The next update isn't going to be posted until the end of December (either right before Christmas or after). I start finals next week, and I really need to focus on that at the moment. I hope this chapter makes up for that. At the very earliest, December 20th. But after that I should be able to write a lot!
Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review if you enjoy the story! I really appreciate it!

The next few days were all the same. He woke up around the same time, worked the same hours, and got pestered by Benson for the same amounts of time. He knew that he should be glad, he was getting closer to finding Mordecai and all, but it was so boring.

After a few days, though, someone different walked into the pub around midday. A tall robin, turning the heads of a few as she approaches the bar.

" I'll have the usual." She says, not once looking at Rigby and instead focusing her attention to a notebook.

" Which would be…?" Rigby says.

" Oh, you're not Skips!" The robin says after looking away from her notebook. " Sorry about that. I'll have a Vermouth-Cassis."

" Alright." Rigby prepares the drink and slides it to her.

" Thanks." The robin says, taking a sip. She returns to her notebook and Rigby watches her. " I'm Margaret, by the way."

" Rigby. It's a pleasure."

Today was a slow enough day that he could afford to take a break for a few minutes. He didn't really feel like speaking to any of the patrons.

" What are you writing about?" Rigby asks.

" I'm writing an article on the war ending."

" That's real interesting."

" Thank you. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding people to interview. Don't think I'd find many interesting people here, anyways."

" Oh, you just have to know where to look." Rigby says. " But you have to do a lot of digging first."

" You're not from around here, are you?"

" Damn, is it really that obvious?"

The robin giggles. " Not really. I've lived here for a while, and I would've seen you before. Where are you from?"

" Spain, originally, but I lived in France before coming here."

" Fascinating! I've always wanted to visit France. I'm from England."

" So what made you decide to come here?"

" I wasn't the one to make the decision. My friend Eileen was, actually. She convinced me to come here. It's safer here than it was overseas, you know, with the blitz and all. It was hard leaving, though."

" Yeah. I know what you mean." Rigby says.

Someone else enters the pub. Benson. He approaches the bar and sits next to Margaret. He nods at Rigby in acknowledgement.

" How have you been, Margaret?" Benson asks. " You never really come down here."

" Yeah, well, today felt like a good day. I woke up and got the hunch that I'd find someone who'd be willing to allow me to interview them."

" There are plenty of people around here with stories to tell, you know. Plenty of them."

" Rigby was just telling me about that."

" Oh, was he now?" Benson looks at Rigby, and then back at Margaret again. " Well, I'm sure he's got his own story he can tell. Pretty interesting one, too."

Rigby glares at him. He didn't feel like talking about it. Nobody needed to know about his life. That was for him to know, and him alone. The world had no business knowing about it.

" Would you mind if I interviewed you? I don't want to pressure you. But if it's alright with you, that'd be grand." Margaret says with a smile.

Rigby wants to turn her down. He really should. He can't just go around telling people about his life. It was dangerous. He couldn't talk about the resistance. Or Mordecai.

And especially not about his family. No. That subject was absolutely off-limits. It wouldn't do them any respect.

But… Rigby looked at Margaret. She was trying to disguise her desperation, but she was doing a damn poor job of it. He doubted she had found many people to interview, if any. This was the look of someone who was desperate to find anything, even if it was a scrap of information.

And he sure knew that feeling well.

He sighed. " Alright. You can interview me." The robin beamed, expression washing over her expression.

" Thank you very much. You have no idea how grateful I am."

" But," Rigby says, " we can't do it now. I'm working for the day, so wait until I've closed up the pub. And you will go by my hours. Don't press into details too much, I won't tell you everything."

" Alright." Margaret says. " That's fine. That's great, actually. I'll come back in a few hours." She stands and exits the pub, going off to God knows where.

" So what's her story?" Rigby asks Benson after Margaret is long gone.

" That's hers to tell, not mine." Benson says.

" But-"

" She'll tell you if she wants to. I'm not here to talk about that." Benson says.

" What are you here to talk about, then?"

" Well, I have a letter I need you to decode."

" Easy. Is that it?" Rigby says.

" Should be. It'll probably be in English."

" Benson, I don't know English."

" Yeah. I know that." Benson says.

" So how in the hell am I supposed to decode it?"

" You can just show me how to do it."

" I guess I can." Rigby says. " But you might not get it. It's difficult to explain."

" Alright. So you want to work through it together, then?"

" That's easiest."

" Okay." Benson says.

" So, where do you want to start? You can talk about whatever you want." Margaret asks. The pub had been closed for a while now, the last few patrons having stumbled out an hour or so ago. Now it was just Rigby, Margaret, and Benson remaining. Rigby hadn't wanted Benson present while Margaret interviewed him, but the man was stubborn and refused to leave. Rigby had finally been forced to accept it. Rigby was now helping Benson to decode the letter, which Rigby thought wouldn't take much time at all. However, it was a task proving to be difficult.

" I don't know. Where do you think I should start?" Rigby says.

" Most people start out by saying where they were from in interviews. What was your childhood like?"

" I'm not going to talk about that."

" Gee, was it really that bad?" Margaret asks. " Sorry. I won't pry."

" Are you really sure you know what you're doing?" Benson asks. They had been trying at this for probably two hours, but they had yet to decode a single word. All of Mordecai's letters were decoded the same way, but the key to decoding the letters was always different, depending on who the receiver was intended to be. Each individual person had a special song, which Mordecai had set as the key. Rigby's had been Los Cuatro Generales. However, Benson couldn't figure out what his was.

" I'm sure I do. Maybe he's using a different coding method for this one. Did you guys ever use a special system to decode your letters?"

" Maybe. I don't remember." Benson stands. " I'm going out for a smoke." He leaves.

" Alright." Rigby says. " Sorry about that."

" Who's the letter from?" Margaret asks.

" My friend. I shouldn't tell you his name, it's confidential." Rigby says.

" Is it Mordecai?"

" How'd you know about him?" Rigby asks, both curious and slightly wary.

" He visited a lot. We used to date off and on for a little while. But I knew that it was never meant to be. He had eyes for someone else." Margaret smiles. " He's been trying to decode that same letter for months, you know. Don't feel too guilty if you can't decode it."

" Well, alright. If you know Mordecai, that makes this interview plenty easier. You know, you'll still have to change his name, though. Mine too."

" Yeah. You two were in the resistance together, right?" Margaret asks.

" ...right." Margaret writes something in her notebook.

" How did you two meet?"

" His family came down to Spain each summer. We met when we were kids."

" I remember him talking about that. He never mentioned you, though, strangely enough. Were you too close?"

" Yeah. You could say that."

" And where in Spain are you from?"

Rigby is silent for a few moments. He really didn't like talking about this part of his life. " I'd rather not- if you're okay with that."

" Okay." Margaret says. " That's alright. How'd you get involved with the resistance?"

" Mordecai and I already knew each other before the war. He was really the driving force that got me involved."

Margaret writes something else into her notebook. She opens her mouth, about to say something else, but Benson storms into the pub.

" Lily of the lamplight!" Benson exclaims. Margaret and Rigby look at him questioningly. " The song. That's what the code was!"

Rigby sighed. " So you want to decode this letter immediately, I'm guessing?"

" Well- why aren't you more excited? Of course we need to decode this letter right now!" Benson sits down in the chair he sat in before and shifts the letter towards him. He picks up a pen and uncaps it, writing something on another piece of paper.

" And you're sure that this song is the one he intends for your letters?" Rigby asks.

" I'm certain of it." Benson looks hopeful now. " It has to be." He slides a piece of paper to Rigby, as well as the letter. Rigby looks at the new paper, titled Lily of the Lamplight in large curvy letters at the top.

" How do you decode the letters again?" Benson asks. " You don't know English, so it'll just be easier if I translate it myself."

" Alright." Rigby says. " But you let me read it too."

" I'll be sure to translate it." Benson says.

" So the format to decode each of Mordecai's letters was the exact same. However, there was always one key difference, and that was the song used. Yours is Lily of the Lamplight, if your assumptions are correct. Now to decode these letters, you need the lyrics to the song written down somewhere. It'll make this much easier. I'm surprised you were able to recall the entire song."

" I know it by heart." Benson mutters. Rigby's tempted to poke fun at Benson after that remark, but he bites it back. Wouldn't do any good to piss Benson off.

" So the numerical order of the letters is the order that they show up in the song the first time. Does that make sense?"

" The first word in the song is 'Underneath'. So the letter 'U' would be the number one?" Benson asks.

" That's right."

" But this letter doesn't have any numbers."

" Because Mordecai would then put the numbers back into letters. Whatever the first letter was in the song- in this case, the letter 'U', it would become the first letter of the alphabet." Rigby says.

" Oh, alright! So every 'U' in the letter would become an 'A'?"

" Yes."

" Well, thank you." Benson takes the letter and song lyrics back, and gets to work.

" Sorry about that, Margaret. Do you want to get back to the interview?"

" Actually, I'm rather tired. Do you mind if I head home? You'll be here tomorrow, won't you?" Margaret stands, holding her notebook to her chest.

" Maybe." Rigby says. " Probably, actually. Do you want me to walk you home?"

" No, I'm fine." Margaret replies. " Thanks, though." She walks towards the door. " See you tomorrow." She says as she opens the door and walks out.

It is silent for a while longer before Benson speaks again.

" Oh, fuck." Benson mutters, horrified.

" What?" Rigby asks. Benson doesn't reply. " Is it really that bad? Benson, say something!"

" Finland." Benson whispers. He's gone ghostly pale now. " He went to Finland."

" You're bullshitting. Hand it here."

Benson feebly hands it over and puts his head in his hands.

The letter has been translated. Rigby is surprised. He didn't think Benson would translate it before acting in such a fashion. He had to read it to translate it, after all.

He reads the letter.

Benson-

I hope Switzerland is tolerable. I know this isn't an ideal situation, but nothing about this war is ideal. I address this letter to you, and you only. I know how you worry, so I wanted to let you know where I was going.
I am going to Finland, Ben. Claudia has not replied to anything for months, which just isn't her. I'm terribly worried, as she is a close friend of mine and a close informant. One of the few people I can trust up in that area.
The trip should be a safe one. I have plenty of connections that will ensure my travel is safe. I know you hate me leaving so often, knowing the risks of each trip. I know you likely cannot understand. But the krauts killed my parents, Ben. And they've killed so many other innocent people. Imagine if they killed me, too. You'd want revenge, right?
This war is a terrible one. It has taken the humanity from many. But I am glad this war has not changed you, Ben. I am so relieved you are the man I fell in love with many years ago. And I hope your dreams are still the same, Ben. Because once this war ends, I will do my utter damndest to ensure they come true. Can you imagine? Just us sailing all over the world together? Seeing all those sights, like that one British brod sang about in her song? You know the one, I'm sure. You listen to her so damn often. Whenever I hear her voice, I am reminded of you so much that it pains me.
We are so close to the end, Ben. I can feel it. Stay safe. I will see you soon.
-Mordecai

Rigby feels his stomach drop to the floor.

" Sweet Jesus." Rigby whispers. " He did go to Finland."

Additional Notes

(1). Vermouth-Cassis:A Vermouth-Cassis is a fruity cocktail.

(2). The Blitz: The Blitz (Blitzkreig) lasted from September of 1940 to May of 1941. During this period, Germany bombed Britain (London specifically). Approximately forty-three thousand people were killed during the Blitz.

(3). Los Cuarto Generales: Los Cuatro Generales was a Spanish folk song from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). I'll talk more about this song and the importance of the Spanish Civil War (and how it affected Rigby) later on.

(4). Lily of the Lamplight: Lily of the Lamplight is another version of the popular song Lili Marlene. The song was recorded by Lale Andersen in 1938 and first became popular in 1941. The German song was first popular throughout Nazi-occupied Europe, and spread out to the rest of Europe, including Britain. When it became popular in Britain, English lyrics were written by Tommie Connor, and Vera Lynn recorded these lyrics, entitling the song Lily of the Lamplight. The version I am using is Vera Lynn's, obviously.

(5). Finland: I won't talk about this point too much here, as it will be addressed in the next chapter. The reason why Rigby and Benson are so distraught over this is more of a geographical one. If you look at a map of Europe, you see that it's a pretty long distance from France to Finland. To make matters worse, near the end of the war (which is around the time Mordecai left on this trip), much of Europe was Nazi-occupied territory. If you look at a map, France is Nazi-occupied territory (which has been addressed). Additionally, all of its neighbors (with the exceptions of Spain and Switzerland) were Nazi-allied or Nazi-occupied territories. Switzerland was neutral, but it was also surrounded by Nazi-occupied/allied territories. So Mordecai would have to go through a lot of enemy territory before reaching Finland (which was considered to be an ally of Germany during the war because of the wars with the Soviet Union).

New characters introduced:

Margaret: Margaret will make a return. She's an aspiring journalist who fled England during the War (due to the Blitz). Margaret knows English and French.

Eileen (mentioned): Eileen will come up a few more times. I don't want to say too much about her yet, though! I don't want to spoil anything! She's fluent in English and knows a bit of French.

Mordecai's Coding System: I do hope this one made sense! It took a while trying to come up with something that would work. I will post a tutorial of some sort if anyone is interested! I just have to make one and find a place to post it. I'll probably provide a link to that when it does get posted.

Mordecai's Letter: I like to see Mordecai as someone who's a hopeless romantic, and he really likes to act overly dramatic in his letters, especially with Benson. Mordecai and Benson are very much in love with each other (although they have to be very secret about it, as the 40s was a very conservative time compared to the present). Mordecai and Benson had a lot of songs that they listened to together (many of which Mordecai insisted was 'their song'), so it was difficult for Benson to pinpoint which one it was exactly. Lily of the Lamplight is the last song he thought Mordecai would go with (Mordecai wasn't too fond of the song), but it does fit. Benson just had to think about it for a little while.

Rigby's Childhood: This is something I am excited to talk about. However, we haven't gotten quite there yet. I will begin revealing things soon, though!