I do not own Dragons: Defenders of Berk. Direct quotes from the series will be bolded.

A quick note-I submitted a story for the Fandom contest on Inkitt. It's called Project Ghost, and if you could stop by to show your support and click the recommendation button, that's be amazing. Deadline is October 21.

You can find it here: www. Inkitt stories / 24927

Saving a Scauldron

"I've got a question for you."

Hiccup moved his gaze from the crystal blue sky to focus on the back of his best friend's head. "And that would be?"

"Why are we searching for the Screaming Death?" asked Sunset, glancing over her shoulder. "We haven't seen or heard any sign of it for a while."

"Which is why I'm worried," replied Hiccup. "Who knows what that thing could be doing? It's best if we get to it before it gets to us."

"We'll see how that goes," muttered Sunset, returning her eyes forwards.

Fishlegs and the twins flew near them, all of them searching for any sign of the Screaming Death. But they had already been out for a bit, and so far they weren't having any luck.

"Whooo!"

Hiccup stared in annoyance as the twins flew Barf and Belch in a series of loop-de-loops. "Excuse me, we are on a mission here."

The Zippleback levelled out beside them and Tuffnut frowned. "But it's so boring."

"At least try and help us look," snapped Fishlegs. Turning to Hiccup and Sunset, he asked in a low voice, "Why did we get stuck with them again?"

"Because it was either them or Snotlout, and for me it is not that difficult of a choice," said Hiccup feelingly.

Sunset rolled her eyes. She was about to make a comment when she noticed a familiar island up ahead, rapidly getting closer. "We have reached Changewing Island."

"And this is where I'm going to remind you all of a few things," said Hiccup, though he was looking pointedly at the twins. "These dragons are ill-tempered and quick to attack. They are territorial and invisible, which makes them a difficult enemy."

"So…we should get them agitated?" asked Ruffnut hopefully.

"The opposite," interjected Sunset. "We leave them be and try to be as quick and quiet as we can."

"Rooooar!"

Everyone paused as the distant, almost desperate dragon shriek reached their ears. Sunset frowned in concern and squinted in the direction the sound came from, though she couldn't make anything out. "That didn't sound good."

"Not at all," agreed Hiccup. "Let's go."

"I thought we were going to leave them alone," cried Fishlegs.

"Slight change of plans," returned Sunset.

Biting his lower nip nervously, Fishlegs reluctantly guided Meatlug to follow after his friends. When they closed in on the island and swerved past some trees, they could see a Scauldron thrashing about in a clearing.

"Scauldron's aren't supposed to be on land," said Fishlegs in confusion.

"Maybe it's taking a vacation," suggested Tuffnut.

"I was thinking more along the lines of luring foolish dragon riders towards it so it can blast us all with scalding hot water."

"Come on, guys. We have to see if it needs help," insisted Sunset.

Hiccup nodded. "She's right. Let's land."

They landed a few feet away from the Scauldron and Sunset could see the rocks that pinned its wing to the ground. The twins hopped off of Barf and Belch and inched closer, eyes wide with awe. "This guy could do some serious damage," breathed Ruffnut.

Tapping his chin in thought, Fishlegs surveyed the landscape. He spotted the cliff near the dragon had been split in half, and hundreds of rocks plugged the split. "I think there was an earthquake, and the Scauldron got trapped by those rocks before it could reach water."

"This is serious," muttered Hiccup. "A Tidal-Class dragon can't stay out in the sun for very long. If its skin dries up, it's in trouble."

"Okay, yes, I can feel for it," said Fishlegs nervously. "But I'd like to remind everyone that we are between a Scauldron who can spew hot poisonous death and an island full of Changewings who can spray acid death."

"Not different from any other day," quipped Sunset. "You guys keep an eye out for Changewings. Hiccup and I will see what we can do."

"If we have to," grumbled Ruffnut.

Sunset and Hiccup cautiously approached the trapped Scauldron. "Watch Toothless," instructed Hiccup. "I'll see if I can calm it down."

Nodding, Sunset squatted down and wrapped her arms around Toothless' head. Toothless relaxed slightly at her touch, but kept wary eyes as his boy approached the not-happy Scauldron.

"Hey, big guy," said Hiccup softly, slowly extending his right arm. "You're in quite the mess, aren't you?"

The Scauldron reared back, snarling. Hiccup took a few steps back. "Right. Stupid question. But we're here to help. So what about it?"

The Scauldron inspected Hiccup for a moment, eyes narrowing. It's mouth then filled up, a warning sign that it was about to fire. Hiccup wasted no time in racing for the nearest rock. He launched himself over it just as the Scauldron fired. Sunset flinched as her friend narrowly missed being struck by a spray of hot water.

"Well. That went well," she said sarcastically.

"Not helping," snapped Hiccup, slowly peering over the edge of the rock. "Ideas please."

"Related to this particular moment," added Fishlegs when Tuffnut opened his mouth.

The blonde blinked and rethought what to say before opening his mouth again. "We could blast the rocks off of his wings."

"No, that's too much of a risk," shot down Hiccup. "We might hurt it."

"Well, it's agitated right now," mused Fishlegs. "If we splash water on it, we might be able to calm him down."

"Good idea!" declared Hiccup. "Sun and I will watch while you guys get the water. You might have to make a quick detour to Berk for some buckets."

Their friends flew off, and it was a little bit later when they returned, buckets loaded with water. "Incoming!" hollered Tuffnut as Barf and Belch made a beeline for the Scauldron.

Roaring softly, the Scauldron jerked his wing up, knocking it into the twins. Tuffnut was dislodged from his seat and the Zippleback flew back into Meatlug, sending them all careening towards the ground. Sunset yelped in panic and Hiccup climbed onto Toothless, who flew up quickly to rescue Tuffnut. The others crashed into the ground, dazed and soaking wet.

Sunset let out a sigh of relief. "That did not go as planned."

Once Toothless landed, Hiccup dismounted and went to help Fishlegs to his feet. "Now what?"

Fishlegs shrugged helplessly. "If he won't let us help, then what can we do?"

"We have to do something!" insisted Sunset.

The Scauldron was breathing heavily, now laying on the ground. Hiccup bit his lip, coming to a heavy conclusion. "If we go any further, it's at danger to us and the dragons," he decided. "This time, I'm afraid nature has to take its course. Let's go, guys."

They reluctantly climbed onto their dragons, and Hiccup was not surprised to see Sunset standing rigidly ahead of him, a stubborn expression on her face. "I'm not leaving him!"

"We have to go," said Hiccup sharply. "I want to help, I really do, but if he's not willing to accept it then it is pointless."

"I'm staying here."

Sighing wearily, Hiccup ordered, "Pick her up, bud."

But Toothless did not move. He was staring sadly at the Scauldron, along with the other dragons. Fishlegs attempted to make Meatlug fly, but she stayed rooted to the ground. "They don't want to go anymore than Sunset does."

"You can't let them push you around like that," dismissed Tuffnut. "Show them who the boss is! Let's go!"

The twins pulled on their dragon's horns, but Barf and Belch shook their heads wildly, flinging their humans off of the saddles. Ruffnut hit the ground and slid dangerously close to the Scauldron. Slowly, she pushed herself up from the ground and stared at the massive dragon.

Snarling, the Scauldron lifted his head up high. Gulping nervously, Ruffnut got to her feet and stood in place, unsure of what to do. Hiccup cupped his hands around his mouth and ordered lowly, "Do not move, Ruff."

"Got it," she squeaked.

The Scauldron shot his head forwards, so that his face was touching Ruffnut's petrified one. She could feel his heavy breathing on her face, and it was growing increasingly difficult to stay still. Barf and Belch, upon seeing the wild dragon so close to their rider, roared threateningly and charged forwards. The Scauldron lifted his head for a brief moment to cut the charging Zippleback off with a boiling water blast.

Barf and Belch dodged it, skidding backwards slightly. Sunset hurried in front of them and held her hands out in a placating manner. "Guys! Settle down. She's okay."

The Scauldron was back to sniffing Ruffnut, but there wasn't any threating intent to his actions. He seemed curious, almost interested as he sniffed and rubbed against the girl. Hiccup arched an eyebrow, at a loss. "Alright. Colour me confused."

"Hey, sis! You finally got a date!" cackled Tuffnut.

Fishlegs stared in bewilderment. "I wonder why he's sniffing her like that."

"It looks like he likes her hair," noticed Sunset.

Hiccup tried to approach the dragon, but the Scauldron reared his head slightly and glared at him, snarling warningly. He quickly backtracked. "Well, it's a bit of an improvement, I suppose. But why does he like her hair so much?"

Tuffnut shrugged, dropping down to sit on the ground. "Your guess is as good as mine. She fills it with fish oil."

Sunset's eyes grew wide. "Ruff?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, turning her head slightly, trying not to agitate the dragon. "It is how I can make my hair as greasy as I want it."

"Scauldrons are from the ocean," said Sunset slowly. "The scent of her hair must be comforting to him."

Hiccup nodded, determined. "If it keeps him calm, then we'll work with it. Let's free that dragon. Move back, guys."

When they were a decent distance from Ruffnut and the Scauldron, Hiccup called, "Ruffnut, train the Scauldron!"

Baffled, the blonde managed to restrain herself from whipping her head around. "Are you crazy?" she demanded. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" asked Hiccup. "You did it with Barf."

"He's only half of a dragon!" she protested.

"Then just remember the classes at the academy!"

Ruffnut blinked. "You mean the stuff we do in the arena? Yeah, I don't really pay attention."

Hiccup sighed in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of Thor."

"You have to bond first! Give him a name!" shouted Sunset.

"Uh…I-Want-To-Live?"

Tuffnut shook his head. "No! Go with Death Machine!"

Hiccup ran his hand down his face. "Something more positive, please."

"Scauldy?" suggested Ruffnut hesitantly.

Sunset flashed a thumps-up. "Good!"

Taking a breath, Ruffnut faced the dragon. "Hey there, Scauldy."

To her awe and delight, Scauldy looked her curiously. "Okay! Um…interesting place for a vacation, Scauldy. Did you have fun?"

Scauldy snorted slightly.

"We have to hurry," whispered Fishlegs. "His skin is getting dry."

"Do the hand thing," advised Sunset.

"Oh, okay." Ruffnut took a slow step forwards. "We're going to do our best to get you out of here, okay?" she said softly, closing her eyes and extending her right hand. "So please don't kill-"

There was a dry, scratchy sensation on the palm of her hand. Opening her eyes, Ruffnut stared in wonder as Scauldy pushed lightly against her fingers. She rested both hands against the dragon's muzzle. "Hey, Scauldy!"

"Here we go." Hiccup smiled. "Let's go."

"But what about the Changewings?" protested Fishlegs.

"We have our chance to help this Scauldron, and we're going to do it," said Sunset firmly.

Scauldy rumbled uneasily as the group approached him. Ruffnut patted him in reassurance. "I know they seem like dorks, but they just want to help."

Toothless paused as an uneasy sensation filled him. Eyes narrowing, he turned to see Changewing appearing on the rocks just behind Hiccup and Sunset, who had their backs turned. Roaring in warning, he darted forwards and the knocked the two away from being struck by a harmful acid spray.

"Oh Thor!" cried Fishlegs in fear as Changewings appeared all around them. Their dragons snarled and surrounded their riders, ready to defend and attack.

"Awesome!" said Tuffnut excitedly.

"Not awesome," snapped Fishlegs. "There's too many of them!"

Just as the words left his mouth a fire blast came from the sky, striking near a cluster of Changewings and sending them scattering. They looked up to see Snotlout and Astrid flying towards them on their dragons.

"Reinforcements!" whooped Sunset.

Stormfly and Hookfang immediately took up defense positions against the injured Scauldron. Scauldy roared and thrashed his good wing about. As Ruffnut attempted to calm him, Astrid and Snotlout landed near Hiccup and Sunset.

"How come a simple search mission turns into something more deadly for you?" she asked dryly, looking down at them from her perch on Stormfly.

Sunset grinned sheepishly. "If you ever find the answer to that, let us know."

"Okay, short story is that we need to help free Scauldy," said Hiccup quickly, searching the area for any more Changewings.

Astrid arched an eyebrow. "Say what now?"

"Ruffnut named the dragon Scauldy and we need to hurry and free it before the Changewings come back with friends!" said Fishlegs frantically.

"So let's move these boulders," ordered Hiccup.

"Ruff, keep Scauldy occupied," added Sunset.

They all took into the air, save for Tuffnut, who could not fly Barf and Belch without his sister. He found a seat near the Scauldron and watched as his sister tried to think of a way to keep her new friend calm and focussed on her. "Try doing your Hiccup impression!" he called.

Ruffnut brightened. "Ooh, yeah!" When Scauldy lowered his head down back to hers, she deepened her voice and said, "Hello there, friendly dragon. I am here to train you. Don't mind my missing foot, it just fell off."

Hiccup was indigent. "Excuse me, it did not fall off!"

Sunset resisted the urge to laugh. "Try something else, Ruff!"

"Sing!" cheered Tuffnut.

"Ugh. Okay. Hush little dragon, don't say a word. Ruffnut's gonna get you a whole sheep herd."

Sunset wrinkled her nose. "I want a new song," she muttered under her breath.

As Ruffnut distracted the dragon with a song, the other dragons removed the rocks from his wing. When the song was done, the rocks were gone and Scauldy realized the lack of weight. He moved his wing experimentally, and immediately cried out in pain.

Fishlegs frowned deeply. "Uh-oh."

Hiccup flew Toothless down below and dismounted. He inspected the broken wing intently. "It looks simple enough. Maybe we can give it a splint to help him swim and fly."

"Giant dragon splint, here we come!" shouted Snotlout.

The teens took some time to gather some large pieces of wood and vines. They brought everything back to Scauldy. "Astrid, Snotlout, go keep an eye out for Changewings," ordered Hiccup, picking up some vines and moving over to the Scauldron's wing.

"Hurray, more Snotlout time," grumbled Astrid.

Snotlout put his hands on his hips, following after her. "You're not exactly a gem to be with either, Miss Blondie."

They set off to do their given job. Ruffnut kept Scauldy distracted by petting him. The teens lied the pieces of wood in the required spots and tied them together with the vines. It wasn't long before Astrid and Snotlout returned.

"Seriously?" complained Hiccup.

Astrid nodded grimly. "A whole flock, about five minutes out. They're not bothering to camouflage themselves, either."

"Fishlegs?" pressed Sunset.

"Almost there," he called, struggling to tie the final vine. But it snapped before he could knot it properly, rendering it too short to connect together. "It broke!"

Ruffnut gasped in horror. "Now what?"

"We don't have time!" cried Snotlout, staring at the approaching Changewings.

"We have to leave!" cried Hiccup. "On your dragons!"

Everyone mounted their dragons, with the exception of Ruffnut and Sunset. Ruffnut held on tight to Scauldy, and Sunset stood near them, eyes calculating as she thought frantically. "Girls!" shouted Hiccup. "We have to go! Now!"

"I am not leaving him!" cried Ruffnut.

Tuffnut felt a burst of sympathy to his sister. "Sis, I know. But…"

Astrid looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowing as the flock of red came closer with each passing second. Soon they would be on top of the group. "We need to do something, right now!"

Sensing the danger, Scauldy pushed Ruffnut away, in the direction of Barf and Belch. Desperate, Ruffnut tugged on her long braids. Sunset caught sight of the gesture and her eyes lit up. "Ruffnut!"

Ruffnut looked at her, and for the first time in her life, she knew exactly what the redhead was thinking. "I got it!"

Sunset raced over to Toothless and climbed on behind Hiccup. Ruffnut removed a dagger from her vest and used it to cut off her braids. The others watched in awe and disbelief as she used her braids as rope, finishing up the dragon splint. Scauldy lifted his wing, and roared softly in happiness when he felt hardly any pain.

"Go!" ordered Hiccup.

Ruffnut sprinted over to her brother and dragon and climbed into her saddle. They all took to the sky, seconds before the Changewings burst into the clearing where they had just been. Scauldy wasted no time in diving into the water, shrieking gleefully as he swam through the gentle waves.

"Awesome work, Ruff!" complimented Sunset.

Ruffnut smiled, looking down at the Scauldron. Her super short blonde locks barely brushed her ears, but she didn't mind. "Thanks."

"Seriously," agreed Hiccup with a smile. "I'm proud of you."

"Let's go home," sighed Astrid, though she smiled down at the free Scauldron. "It's been a long day."

"One sec."

Ruffnut nudged Barf, signalling him to lower his head. She was brought just above the water's surface and she reached out a hand. Scauldy stuck his head above the water, skin now looking healthy. She stroked his muzzle fondly.

"Visit anytime, Scauldy. I'll kick Tuffnut out so you can have a place to stay. I'm going to miss you."

Scauldy gave a soft purr, nudging against Ruffnut's fingers before diving back under the water. Tuffnut smirked at his sister as they flew back up to join the others. "Have I ever told you that you look like a boy?"

Ruffnut glared at him. "Have I ever told you that you look like a girl?"

Sunset smiled. "We may not have found the Screaming Death, but I think we found something way better."

"Definitely," agreed Hiccup.

Today was a day they would all remember. For it was the day Ruffnut Thorston trained her second dragon.