Unnamed Father

Summary: The second she was finished consuming the details, she tossed the scroll across the room. Heavy panting decorated the air, her eyes were glistening with salty liquids, amidst the thousands of papers littering the floor. Talia told her she was a child of their close comrade. She should've known she was lying, should've known her whole family was in on it, should've known she was just a mare clone of her past old self. The girl gently placed a hand in front of a picture of a man so strikingly similar to her, longing to understand the figure beneath it. Because this elusive Naruto was her.

—-

Chapter 1

Seven years. For seven years Cassius had shown absolute loyalty towards the Al Ghuls. And yet, after reading and discarding the scroll across the room, panting as her heart was retching from the betrayal she had discovered, she still had her strings set strong for them. The bond that she had wanted to sever for so long was there. Taunting; knowing she will never be able to free from its vicious tying strands.

Cassius had kneeled on the concrete floor, and then her armored knee plating's scraped off the ground from the underground laboratory. Her ears had suddenly picked up on hushed voices birthed from the very hallway she sneaked into. Then Cassius moved her body, hiding her presence in the same way Talia had taught her. Before the scientist had even known unauthorized personnel had ransacked the room, she snatched the scroll away, stuffing it in her pouch. Shadowed between the steel stabilizers on top of the ceiling, Cassius quickly escaped from her crime scene and back to her room.

She stood there, a nervous tick riding her heart. She shared her room with Aldrich, the one with rage and a strong temper. If her eldest sister were to find the scroll, she would've torn the place apart. Perhaps killed, due to her insubordination. And Cassius, despite her unwillingness to fight, will be there to support her. Because she too believed information, as to the one she had discovered today, was vital to a person's being.

It's just-

Well Cassius couldn't beli- acknowledged the fact she and her three other sisters were just clones. "Perfect" clones, made from the genes of an unknown man. Talia has lied to them, built a false pretense of their life. Of how their supposed "mother" was an ally. Nevertheless, Cassius should have known the Al Ghul's would never opt to share "secrets" of any kind, unless they were used like sharpened knives, ready to stab a person in their back. They may have honor, but this, when the Al Ghul's had only thought of them as weapons, and only weapons, had broken her.

The memories she had. The smiles shared between her and her mother figure, Talia, small praises exclaimed by Ra's, a smirk tossed from Damian. It was all a damn lie! A make belief. All a fairy tale, meant to deceive the obvious facts that despite the warm aura radiating from the Al Ghul's, it was still just a barely working heater compared to a desert's sun.

Cassius snubs her sobbing before it gets out of control. Then she cracked the door open, and set her materials ready for a training session to come. And come it did.

A servant had called the girls to an underground tournament ring, a secret lair that had made even Marvel (a cunning two-headed bitch of a sister) metaphorically scratch her head. Cassius would never catch her doing such a plebeian act. As children yes, but when were they ever allowed to be children. She smiled at her small blood family. They were clones, but they were family. The only family she can trust, she hopes.

A shadow loomed over the entrance, as Talia made her presence known. Her gait mimicked a predator, as she prowled down the stone staircase, like a majestic tigress should be. Then, Talia's lips twisted into a smirk, with malicious cruelty painting her once bright hazel eyes dark. Cassius had known this look. She had always portrayed herself demonically once she smelled trouble coming her way. And she can bet that trouble had lied with her.

Cassius's blue eyes do not need to observe her sisters. She could feel them, the tension in the room was heavy, and she could feel Amesh's shoulders tighten, Aldrich's hitched breath, and Marvel's shaking body. But they hid it well. They were taught to, because if they fail, then dear 'mother' will eliminate them. Cassius had concluded at a young age, that failing was never an option. And Talia. Well, she never cared if they're a family or an ally, weakness was still weakness. It's a rotting chain that must be cut and replaced anew. It was the same for all of them, and perhaps the same for Damian.

All of the sisters' identical eyes targeted Talia's figure. The tigress bobbed her head at a soldier beside her, holding a duffle bag of shorts. The worker unzipped the leather carrier, and dumped its contents on the stone floor. Knives, guns, magazines with bullets stuffed inside, swords and other weapons of murder laid there, feasting on the hunger from the three sisters. All except Cassius.

"Grab your weapon." Talia said.

They did as they were told. Aldrich, the eldest, chose a broad sword, Marvel gripped two desert eagles and its corresponding magazines, Amesh's twin blades hugged her hips, and Cassius had managed to nab a sword breaking knife, and a katana. All girls were equipped with basic ninja stars, wire strings and kunai. They were now standing at attention, ready for their lessons.

It was odd though. Damian should be here with them, too. Training for an upcoming battle, or a mission of sorts. But he wasn't here. And Cassius couldn't feel his presence, as if he was deliberately excluded from this training. She then spotted Talia moving closer to the group of four, a frown decorating her face, more of a blank slate if Cassius had any thought.

Her piercing hazel eyes were directly into contact with the clones. A minuscule tick marred her brow. "One of my labs was broken in today." She was getting to the point. "And something valuable was displaced."

Her eyes gazed into Cassius, hard as iron, and cold as a desert night. "Who could it be?"

None answered, she then swiveled her head at the eldest. "Aldrich, was it you?"

"No ma'am." She said.

"Marvel, was it you?" Talia asked next.

"No ma'am."

"Amesh?"

"No ma'am."

Then, her cold, dark murderous eyes glared at her. At Cassius, because Talia has known the culprit all along and she just wanted Cassius to say it.

"Cassius," a breathy frozen whisper with presence of death laced into it, spoke. "Was. It. You?"

She cannot lie. Absolutely cannot lie. Because if she does, then her head will be lobbed off. So Cassius spilled the truth. Talia had "begged" the question, demanding explanation as to how she got her hands on the scroll. More truths frothed out of Cassius' mouth, not a wave within her voice due to the underlying need to survive. She had stolen a key pass, and rigged the security with false footage. She then explained what she had done next, during the time of her discovery.

All was quiet when she finished. She could tell her sisters were in shock. They were told the absolute "truth". But nothing was ever truthful when it came with the Al Ghul's, though. And they should've known that. Out of the four sisters, Cassius was the one who invested her time for her lineage. Her regard towards Talia and Ra's spewage was not enough to sate her mind. Unlike her sisters, she wanted to know who they came from, their father, who birthed them, and how did their parents die. But her sisters played ignorance, they doped in bliss as a way to negate from the pain that they knew the Al Ghul's had bestowed upon them. The hushed lies, the cold smiles, everything.

The sisters had suspected their biological birth giver was a traitor to the League of Shadows. But this, they don't know what was worst. To find they were nothing but experiments held only to bolster Al Ghul's name, or the fact they never had parents to begin with. At least they weren't traitors. Weren't part of a traitor of any kind? Except for Cassius of course.

"So Cassius, why did you do that?" Talia meandered her way towards the youngest of the seven year olds. "Why go through all the troubles to find your 'birth parents'?"

Why did you not follow my order?

That was the real question. It was bluntly obvious from the way she gazed at her. But blue and dark green met on, not shying from the intimidation emitting from Talia.

"You were lying." Cassius's fist twitched in preparation for an attack. "I wanted the truth, because I know ignorance can kill."

Green eyes hardened. "And what if ignorance was the one thing from getting you gutted today?"

"Then I accept my punishment, Lady Talia."

"Even death?" She asked.

Cassius did not bow her head. Doing so means revealing regrets. And Cassius cannot do such a cowardly thing for it was her damn given right to know. If a choice was given, then she'll do the same thing once more. She did not regret this. Never.

So, with her eyes shining to a simmering blue boil, she answered Talia's question. "Yes ma'am."

The tigress hummed, somehow sounding pleased despite Cassius disobedience against the League. Talia's hand stroked Cassius's cheek, a blank smile filling the pit fire within her eyes. It was still there, but her embers dulled.

"To be honest, child, I had thought Amesh would be the one stupid enough to condone this action. But, I wasn't even surprised when it was you, Cassius. You have always remained unpredictable, however you were always shy in line with the rest of your sisters. That smidge of shyness was what had me question your loyalty. And I was pleased that I was right. I'm furious that you had disobeyed my order. It was simple, yet you took what you wanted." Her green robe swishes with her movements, scrutinizing the girl, making Cassius uncomfortable. She then halted in front of her; emerald gems bore into blue shining sapphire.

"To take what you want by all means with no regrets," she said. Her face came closer, until her lips feathers her ear shell. "A true Al Ghul in the making."

Those last words uttered from Talia echoed in the room.

Cassius does not need to observe her sister's tension. She could feel it, sense how Aldrich's breath hitched, a twitch of a brow from Marvel, and a mouse size huff coming out of Amesh's mouth. Like any seven year olds deprived of common praises, they were jealous. They perceive Cassius as an outcast amongst the sisters. Most likely due to her inhibition towards unheeded killing. She had rebelled against the League of Shadows rule; tight roped on the thin stringed line between morals and orders. But with such a compliment, the tight coil of resentment unfolds, and comes slithering out in the shape of a snake ready to strike. The metaphorical creature's grip choked her airways. She stared at Talia and had known from the moment she uttered those words, she had manipulated her sisters against her. Molded Cassius into a perfect target, so the tigress's hands won't be bloody on their upcoming 'game'. At that moment, Cassius' view on Talia was of a cruel dragon empress. A selfish one, ripping away souls to achieve their goal. And Talia's goal was to eliminate her.

The tigress slinked away, her figure now at the center of the tournament ring. A smirk was painted on her lips, one hand akimbo, and her whole posture was relaxed. It's as if she had the whole plot in her hands. Doubtless she has it down to a 't' already. Then she explained her plan. And it was simple, easier than the one to not intrude her labs. But, not as effortless as to how she spoke of it.

Cassius glanced at her sister's. Their reactions were hidden behind layers of shadows in the depth of their hearts. Nevertheless, her blue bright sapphires caught the tilt of Marvels lips, the twitch of Aldrich's hands, and the crazed grin displayed blatantly on Amesh's mouth. Talia had ordered her sisters to kill her. Not just her though. She demanded the true value of only having one perfect soldier. And the reward is the Al Ghul last name fitted for their own to keep.

It was a fight to the death. All for the sake of having Al Ghul attached to their name.

'This is insane!' Talia slid into the shadows, joining her cohorts mingling on the outside of the ring. 'This is fucking insane!'

The second Talia bellowed, "Begin!" Aldrich, Marvel, and Amesh glared her way, weapons aimed to her throat, all the while joy glazed their faces. Cassius was horrified, but in no way in hell was she going to lay on her back, and show her tummy in defeat. In the League of Shadows, there was no such thing as forfeit. The person either sees the next daylight, or gets buried six feet under. And this was no spar; this was correcting Cassius's ways, Cassius's viewpoints of the world that for every action she set into motion, there will always be a reaction after it. This was her punishment. And this was her doing.

Cassius blocked Marvel's bullets, and then dodged Amesh's incoming attack. Her blade was centimeters short to slice her crazed sister's hand off, but was intercepted by Aldrich. Her blues caught one of her own, and Aldrich was not happy. Aldrich was in fact delighted in Cassius's foreboding death; all do the fact her mind was set on cleansing the League of Shadows of inferior beings. Inferior beings like her.

Cassius gritted her teeth, and scraped off Aldrich's blade against hers. Her legs then bounced away from the three girls form, putting up much needed distance. A heart beat later Amesh came forward to strike her again, but Cassius was ready this time. She was not going down without a fight. Even if it means having to kill her own siblings.

Talia had unfortunately, raised the four of them with competition in their minds. They were told not to work together, other than mandatory missions that made them to. She had remembered the tigress had once said, anyone of significant title was a road-block to them, meant to be destroyed so they would have the upper hand. But upper hand of what? At life? Cassius thought that Life was supposed to be savored with happiness, not glory seeking battles with ruined bodies for show. She hates it here, but this is the League of Shadows. And nothing can change that.

She rebuffed Aldrich's attack, and threw a kunai at Marvel. Her sister's body had only swayed to the side, but Cassius had predicted it. She had attached the flying blade with a wire string, and it had wonderfully thumped across the arena. How she was going to rig the place, she hasn't planned yet, but that was her forte. Each of the four sisters have a unique skill of their own. Aldrich was the strongest, stronger than even Damian with his genetically amplified body. Marvel was a sharp shooter, better than all the marksmen put together. Amesh was the huntress, a vicious wolf even amongst their men. Cassius hadn't forgotten how Amesh's intestines were hanging from her stomach, as she gleefully slashed away at an innocent bystander that had witnessed their mission. Amesh does not have control over her madness for bloodlust. And it saddens Cassius that her sibling will not be able to enjoy the small details in life, that she will not be able to smile other than for the sake of killing. To other's she is a monster, but for her, she's a byproduct of the Al Ghul's experiments. Set forth to bring chaos to the world, and nothing but a weapon in the Leagues eyes.

She does not want to be that. Just a tool to be used, and once broken, abandoned in a burning fire pit. Out of all the sister's she had nothing to show for. Sure she was unpredictable, but all assassins had to be that way. She had acknowledged her advanced trapping skills, but what type of murderer doesn't have those skill sets. She's not cunning like Marvel, she doesn't have Aldrich's strength, or Amesh's drive and incredible pain tolerance. She was just Cassius, the youngest member of the clone sisters, and was born 'perfect' all due to luck.

Her blue eyes had a shine to them now. She was close to breaking down when she spotted Amesh's annoyed face, then quickly shoved one of her blades into Marvel's stomach. Her sister was a blur. There was no sound from her running, nothing except her mad laugh, as she drove her weapon over and over into Marvel's body. Amesh shoved her hand into her pouch, and before long, two blades were inside Marvel's eyes.

"Fucking bitch don't know how to wait for its turn." Was what had come out of Amesh's mouth. A spit was spewed onto Marvel's prone form. "Sharp shooter my ass. If you can't see my blade, then you're better off dead!"

The cackling sent shivers down Cassius' spine. No. By the gods, Amesh had just murdered her sister! No! Fuck focus, she has no time to be loosing her cool when her life was on the line. Three steps and Aldrich was on her once more. She blocked and dodge her elder sister's blade, then danced her kata's as she delivered a powerful blow onto Aldrich's head. It didn't deter her though; she came back with full force. A hand meant to snatch her hair missed its mark, but the eldest followed with a right swing from Aldrich's left. Her blade clashed with hers, and Cassius was nearly kicked in when her eldest sister targeted her stomach.

A full on hit from Aldrich will kill her. She had seen it done to one of her sparring partners; had told Talia she wanted to test her strength and see how powerful she was. The hole left within the assassin was laid bare for anyone and everyone to see in the courtyard, where they held their sparring session. That was three years ago, and Cassius was glad she had dodged; otherwise the broken crumbling stone beneath Aldrich's feet could've been her.

The eldest was closing in, her sword pushed against Cassius's guard, but it had been a hot knife to cold butter. No matter the save, Aldrich had always had the upper strength. But the session wasn't long, because Amesh had decided it was time to interrupt their sisterly 'bonding' time.

"Let me play!" Amesh swings her weapon frantically, a mad cackle bellowed from her, as she stakes claim on Cassius. "Let me play with Aius!"

Aldrich had only responded with a clash of her own sword against Amesh's blades, whilst Cassius calculated the amount of time she had to make her trap. The wire and kunai were still lodged on the other side of the room, with the end tied to another knife embedded yards away from where she was at. Her sisters wouldn't have given a thought about those items, but Cassius might damn well make use of it. think , she has to think of a way to immobilize these two (she doesn't want to think about killing them off).

Cassius observed the boulders littered around the arena, and the cracks lining the walls. From what she had gathered, those bedrocks were disaster in the making. She had bet on herself with enough explosive force, a good slab would fall off. Cassius's head swivels at her sisters, as her plot finally comes into being. Both Aldrich and Amesh have short attention spans, and she will weave their weakness into her cute little project. This plan prioritized Amesh's defeat, but if she could get two birds with one stone that would've been marvelous. Speaking of Marvel, her body would be a convenient distraction to upstart her strategy to win against her sisters. It'll be like old times! Marvel would nab away at any eye looking her way, while Aldrich and Amesh hack off their enemies, and Cassius will be at their side making traps! Then they'll go back and report, an-and-

Who was she kidding? This wasn't the past. She's literally going to have to kill her sisters. She's going to be a kin killer out of choice. She could've killed herself to prove she wasn't a cold-blooded murderer. But who was she trying to prove? Herself, Talia, Ra's, Damian? Nobody, because no person here would care. She's in a society where kill or be killed was the code of ethics. Like her sisters, she was born and raised in 'Eth Alth'eban. A city made for assassins to flourish their skills, and trained to become the best of the best. Except she wasn't like her sisters. Talia and Ra's had known she was different, because she doesn't take initiative to kill. They had to coarse her to drive a knife inside a child rapist, and she was the one to ask if there was any other way to repent for his mistakes. The first and last time she had asked for forgiveness for a man who doesn't truly deserve atonement, was when she had been casted out into the desert and had nearly starved to death. When she had made it back to 'Eth Alth'eban, Talia had dragged her sorry ass into a helicopter, and dropped her off in some damn Russian wilderness. She was four that time, and she hadn't remembered how she had survived. Only to find herself in her home with Talia for once, astonished.

Talia had that same smirk on her face. She should've heeded her gut feeling, because dying would be a better choice than killing her siblings. But she doubt Talia wouldn't do anything spiteful, like how she promised if her death were to bring shame to the League's name, she will bring her back from the dead via Lazarus pit, and torture her siblings until they switched places six feet under. It was more of a vow, considering her love for her siblings was strong even though their bonds with her was nothing more than a thin flimsy string. She had believed the good side of her people were still there, just buried under the rubbles of ingrained hate, intolerance, and pain. She could still see their humanity, but now, when blue sapphires meet with cold diamonds, she sees none. Her siblings had fallen completely under Talia's spell; they have no will of their own save obeying the tigress' wishes.

And that was something she could not do completely. Meaning Talia's puppet strings were loose on Cassius's end. Nevertheless, the tigress has her ways of pulling her about. And this 'game' of theirs was just one of them.

Thirty seconds had passed by and Cassius had managed to attach wires onto Marvel's dead body. She had the steel cable crossed in a zigzag pattern, and glued the remaining under her feet. The shines of the strings were shadowed over by dust, and darkness of the arena, making such tricks perfect in the making.

And as predicted when Aldrich went after her, she swung her left foot for a kick, and the wires tugged Marvels body, and flung it in the direction of the soon to be rubbles. Amesh caught the movement, like a cat to a mouse. She pounced at Marvel, thinking she wasn't so dead yet, so high on bloodlust to the point her crazed blue eyes were not able to capture subtle light reflected from the strings beneath. It was the end for her, because with Amesh's blades deeply ingrained inside Marvels stomach, she couldn't get out in time for the falling rubbles. She wasn't even able to move from the first explosion underneath her feet to knock her unconscious. Then she was buried in it, a makeshift grave molded from hard stones. And Amesh was finally dead.

"Amesh!" Aldrich cried. Blues stared into one another, one in hatred, the other filled with sadness. "You bitch, I'll kill you!"

Aldrich changed her stance, and went after her. The battle was fiercer, more personal, more emotional than before. They both fought tooth and nail, tears glistening their cheeks whilst their blades clashed. It didn't stop there. The thunderous stomps from Aldrich's foot, when she carelessly attempted to boot Cassius's body in, were for naught. It was as if her eldest had realized the battle she was in could be her last.

It was a shame though. Because Cassius could not use her weak demeanor anymore. Of all the sisters, she was considered weak. It was all due to her lack of bloodlust, lack of wanting to kill, and they took the bait from Talia. But out of all of them, she was the one who truly had the upper hand.

With a twist of her sword, she chucked a sharp stone at Aldrich's eye. The eldest sliced the object in half, but was met with a blade lodged into the same peepers Cassius aimed for. At last, her injured eye now handicaps Aldric's view of the world. She covered her blueless socket with her left hand, trails of blood dripping from her right, whilst she readies her stance to charge at Cassius.

She doesn't care. Aldrich's goal blazed with ferocity to the point her onslaughts of slashes were effortlessly dodged. It was the one major flaw that had set Aldrich far apart from Amesh. Her rage is great, but her focus is null. Once her emotions wreak havoc on her brain, it's only a handful of minutes before angry flames engulf her heart. And was what Cassius had done, fan the flames of rage to the point where her eldest wouldn't be able to concentrate fully.

Aldrich bit on the metaphorical hook, and charged her youngest sister. Her bellow was shortly morphed into a pained whimper, when Cassius sliced her left achilles tendon, cutting chances for her to escape. She went down on one knee, whilst Cassius loomed over her, and Aldrich growled in despair.

"How?!" Aldrich screeched. "You're the weakest out of all of us! The rotting chain that needed to be cut!"

The eldest waved her broad sword, deterring Cassius to get close to her. "You're nothing but an imbecile, a loser, and have no honor to the League's name!"

She then leaped the remaining yards to Cassius, breaking her sword with a heavy swoop, and toppled on top of the youngest of the four siblings. Cassius hasn't the strength to weave from her eldest incoming attack, too busy recuperating her breath to even pay attention to her assault. Both girls landed on the floor, squabbling for dominance, only to have Aldrich gripping her arm, and shattering Cassius's bones, with whites sticking out of her arm. The blue-eyed girl cried in pain, and Aldrich wasted no time to choke the youngest of the air. Cassius remaining good hand grasped at her eldest, desperate to survive this foolhardy mission of hers.

It was for naught though, because her eldest sword made way into her stomach, forcing her to cough blood. It hurt. It hurt more than before any other injuries she had sustained to this one. It hurt as much as seeing her own sister in pain. It hurt all due to Cassius seeing the dead child in her sister's eye. It hurts because this is her sister.

"You're nothing." She whispered. But Cassius can see it was a meaningless lie. Aldric had cared just as much as she did. She feels what she had felt, but was tempered due to her fear of Talia. And Cassius can see that now. Clear tears mixed with red stained her face, Aldrich's blueness socket stared her down, all the while grimacing at her own action.

Aldrich had broken a rule. No child of Talia was to ever cry. Crying is a sign of weakness, and no child of her was to ever be weak. But Cassius prayed Talia wouldn't mind. This is a battle between siblings, and she has faith that her humanity, no matter how miniscule it might be, would reach out to her if Aldrich won this war.

Although nothing was to be expected when it came to Talia's hidden desires. She stripes away what she deemed is hers. And that had also included their freedom.

Aldrich's fingers snake her way to her cheek, swaying this way and that. A bright grin was planted on her face, and Cassius hoped her upcoming wounds would not be too grievous. However, when Aldrich cracked her blade, leaving more than half of her weapon inside her stomach to aim at her visage, Cassius' wish for a quick death came to fruition. It was better for Aldrich to win. She had nothing good to offer for Talia, except her stubborn streak and her unwillingness for mindless bloodshed.

It didn't end with a blow to her head, though. Aldrich's smile widened as she waved her broken blade, slowly flying to Cassius's face.

"Since you're nothing, I'll make you into something." Aldrich said. The damaged metal dug into her cheeks. Three stripes a set on each side of her mug now displayed to the League. "You're fox now. Cause under all that 'nothing' you're but a cheating cunt."

"I-f I'm deemed a cheating cunt," Cassius rasped, " at least I'm no bloodthirsty killer."

She came closer. "Don't be a hypocrite, Cassius. You set that trap to murder our dear sister Amesh."

"You did nothing to save Marvel." She spit.

"She's a lost cause."

Blue to blue, each squared for survival. "The one who's a lost cause is you, Aldrich."

The hand on Cassius's neck tightens. "Says the one whose about to choke to death!"

"At least I'm better than you at one thing." A blood smeared smile graced upon Cassius lips.

"What?" Aldrich questions.

"This." And with that, Cassius jabs her open fractured arm at Aldrich's neck. Her sharp bones tore an opening in her windpipe, as Aldrich seized up, and drowned in her own blood.

"Surprise, mother fucker." She said as she postured herself to a sitting position. Her own life juices were still seeping from her stomach, but there was no doubt that she had won. Cassius took her chances, and that was one of them. And she won. She had never thought the odds were in her favor, never in her life had anything like this battle came close to this success. But she won. She won, all due to her sister's deaths.

It was her turn now to cry. She gazes at Aldrich's lifeless eye, her body slowly cooling, amidst the claps of approval from the assassins watching above. Aldrich's dead. She killed her, her last remaining sibling, and all she had to do was nudge a broken bone inside her neck.

When Talia saunters over, her wells of salty liquid dried up. She can't be weak anymore, unless she wants her survival to be put in jeopardy. She could smell desert lilies now, whilst a finger gently tilts her chin to meet the tigress's hazel eyes. They were an earthy green color, not as intense as Damian's, but still held fire within those cool liquid pools of bronze and emeralds.

"You did well," she said. "Better than I expected."

She then caresses both sides of her blooded faces. "You are my child after all."

She then beckons the medic team into treating her. At that time Cassius had only remembered her body lifting, and brushing against soft padded gurney. A blink later, she knew no more.