Moonflower- A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Chapter 23

"We cannot just ram the Rampion and Spindle into the dome over Artemisia Thorne," Scarlet sighed, rubbing a hand over her face in exasperation. "They're built to withstand the force of a nuclear bomb, and even if we could it would destroy the environment in there and kill thousands of people."
"Hey, at least I had an idea to save my son," the captain shot back.
"And Cinder," Cress reminded him softly, her face distraught. Cynthia hated to see her upset, she hated to see everyone upset. They had to figure out a way onto Luna.
"How are we supposed to get in there?" Her father pressed, trying to keep the focus on the task at hand and off petty arguments. "The entire moon is on lock-down. Nyx, through Cinder, has banned all coming and going. Not even Lunar government ships are getting in."
The room fell silent, and the princess could feel the tension hanging above them like a dark cloud. So much was at stake.
"There may be another way," came a gruff voice from the back of the group. Cynthia turned to see Kinney standing a little straighter at all the eyes suddenly on him. Even Iko looked confused. "I've kept a contact at one of Artemisia's ports, but it's on the far outskirts of the city. We'd have a long way to go to get to the Empress and Leo, but it's all I've got."
The room exploded in noise, everyone discussing the way in. Cynthia knew it would be a risk, starting at the outskirts of the city with such a large group, but this was their only shot at getting to her mom and Leo. Leo, trapped inside that suspension tank. They were obviously keeping him there so he would be carefully guarded, but they still didn't know why. She felt awful for letting him get taken. Then she remembered lots of explanations were in order. She glanced at Professor Dianem, the man who claimed to be her grandfather, where he stood on the very outskirts of the group. The group had been too engrossed in planning to even notice him yet.
"I say we do it. It's our best chance to save Cinder, so I have to take it." Kai announced. "I... I promised I would never lose her again..." he said, his voice breaking.
"I'm with my dad." Cynthia chimed in. "I trust Kinney, and if he says its our only shot then I have to take it as well."
One by one, the rest of the crew agreed, and it was settled. Cynthia let out a small sigh of relief. They had a plan, or a least, the beginnings of a plan. It was enough to give her some hope that everything would be alright.
Before everyone could leave to begin preparing for their trek through Luna, the emperor stopped them.
"One more thing," Kai began, turning to look at the elderly man at the back of the group. "Who is this Cynthia?" He asked.
Everyone's eyes widened and heads whipped around to look at the professor, and then back at the princess. She winced, wishing this had not been brought up in front everyone, but now she had no choice. She told them all the story of how Leo, Solstice, Fitz, and she had ventured to America to find the professor, and everything he had told them. She left out only the part about her strange ability to harness visible bioelectricity. It would have been too much to explain in so little time. She did leave in his claims about being her mother's father, however.
"Not possible," snapped Thorne, surprising everyone. "I don't believe you are Cinder's dad at all. Why would you leave her alone for so long? We could have used your help during the Lunar War and yet she never heard from you. Do you have any idea how many less people would have died if we would have had someone with experience on Luna help us move around and find the best way in? No, no real father would abandon their child like that."
His face was deep red. Cynthia couldn't remember the last time Thorne had gotten this mad, and she couldn't understand it now. She had a feeling it was a result of yet another hole her parents left when telling her about the Lunar War.
The professor looked worn and sad. "I should have gone to my daughter as soon as I found out she was alive," he admitted. "And all I have for proof is this small silver slipper. If you look closely," he said, offering it out to Thorne, "Selene is inscribed in the sole."
Thorne studied the old Lunar and then took the shoe, squinting at the faded embroidery. "Aces," he whispered. "You're Cinder's father."
The emperor looked like he was in a daze. When Cynthia placed a hand on his arm though he snapped back to attention. There was frustration in his eyes.
"We cannot be fazed away from the task at hand," he ordered. Thorne seemed to agree and handed Dianem back his slipper. "Kinney, Thorne, Scarlet, Fitz, please go prepare the ships to go to the port Kinney knows of. Everyone else, get prepared to land on Luna. We have a long journey ahead of us."
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After she had packed several bags of supplies, Cynthia found herself wandering the short hall of the Rampion. While the rest of the ship was still looking a little messy as a result of the crash, the hall seemed almost untouched. Everyone else was busy doing something, so she was surprised when she found someone in one of the bunk rooms down the hall.
Leo's mother was typing rapidly at a netscreen. Cynthia watched, amazed, as images flew across the screen until stopping on two. One showed a suspension tank containing a young military officer. Leo was guarded heavily, but unconscious. He simply floated, asleep, inside. The other showed a decadent room, garbed in silks and gold where a woman with a skinny hand sat, expressionless.
Cynthia gasped and Cress whirled around in her chair, tense. When she saw that it was only Cynthia she relaxed, even giving her a small smile.
"I guess I just get sucked in to my work," she admitted. "In my head I was running through the halls of Artemisia palace myself."
"What are those?" Cynthia asked, though she already had a guess.
"I hacked into the surveillance cameras all throughout the palace so I could find Leo and Cinder." She responded, gesturing across the image of Leo and enlarging it. She looked back at the princess. "How did my son get in there anyway?" She asked. "How did Nyx capture him and not the rest of you?"
Cynthia sighed, relieved to be able to explain this to someone alone without the pressure of twenty eyes. She told Cress about the attack, the soldiers, and this time, about her ability to produce, not just manipulate, bioelectricity.
When she finished Cress nodded, mulling over the story. "He'd want it this way you know," she said finally.
"What do you mean?"
"He would much rather be trapped in that tank than you Thia. As his mother, I know, he cares for you a lot. He'd do anything to protect you," she explained. Her gaze was frighteningly intense from such a small woman, but Cynthia felt something twist within her at Cress's words.
"But if I had just thought more, if I had just focused I could have used my strange ability to save him. I should have saved him He should be here right now."
Cress got up and walked over to Cynthia, wrapping her in a warm hug. "You sound just like your mom. She always wanted to save everyone at once. She learned that that's impossible to do by herself, but she had us. By herself, she could have never saved all of Earth and Luna, but together we defeated Levanna. Sometimes you need to accept the sacrifices of others to save everyone."
Cynthia nodded, stepping back from Cress and back into the hall. "Thank you. I promise, I'm going to get everyone back, but I'm not going to do it alone."