Author Notes: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the late delay. A family member came over after a decade of not seeing one another. The guest is very much welcome but she lives in the other side of the country so I don't see her often.

Anyway, my story is shaping up in an interesting manner. It's supposed to be a Bella/Edward story but it's turning into Angels & Demons with the way that this is going with all the trying to find Alice they're doing.

Chapter 12 Found

Edward led us to the side of the Vatican. Surprisingly, there were nobody there. Normally, security was tight in that location. Mostly, to protect people from possible terrorists as there were people who had tried to kill the pope in the past. At least, that was what Edward was telling me.

"How come nobody was there?" I asked Edward, unsettled as there were actually holes in the security of the Vatican. While it made things easier for us, I was so surprised that nobody was there to protect the archives.

"This is closest to the Swiss guard's headquarters. If you make a lot of noise, they'll be here in ten seconds," Edward said, pointing to a location obscured from the normal observers. Then he pointed out the camera and waved. "Besides, I'm here so much that the guards know me. I had served as a Swiss guard back in the day."

"I thought the Vatican don't know about the vampires," I pointed out.

"The Vampires don't know that the Volturi had created themselves a nest inside the church. Vampires, on the other hand, had been inside the Vatican and had a complicated relationship with the humans for centuries," Edward said.

"So, they know you?" I asked.

"Yes. And besides, I tend to play poker nights with a lot of the guards whenever I'm at the Vatican-every few months or so," he explained.

"So, they're fine with us being here? And I didn't know you're Swiss," I said. I just wanted to make sure. Swiss guards are no joke. They were supposed to protect the pope so they had to have the best capabilities.

He laughed. "It does help when you change your identity every few years. Besides, they probably think I'm showing off to my girlfriend," he said.

Edward led me to the long hallways and winding staircases inside the Vatican archives. When we got there, we were surprised to find other scholars who were also doing their research.

"The Vatican archives isn't as tight guarded as people thinks. Once you get the proper clearance, you can come and go as you please," he explained.

"Where did they get in?" I asked.

"The other side door-the one that's actually being guarded," he said.

Edward led me to the area at the Vatican where they had maps. It had all the churches in the world. I was so surprised that they had the updated list of the parish pastors. According to Edward, some of the list were at least 2 months delayed. Vatican had computers, they still had paper documents to back things up. That would be what was stored in the archives. During that time, someone could hack into the Vatican computer and add the vampire names as heads of the parish. Then, the documents could be forged to have the Vatican approval.

"What are we looking for?" I asked.

"A church that's near the pilgrimage sites but wasn't directly in them," he said.

I nodded. That makes sense. Pilgrims visit the pilgrimage sites. However, it should be far enough that it wouldn't draw the attention of the Vatican. Vatican have a vampire fighting force too. They were under the Swiss guards and had their own method of fighting vampires.

Which was quite surprising as Edward managed to have gotten a place among the guards.

I picked St. Maria of Snows. It was a little bit out of the church that housed the head of St. Catherine. It seemed to be a good enough place to find lost pilgrims.

"Yes, Alice could be here," Edward said.

Edward and I decided to check it out first. We decided to spend some time with the other Swiss guards, who Edward became friends with after serving with the guards for over 30 years.

He and I decided to head to St. Maria of Snows. It was one of our best bets where they were hiding Alice.

The three hour drive gave us respite from the trouble. I learned more about Edward. He became a vampire at 1918 when Carlisle tried to save him from Influenza. He had killed plenty of humans during his rebellious years-he killed criminals. That was when he decided to become the member of the Swiss guard.

With him being a vampire, the Swiss guards had an issue. The Swiss guards had been trained to kill the vampires that had threatened the pope. Of course, Eventually, they had come to accept him as one of their own. That was why they had given us provisions before we head to St. Maria of Snows.

When we got there, St. Maria of Snows indeed had vampires in charge of it. They were posing as nuns. I got myself ready to fight. Edward, on the other hand, was quite calm.

"Have you seen this woman?" Edward asked, holding the picture of Alice.

The women shook their head.

"You're lying!" he said, then he turned to me. "Alice is in the basement."

The female vampires turned to our direction. Their eyes were blood red.

Then, in that moment, we heard screaming from the basement.

"Edward! Bella!"

End Notes: Alice has been found. Hurray for Team Bella/Edward! Now, if they can get out of their situation. This story is becoming longer than I thought. It can get longer than Facing the Past but things are still unfolding so we'll see how long it gets.