Chapter Seven: False Savior

The morning sunrise on Berk was quite beautiful. The sun lights up the sky with bright warm colors of red and gold, a welcome break from the freezing nights. The dragons and Vikings of Berk stir from their rest, ready to great the new day. All eyes were on the rising sun, no thought given to the dying night. So it certainly came as a surprise when a loud, deep, screaming roar could be heard coming from the direction of the fading darkness!

Immediately, all eyes turned to behold a horrible sight: the Screaming Death! White as bone, body twisting in the air in a corkscrew, while the head remained focused on one target: Berk! The blood-red eyes gleamed with a feral hate and hunger, while the massive buzz-saw toothed mouth roared out the creature's challenge to Berk! Immediately, shaking off their weariness, the Vikings and the dragons all rushed into positions, the Vikings manning a siege weapon or tower and the dragons rushing to their riders! There was no doubt about it; Berk was in for the fight of its life!

"EVERYONE! Into position!" declared Stoick, guiding the Vikings in their defense of Berk. While Hiccup led the dragon riders, Stoick led the ground defenses as the Screaming Death approached. Despite surprise at their adversary arriving earlier then they had been warned, Berk had a history of suffering surprise dragon attacks.

Hiccup and the other riders were already in the air moving towards the white terror! Flying a V-formation with Toothless and Hiccup in the lead, the riders began their assault! Despite the surprise of the Screaming Death's early arrival, the riders had plenty of time to think up strategies to fight the deadly dragon…though few of those strategies ever did more than distract the beast. For now, the riders could only hope to lure the dragon into the range of the siege weapons in place around Berk. Hopefully, the overwhelming force would cause the dragon to retreat until they come up with a more permanent solution.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut! See if you get enough gas around it! Snotlout! Be ready to light it!" signaled Hiccup, starting the first plan of attack. Barf n' Belch, ridden by the twins, pulled ahead, spraying the explosive gas his kind was known for all around the Screaming Death in a giant cloud. The Screaming Death, confused by this action, did not even try to stop them, not seeing the danger. It was only after the Twins flew away that Snotlout and Hookfang ignited the gas causing a tremendous explosion that was felt all the way back in Berk!

"Whoooaaaah." said the Twins, clearly in awe at the destruction they had helped create. Relief filled the riders…until the smoke cleared revealing the Screaming Death to be completely unharmed! To make it worst, the Screaming Death had adopted an almost smirk that seemed to say, 'is that the best you got?!' Unfortunately, it was…

"Scatter!" exclaimed Hiccup, knowing what was coming next! With a massively deep breath, the Screaming Death shot a stream of explosive fireballs at the group! With the speed and rate of a machine gun, the group was barely able to avoid the stream, catching the tail end of the explosions! Seeing its path cleared, the Screaming Death rushed off towards Berk! The Riders gathered around to come up with a new strategy!

"Well there's one plan out the door!" remarked Astrid sarcastically and scathingly. She had a feeling it wouldn't work when the Twins suggested it.

"Okay, uh…Astrid, try to distract by shooting spines in its eyes! Fishlegs, go down there and try to coordinate the catapults at that thing!" said Hiccup hastily thinking up a new plan. Hopefully this one would work! Nodding to hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs went to their assigned tasks. Astrid and Stormfly used their speed and agility to shoot spines near the Screaming Death's eyes, keeping it distracted. Meanwhile, Fishlegs darted in and around the building calling out to the Vikings manning the siege weapons to turn their fire towards the Screaming Death!

So far the plan seemed to be working! The siege weapons seemed to be at least bruising the behemoth and it could not fire back while Astrid was keeping it distracted. Everything seemed to be going great…until the Screaming Death pulled off another trick! Curling around itself, the Screaming Death unfurled suddenly, striking Astrid and her dragon as they weaving and bobbing around the behemoth! Seeing the annoyance knocked for a loop, the Screaming Death proceeded to fired spike shots at the siege weapons, knocking them out one by one! Afterwards, the Screaming Death turned its gaze at Hiccup and Toothless, somehow sensing they were the ones behind its current troubles!

"Of course." sighed Hiccup, thinking that the universe just loved to mess with him! The Screaming Death rushed towards the congregated Riders, screaming its trademark sonic roar! The dragons' sense of balance was knock out of alignment causing them to crash into each other, save for Toothless who immediately raced out towards the rock pillars, with the beast in hot pursuit! Weaving in-between the towering pillars of rock, Hiccup and Toothless were treated to a familiar chase as the Screaming Death simply smashed its way through the rocks just like last time!(1) This time, however, whether through luck or experience, none of the fall rocks dissuaded the titanic dragon!

Suddenly, Hiccup and Toothless found themselves outside the field of rock pillar in open sea! They stopped, hovering in mid-air while Hiccup tried to think up a new strategy, only for the Screaming Death to appear right in front of them! So, here they were, miles out to see, with no sign of help from Berk! As the mighty behemoth drew breath for the final attack, Hiccup and Toothless braced themselves! This truly seemed to be the end for our heroes…

Suddenly, a whistling sound could be heard, followed by an explosion right next to the Screaming Death's head! Shaking its head to clear its vision, the Screaming Death turned towards the direction of the explosion to see…a trireme! It wasn't the Legacy, no this ship looked like it had come fresh of the construction yard with a shiny new coat of paint! Angry at the interference, the Screaming Death was about to attack when Hiccup and Toothless to attack while the best was distracted! This continued back and forth, between Toothless and the ship, until the Screaming Death fell off, away from Berk, deciding perhaps it had enough for today!

Hiccup looked down at the trireme, with a cautious look, before turning Toothless back to Berk. Arriving at the ledge of the Dragon Academy, Hiccup and Toothless landed to be greeted by the other riders and Stoick. Stoick rushed over, hugging Hiccup, relieved to see Hiccup survived his confrontation with the Screaming Death. Realizing that others were watching, they quickly pulled back and acted nonchalant.

It was then that Stoick finally asked, "What happened, Hiccup? How'd you drive the Screaming Death off?!"

Hiccup looked his father straight in the eye and said, "I think we're going to have to ask Ameilianus if we want the full answer to that question."

And with that the riders and chief rushed off to find Ameilianus…who turned out to be at the docks signaling to the trireme Hiccup saw fighting the Screaming Death! The ship looked similar to Ameilianus' ship…in its heyday before Rome fell. Completing the looked was the armed and armored crew, which unlike the Legacy's crew, were wearing Roman legion uniform: a red tunic and red woolen trousers(2) with a simple metal helmet, a simple leather belt, and leather boots. Each member of the crew had a sword on their right hip. As they entered port, a gangplank was lowered and two men stepped off the ship.

One of them, obviously the leader, was a grizzled combat veteran with a scar on his right cheek and graying black hair. He wore the same uniform as everyone else on the ship, with the exception of his sword being on the left hip and he carried a long, shaped stick seemingly used for whipping.(3) The other man, young but eager to please, looked as if he was the pupil of the first man. Perhaps groomed to fill his position if something bad happened…

"Centurion Phallus! Optio Marcus! Thank the gods you arrived so promptly!" said Ameilianus aloud; perhaps knowing Stoick and the riders were approaching. The named centurion and optio saluted by pound there right fist on their hearts and extending their arms forward at an angle to the ground. Stoick and the riders marched up to Ameilianus, who turned around to greet them.

"Ah Stoick, glad that you're here. I wished to introduce Centurion Phallus, captain of the good ship Jupiter's Might, and his second in command Optio Marcus!" introduced Ameilianus, as if presenting old friends to new friends. The Romans gave a curt nod, which Stoick returned before turning to Ameilianus.

"When exactly were you going to tell us you had another ship coming in?" asked Stoick suspicious of the new arrivals.

"The truth is, Stoick, I wasn't exactly sure when they would arrive. I sent a message to my parents to send a ship to support me after I found out about Dagur's plot. I was worried they wouldn't arrive on time; when instead their timing couldn't have been more perfect!" exclaimed Ameilianus, excited to see help had arrived.

"What exactly did they shoot at the Screaming Death? I have never seen anything like it!" Hiccup asked, wondering about the new weapon the ship had brought with them.

Ameilianus smiled, sensing an opportunity, "Let me just get everything settled and I'll meet you in the Great Hall to explain!"

A few hours later at the Great Hall, a large clay orb the size of a man's head and a brown leather bag was placed on the center table! "Once my people had settled down in Londinium, we began experimenting with some of the weapon idea we had brought with us from Rome. Greek fire was merely the first of our reinventions! You see, Rome had been doing trades with the Eastern Kingdoms before its fall and the Byzantines are still doing it. But one thing we acquired from Rome's fall was still in the process of being perfected: black powder!(4)"

With that Ameilianus poured the self named black powder on the table in a small pile. He then went to the fire in the middle of the Hall and light a torch. Walking back to the table, after his men move the orb and bag off the table, and readied to drop the torch on the pile! "You might want to stand back." stated Ameilianus calmly before dropping the torch on the pile!

BOOM! A massive explosion erupted from the pile, leaving a scorch mark on the oak table and causing the Vikings to jump back! Looking at the spot with apprehension, the Vikings were clear impressed with the power of the substance, leaving Ameilianus an opening to continuing explaining, "We've also used the years since Rome's fall to think up new applications for the two substances. Using a metal tube on the ship, we use the explosive force to propel this shot," explained Ameilianus holding up the clay orb, "filled with unrefined Greek fire, which I am sure you already learned, is highly explosive in its own right!"

"Hold on a minute!" exclaimed Snotlout, clearly confused by something, "If you have Greek fire and black powder, why aren't you, like, trying to rebuild Rome or something!"

Sneering at Snotlout for interrupting, Ameilianus none the less addressed his question, "Like I told you about the Greek fire, the trouble with making black powder is finding the ingredients! The best place to get them is a volcano or a hot spring. Until we address the supply problem, my parents are…reluctant to use wither Greek fire or black powder unnecessarily."

Stoick thought over what Ameilianus said and couldn't find any way to refute his argument. "Alright," said Stoick, having come to a decision, "this…new weapon will need to be addressed before Dagur and his armada come tomorrow. So I'd like you and the centurion to stay hear while we discuss new plans to deal. Hiccup, you stay here. The rest of you dismissed!"

With that, the riders excluding Hiccup left the room while the various tribal officials discussed plans for tomorrow. Snotlout looked back only for a second, but what he saw only aroused more suspicion! While the Centurion was talking to the council and Hiccup, Ameilianus was hanging back, waiting for something. It turned out to be his cat Caligula, holding a bloody satchel in his mouth and leaving bloody paw prints!

Acting nonchalant about the blood, Ameilianus picked up his cat and wiped the blood of the floor and the cat! Snotlout immediately left the Hall, trying not to look suspicious. He wasn't quite sure about what he saw but he knew one thing. Ameilianus was up to no good!

Several hours later, while all of Berk was asleep, Ameilianus walked into the woods with his cat on his shoulders. Calmly, but quietly, he made his way deep into the woods. After an hour's walk, he reached a secret cove on the far side of the Isle of Berk. This cove, in fact, already had an infamous history(5)…

Dodging to the right, Ameilianus barely dodged an ax that had been thrown at him! Seeing the ax in the tree, he turned his eyes into the direction it had been thrown to see…Alvin the Treacherous, former leader of the Outcasts! "You're late!" said Alvin in a gruff tone, similar to rocks grinding together.

"Apologies, but the meeting took longer than I thought it would." stated Ameilianus calmly, seemingly ignoring the ax thrown at his head.

Walking over and pulling his ax from the tree, Alvin turned to Ameilianus and asked, "So…what's the situation?"

"They still refused to let any of my crew ride dragons, but they are willing to use my weapons, soldiers and ships to fight off Dagur's armada." Explained Ameilianus, "With any luck, we can defeat that Berzerker brat and then turn on the weakened Berk fairly easily. All thanks to…your anonymous contributions to the campaign."

Alvin took a moment to chuckle wickedly before replying, "Ol' Stoick gonna be shocked to see me again…almost as shocked as when Dagur feels that knife Savage is gonna put in his back!" This started both the villain laughing up a storm! Even Caligula decided to join in on the raucous, with a hissing snicker!

After taken a moment to calm down, Alvin took one look into the forest and asked, "You know one of those dragon rider brats has been spying on us the whole time right?"

"Don't worry, I have Marlene on it already." stated Ameilianus simply, before the sound of Snotlout being knocked out could be heard, along with the squealing roar of Hookfang being tied up, causing Ameilianus to add, "Oh, I also made sure the Bludgeon brothers could help out." With that Marlene dragged in Snotlout, unconscious, and the Bludgeon brothers brought in Hookfang, tied and gagged to a cart.

"Well, I'll give ya this…you hired quality help." said Alvin, clearly impressed.

"What do we do with them?" asked Mordecai indicating the rider and the dragon.

"Hide the dragon in a cave. Keep the entrance blocked, but with enough air so he can survive. It would be a shame to lose such a…magnificent dragon. As for him…" explained Ameilianus, sneering at Snotlout, clearly hating him for existing, "Tie him up and throw him in a row boat…without the oars! He can float out to sea, never seeing his home again!"

"Oh, you really don't like that kid do ya?!" asked Alvin, as Snotlout and Hookfang were hauled away.

"That…ignorant little worm…is a symbol of everything wrong with this world!" said Ameilianus seething, "An imbecile how believes that might makes right, even after Hiccup showed him the power of an intelligent mind! People like him and Dagur will be the first to go when I build my empire! Strength alone gets you nothing! That's how my father taught me to survive and I'd say it is pretty sound advice don't you?"

Laughing sinisterly, Alvin walked over to Ameilianus and gave him a friendly pat on the back (still a fairly strong one though). "Ameilianus, I'd say this is the start of a beauuutiful friendship!" As Alvin continued laughing, a sinister grin formed on Ameilianus' face!

Disclaimer: I don't own DreamWorks Dragons franchise or the book series it is based off of. SURPRISE TWIST! Bet you didn't see that coming did ya! Truth be told, this little twist was something I just thought up! Anyway, sorry for the delay, cabin fever (among other things) once again robbed me of my creativity. Anyway I am going to be getting a new computer soon (probably next week), so there will be another delay…sorry. Also, some of details I give about the Roman soldiers won't be completely accurate but we can chalk that up to the fall of Rome. Please read and review, I need your love!

1 This is a call back to the episode "Tunnel Vision" the premiere episode for the Screaming Death.

2 Called braccae back in the day.

3 A vitis, symbol of a centurions authority and used as a way to deal out punishment.

4 Technically black power wasn't prevalent in Europe until the 13th century. I meddled with history on this one to give Ameilianus a new toy to play with!

5 This is the cove Alvin used to sneak onto Berk in "Alvin and the Outcasts."