'll just take ear drops thanks. Besides, I can hear ok so that's the main thing."

"Very well." And with this, the deer pulled out the stethoscope, and once again, the hedgehog's eyes grew twice as wide, almost bulging from their sockets. He could swear that thing was about to electrocute him. He put his hand to his forehead.

"You okay, Sonic?" Tails asked, worried as to why Sonic had suddenly positioned his hand to his forehead. Sonic shook his head, as if it were to shake away the feeling.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Just had a wave of dizziness overcome me, that's all. Probably just the stress." He rubbed at his forehead a little more.

"Would you like a break, Sonic? or are you ok for me to continue?" Maisie patiently enquired. Stethoscope already held in place inside her ears.

"Carry on. I'm fine. Really." He lied. The dizziness was still wavering over him, not terribly, but enough to make him feel uncomfortable. He turned to face the nurse, anxiously awaiting the impending doom, he thought was coming.

With this, Maisie placed the stethoscope around Sonic's chest area, changing its position several times, listening to Sonic's heartbeat. The hedgehog seemed more relaxed, now feeling more assured that these ugly pieces of metal weren't out to hurt him.

"That's it. Now turn around to face Tails, and then we're done with this." He did as he was instructed, and she placed the scope in between Sonic's back quills, he suddenly twitched a little.

"That's COLD!" He giggled, still twitching as she felt around with the scope.

"There we are. All done! Your heart rate was slightly above average, but I think that's panic, which tends to make the heart beat faster. Your breathing is normal, so nothing to worry about there."

Sonic exhaled in relief. This didn't sound so bad. "Phew" He added.

"It's all looking good so far, see Sonic? And nothing hurt either. Did it? Tails noted, feeling happier himself that everything was looking good. He put on a brave face in front of Sonic to try and stay strong for his sake, but he wasn't going to lie- it was hard at times.

"Except from that scope thingy. That thing felt like it had been stored in a freezer!"

"Oh Sonic, I forgot to include another thing in the checkup." Maisie pulled out a tiny, thin blue torch from the medical box. "I'm going to shine this torch in your eyes, if that's ok with you."

"Why?" Sonic blurted, confused as to exactly WHY she wanted to shine a torch into his eyes. I mean, what exactly did this have to do with his legs being unstable? Sonic stretched a little. He was tired of staying in one position for so long. In fact, he was tired of being in hospital, in general. He needed to run...

"Just to see if your eyes are healthy." Sonic nodded to this and turned around to face her. She lifted his chin up a little, and examined his eyes. Never before had Sonic had an eye test of any sort. He had always had 20/20 vision.

"All done." She said, putting the torch back into the case. She had finished using the equipment, so she packed the box and its contents away, it closed with a click sound. "Your eyes are healthy, can't seem to see anything abnormal going on."

"All I can see now is a black blob in the centre of my vision. Thought you were trying to blind me or something!" The hedgehog rubbed his eyes.

"That's an after image. Like, when you look up to the sun." Tails explained.

"Man, these tests are boring me now. Are they nearly done?" Sonic questioned, as he swung his legs in boredom, longing to stand.

"Yes, nearly done! We just need to take a blood sample from your arm now, but, we will have to have you lay back down in bed."

"Why do I have to lie down? I'm alright here." Sonic asked in confusion. That, and the sheer worry of standing again. Although he didn't let onto this, but Tails gave a knowing look.

"It's something that cannot be done unless the patient is in laid down position." The REAL reason why it couldn't be done sat upright, was in case the patient fainted. Drawing blood is a common cause for passing out, but, she wasn't to tell Sonic this.

"Oh, ok." Still, giving her that confused look, but didn't want to pursue on the subject. He watched as Maisie walked off, she was rummaging through one of the white medicine cabinets, stood on her tip-toes trying to reach for something.

Tails had arose from his seat, and grabbed Sonic's crutches. He had used these to reach the seat, and they were gently leant against the corner wall. He handed them to his brother, to which Sonic took them.

Tails offered his hand. "Want me to help you up?" He gestured, already knowing the answer. But, he would still try anyway.

"No. I'm fine, Tails. But thanks." Holding both crutches, his feet hit the floor. Taking deep breaths, he stood, putting in ginormous amounts of strength on the handle bars, trying to keep himself upright. He swayed, and his legs, like usual, started to sprawl all over the place. He frowned, and took slow, snails-pace steps. Careful of his every step.

"That's it. Take it easy." Tails encouraged, walking right beside him, supporting him in case he fell, but, supporting his much needed independence. Finally, after about 8 minutes, Sonic made it to his bedside, visibly exhausted from both the examination and walking. He lay himself down with a thud, and the mattress bounced a little in the process.

"You've done well so far. I'm proud of you." The fox praised, giving him a thumbs up, whilst taking position in the hospital seat aside Sonic's bed.

Sonic smiled. "That wasn't so bad I guess. Can't believe I worried over nothing. Heh." He grinned sheepishly.

"So you WERE worried then?"

"Well yeah uhh... just a bit!"

"You'll be fine. I know it. You pull through everything. I bet you've just pulled a ligament or something." He reassured, eyes fixated on his older brother, who was now just staring up at the ceiling, not really taking in anything.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right lil'bud. Although I still don't get how it's not gotten any better yet. And despite the tests being good today, they want me to still have those scans... I don't need 'em" His voice was slightly choked with emotion, which made Tails' heart drop with sympathy. He wished he could take Sonic's position.

"I know, it does seem a bit pointless, but, I guess the doctors feel the need to go ahead with it. They can find out everything with an MRI, after all."

"But still..." Sonic sighed, taking a deep breath.

Maisie walked back into the room, and she was carrying a needle... a rather, larger than usual needle to accommodate the drawn blood. "Sorry about heading off, just needed to fetch the needle. Glad you made it back all ok." She was now stood at Sonic's bedside, and he sat himself up. This is, when he noticed that THING.

"Oh god, oh god..." Sonic stirred, his body trembling with fright. The needle was coming towards him, and he was scared. Quills raised, colour draining from his features faster than he could run, even the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He felt physically sick.

Tails grabbed Sonic hand. "Please, calm down. It will be ok! I promise. It will be over in a couple of seconds, if that." He re-assured his brother, who seemed to utterly ignore him. He could feel the hedgehog trembling in his grip.

"A needle. I hate needles!"

"Take as long as you need, Sonic. There's no rush. I will wait until you are ready." Maisie soothed, seeing how distressed the hedgehog was. "A fear of needles is common, in many people. But once it's over, they realise they worked themselves up over nothing!"

"Y-you're just saying t-that..."

"Bro, hold my hand and it will be over in a Sonic second. Okay?" Tails was now stroking Sonic's hand a bit, to relax him.

"Just get it over and done with. Quickly." With this, Sonic closed his eyes tight shut, looked away from Tails, held the little foxes hand in a death grip and with his other hand, he clutched the bedcover.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath." Maisie instantly inserted the needle into The arm Tails was holding, and he jumped, and groaned.

"Grrrgh!"

At once it was removed. "There. All done! How did that feel?" The nurse asked, quickly putting the needle out of the hedgehog's sight, in case the very sight of it was enough to make him throw up.

"That... that hurt..." Sonic grimaced, he let go of Tails' hand and put his hand to his head, wiping away the sweat.

"Surely it wasn't that bad?"

"It was that bad."

"Well! I did promise a chilli dog if you felt any pain, so a chilli dog you shall get!"

"He's just saying it hurt for that very reason." Tails laughed. "Right, Sonic?"

"Chili dog... I need a chilli dog... I deserve it after everything I've been through today. A morning of torture."

"I'll go fetch you one." Maisie laughed, heading outside the hospital ward, leaving the distressed hedgehog to recover a little, after his morning 'torture' session, and to have some time out before the big scans this afternoon.

...

After lunch, they had taken Sonic down to ward 338 to meet , who was about to perform an MRI on Sonic. He had decided an X-Ray wasn't needed after all, as the MRI would be able to pick up on everything, and hopefully give them the all-clear they were all praying for. He read through the notes carefully, taking in everything Sonic had described so far. They had taken Sonic down in a wheelchair, which he was reluctant to use however, for health and safety reasons, Sonic had to use it. They were currently sat outside the waiting room. Sonic was still sat in his wheelchair and Tails was sat right beside him. Maisie was sat with them as they waited to be called, for when Dr. Watkins was ready to perform.

The ward was a lot busier. Thriving with activity and there was an elderly couple sat opposite them, the lady looking very sick, the man's face was full of panic as he sat beside his wife. And there was a little boy in a wheelchair with his parents, also waiting. A mouse family. There was a beautiful display of tropical fish to their right.

"I'm not gonna lie. I'm kinda nervous about this..." Sonic owned up, after pretending everything was fine for so long.

Tails made a sudden movement, and wrapped an arm around his brother, patting his shoulder, to re-assure him that everything was going to be just fine.

"Hey. Please don't worry bro. You heard what they said, it's a quick procedure and then we can go home tomorrow, with the results! And I'm sure they'll supply something to ease the symptoms, too. So we can go running again in no time."

Sonic smiled. "Thanks, Tails. You're right, this is the last thing now, and then we can go home and back to our normal lifestyle. I don't wanna see another hospital for as long as I live!"

"Me too. I don't think I can take much more of this smell!" Tails giggled, removing his arm from Sonic. Whose hands were currently gripped tight to the wheelchair handles.

"Thanks, for everything little bro. For putting up with me through thick and thin." Sonic smiled, his tone warm, and genuine. He looked round at Tails.

"It's nothing. And thank YOU. I wouldn't be where I am now without you. Get better soon. Okay?" Tails lovingly pleaded, now gripping hold of one of the hedgehog's hands. He winced in pain somewhat, as if the grip had hurt him somehow, so Tails loosened his grip a little.

"Mr. Sonic Maurice Hedgehog. We're ready."

Sonic gulped, and looked to the ceiling, his eyes welled up with tears, very slightly. But, enough to hide them. Tails stood up and embraced Sonic into a hug.

"Good luck, Sonic. I'll be right here waiting outside for you to cone out. Just wish I could join you..."

"Thanks buddy. I love you." He burried his head into Tails soft chest somewhat, hugging him tightly from his wheelchair.

"I love you, too." Tails removed himself from the hug, and lightly kissed Sonic on the cheek.

Maisie also stood and walked up to Sonic. "Good luck, Sonic. You're a fighter. I'm sure you'll pull through it." She motioned. Sonic smiled back at her and gave her a thumbs up.

And with that, Tails wheeled Sonic into the room. The room where an enormous, white shell of a machine was housed. And Dr. Watkins stood aside Sonic. He assisted Sonic out of his wheelchair and lay him down onto the machine, explaining what was about to happen, etc.

Tails took one final look back as Sonic laid there, and closed the door behind him. He hated having to leave him. And worse yet, there were no windows, not even a tiny crack in the tall wooden pine door to see if Sonic was ok. He paced around a little, panicking. To him, it felt like Sonic was having a full blown operation, and, it made Tails distressed. He could hear the humming sound of the machine from where he stood outside the door. Maisie tried to get him to sit down, but he couldn't. He wouldn't until Sonic came out the room.

The big day was tomorrow. The big day of the diagnosis...