MOONS.
005. | ❛ time heals all wounds. ❜

Cami called Luna in the afternoon trying to see if she knew anything about the murders going on in town. Luna didn't know anything but that they were all in accord that it might be Lucien. This Luna offered to tag along with them since Niklaus was on his own hunt that he didn't want Luna to assist on.

Going outside the first time was difficult for Luna. The sounds of the jazz music and noise was a little too much for her. All those months in the bayou affected her senses. Since she was part vampire everything was amplified, her feelings, her emotions, her hunger, and most definitely her sire bond.

Knocking on Cami's door, Vincent appeared before her and greeted her all the same. Upon entering, Luna was blocked from going inside. She gestured to the door and Cami got the reference

"Luna,please come in"

Cami and Vincent made their way back in Cami's living room, where they're continuing to try to figure out more about their serial killer. They have copies of the case files for all of the murders spread across the table and are examining the crime scene photos for more clues.

"So what do you got?"

"Every one of the victims has the same profile-- grew up rich, family comes from old money. Successful, educated, white males living a playboy lifestyle." Cami handed Luna the reports on the victims. Looking through them all of them seemed to have that asshole thing too.

"So it is one guy? Not a copycat?" Vincent questioned.

"Not just any guy. It's Lucien-- I'd bet my degree on it. Which doesn't excuse your detective friend from stealing my laptop."

"This is enough evidence to proof it's him alright. " Luna says dropping the file on the table.

Just then, Vincent's phone beeps, and he picks it up to check the text he just received.

"Oh, that's convenient. It's Kinney. They got Lucien at the station." He stands to his feet and gets ready to leave.

"I should head down there. They might need the type of help a gun can't provide."

Cami stands to follow him," I'll come with you. I want to hear what he has to say."

"I got nothing better to do. So let's go." Luna replies as she heads out of the apartment.

**********************

Lucien is still sitting alone in the interrogation room. Outside, Luna is just about to walk through the door when Vincent stops her.

"No. You're not going in there! Do you know what Klaus would do if he found out about this?"

Luna rolls her eyes, "Vincent, he's not going to kill me in the middle of a police precinct! Anyway I'm a hybrid, I won't get hurt."

She opens the door and walks inside, and Vincent, visibly annoyed, follows her inside and closes the door behind them. Cami sits new to Vincent while Luna confidently sits down in the chair across from Lucien, who seems amused by her appearance.

"You asked to speak with me. Here I am, willing to listen. Which, if I'm gonna be honest, is more than you deserve."

"I thought New Orleans had the same burden of proof as the rest of the colonies. What is it? Ah, yes-- innocent until proven guilty."

Vincent grabs a chair and pulls it over to the table before setting it down next to Cami and sitting in it backwards.

"The murders started the same day you got into town. All the victims match a pattern-- wealth that, uh, you yourself seem to exude. Not to mention, we know what you are."

"Hmm! What I am is a ruthless, vicious, unstoppable killer. That's not to say I had anything to do with this-- far from it."

"Why bother denying it if you are what you say you are?" Luna questioned
Lucien sighs,"Luna, you don't know me. But, if you did, you would see that we were the same."

He stares at Vincent for a moment, "All four of us, actually. Four souls caught in the orbit of Family Mikaelson, yet somehow survived to tell the tale. Though, each of us has our share of scars."

Lucien makes a confession on how Tristan abused him and how he was brutally beaten and punished for something out of his control. How Klaus loved the girl he did and how he was caught in her bedroom when he walked in on Aurora and Klaus.

"Even after all these years, you continue to reenact your trauma. You're choosing victims who are the contemporary equivalent of the privileged son who hurt you."

Lucien, offended, scoffs at this reaction, " I share a deeply personal tale of woe, one meant to garnish sympathy and inspire kinship, yet all you take away is an admission of guilt."

"Messed-up new guy comes to town, messed-up new guy is responsible for murders." Cami butts in.

" Given that you seem incapable of comprehending a sophisticated solution, allow me to posit an equally simple one."

"These murders are an attempt to disparage my good name, thus poisoning me against the one person I came here to protect-- Niklaus himself. Now, if someone wants to weaken my ability to protect Niklaus, perhaps it's because they themselves would like to see him dead?"

Vincent seems skeptical of these claims, but Cami looks at Luna, worried that he could possibly be telling the truth.

"You're an intelligent man, so I won't insult you-- we both know that nothing you say proves anything. So, what I want to know is why you asked to speak to me. Why tell me your story? Is it because I know Klaus, and part of you must still blame him? Maybe you want to make him look bad in the eyes of a friend?"

"Ha! I'm so..." He takes Luna's hand and opens it so it is palm-up, allowing him to read the lines along its length. "Oh, now I know why Klaus is so taken with you-- that delicious mind framing every moment of your meager lifespan."

Both Cami and Vincent look slightly alarmed by this contact.

"The truth is, I know you have Klaus' ear, and I need him to trust me. As for your claim that I blame him for my ancient wounds?"
Lucien lets go of her hand, and as soon as he does, Luna yanks it away as though she's afraid he may try something.

"Well, time heals all wounds, and my wounds healed a thousand years ago." If Luna choose to believe that his wounds truly did heal she didn't show it.

Lucien continues to tell on how he was turned and surprise that it gave Klaus. Cami and Vincent both seem affected by the horror of his story, and Lucien, who stands to his feet, tries his best to shrug off the seriousness of his history.

"And so, I died... for a little while. Talk about trauma-- not the wounds themselves, or even the execution, but the humiliation of being judged by one's supposed betters. I will never again stand for such judgment." Lucien, realizing he has perhaps confessed too much and become too serious, smiles and tries to lighten the mood.

"Though, for you, Luna, I will gladly declare my innocence. In fact, I can prove it."

"Prove it how?" Luna said confused.

"Well, if by nothing else, then perhaps logic? Why should I undermine my own safety by leaving behind a trail of dead bodies? I mean, why commit myself to these preposterous murders? Unlike my enemies, I have nothing to gain."

"Your enemies? You really think someone is trying to frame you for this? Who?"

"Now, isn't that the question we should be asking? And how fortunate it's one I can answer."

Before Lucien can actually answer the question, Klaus storms into the interrogation room, clearly displeased by the sight of Lucien with Luna. He grabs her by the arm and tries to pull her out of the room.

"I'd have thought your time with me would inspire a more careful selection of company you keep. We're leaving." Luna stops walking and stares at Klaus

"Klaus, he says he knows who the killer is!"

"Whatever Lucien's said to you today has most certainly been a lie. You mustn't believe it."

"Oh, come on, Nik! Why should I lie?" Klaus walks toward Lucien and glares at him.

"For the same reason you lied about avoiding a werewolf bite when Elijah saw it with his own eyes? This ends now."

"Then you're giving Tristan the victory he seeks. He is the guilty one."

Klaus, torn between wanting to know more and not wanting to believe what Lucien is saying, hesitates for a moment before turning to back to Luna

"I'm going to need a word with Lucien in private." He whispers in her ear.

"Come on, Luna" The three walk out of the room together, leaving Klaus alone with his first progeny.

Luna is standing in the doorway and watching suspiciously as Lucien heads toward the door. Before he leaves, he turns to Klaus, who seems unhappy and confused by all of this conflicting information.

"Do think about what I said, Nik."

Luna and Klaus share a suspicious look once he's gone.

Luna and Klaus are standing outside the police station, where they're discussing what they've just learned.

"For the record, I think you should kill him, but you can't execute someone without, you know, due process."

"Are we really going to have a legal debate about this?"

"He said something about rising like a phoenix. What did that mean?"

"Lucien has a taste for hyperbole. Although, in this case, he's rather on point."

Luna gasps when she realizes what Lucien is to Klaus.

"He's the first person you ever turned. Is that why this is so hard for you, because he's the first of your sireline?"

Klaus scowls and says nothing, just as Lucien comes out of the police station. He's wearing black sunglasses, and smiles happily before he turns and walks away. Klaus is about to follow him when Luna grabs his arm and stops him.

"Klaus, if he's not lying, if he is telling the truth, if he is here to help you... you don't have to kill him."

Klaus sighs in frustration when he sees Lucien get into the back of a fancy black town car.

"So eager to keep me from a mistake I might regret. It means more than you know." He smiles weakly at Luna then places a kiss on the side of her head. Lucien's car drives past them, and Luna turns to watch it leave the station parking lot. However, when she turns back to Klaus, she hears the tell-tale whooshing noise that indicates he has vamp-sped away. She sighs in frustration when she realizes he's gone.