That's Lucky

Season two Episode seven: A Culinary Canine Prodigy

Lucky was shown putting his hat on as the instrumentals for the Ducktales reboot theme started playing. He then called over his friends with Patch looking at a Thunderbolt picture as he heard Lucky's name and ran over to him. Two-tone was designing some kind of dress when she ran over to him and Rolly was eating a donut when he did the same. The four of them then ran off together as the main theme, Farm Dogs, played.

A female voice began singing the theme song as Lucky and the others were shown moving to the farm with their family. "Life can be a tornado, here in, London. (Lucky and the others are shown playing in Hiccup Hole with Lucy nagging them) Naggers, (Cruella was shown to be devising an evil plan) psychos, (Lucky and the others were shown in an airplane with Lucky at the front seat) Airplanes, (Lucky and the others are shown finding a time machine) insane, but fun."

Lucky and the others were shown going back in time with Lucky in a Sherlock Holmes outfit as Two-tone rolled her eyes while smiling. "We can solve a mystery. (Lucky and the others are shown underwater in a temple with Lucky grabbing some kind of shard at the last second) Or remake history."

Lucky and the others were shown in some kind of classroom with Lucky singing and dancing. "Farm dogs, heck yeah! (A teenage Golden Retriever is shown to be getting in Pug's face with a furious look as Pug is taunting him constantly during a presentation and showing his ego far too obnoxiously) We've got new friends, ready for fun; (Lucky and the others are shown braving a snowstorm with a teenage Cockapoo making sure Rolly doesn't fall behind) Farm dogs, heck yeah! (Lucky grabs the paw of a German Shepherd that's slightly younger than him, making him smile as they continue onward) We can brave through, any trial; (The Cockapoo smiles and nods with fierceness in her eyes) farm dogs, heck yeah!"

Lucky was shown to be dodging some bullets during a mission while running down a hallway, running on a wall as he zoned in on two guards in front of him. "There will be danger, (Lucky kicks a guard in the face and grabs the gun of another one and knocking him out with it) out to find you. (Patch is shown to be sneaking through a vent as he hears something in his earphone) There's a trial, (Patch looks through a vent and nods with a serious look) waiting (Patch drops down from the vent and finds that no one's there, looking around for what it is he needs to retrieve) for you. (Two-tone is shown to be treating a patient as Rolly brings in some food for him) When it's there, just take it head on!"

Lucky was shown to be facing off against Connor in a one on one battle while being amazed by his skills. "Farm dogs, heck yeah! (Lucky aims a kick at Connor, who ducks under it and aims a punch at him) We will stand up, to save our friends; (Lucky grabs Connor's punch and kicks his face, only for Connor to throw him at the wall) farm dogs, heck yeah! (Lucky hits the wall but manages to get up, charging at Connor with full power) We won't ever, hate each other; (Connor dodges Lucky's punch with Lucky then low sweeping at Connor and making him jump) farm dogs, heck yeah! (Lucky aims a punch at Connor, who aims a kick at him at the same time with both of them landing their strikes as Tripod cheers Lucky on in the stands) We will always, stand together."

Lucky and the others were shown running together as they all enjoyed themselves. "Farm dogs, heck yeah! (Dumpling comes by all lovey dovey for Lucky, who pushes her aside with a blunt look on his face) Tales that we, (Patch is shown looking at Thunderbolt with admiration as he runs ahead) will not forget, (Two-tone is shown looking encouraging Rolly to keep running since he was falling behind) no wasting time, (Rolly is shown wiping his forehead and dashing ahead at full speed) or losing pace, (Lucky is shown at the ledge with everyone else behind him as he looks over the cliff proudly) we're farm dogs, heck yeah!" That's Lucky is shown in the sun with Lucky still looking over the cliff proudly.

Rolly was looking at some kind of pamphlet as he climbed up the ladder to his room, and it was then revealed to be the pamphlet with the Bark Brigade Elite Force courses in it. The entrance exams were all finished, and he was now setting his sights on the course that had his attention from the start: The Culinary Course with Butch. As he sat down on his bed, he started to think about how he never really had anything that helped him stand out from the group, other than being the fat one and also the one who rarely ever farted, or at least farted the least...ironically.

He was then shown sleeping in his bed before he woke up and got a good look at the picture next to him. It showed him having a good time with Lucky, Patch, and Two-tone. He had fond memories of that day, as it was the day the four of them vowed to be a group of friends. It was also right after they survived Cruella's first attempt to kidnap them. As he grabbed the picture and looked at it, he couldn't feel like something was empty. That being that, he didn't really contribute much. Not yet anyway.

Rolly was then shown in the bathroom as he brushed his teeth and got ready for the day before he and his friends went to school. He thought about the role each one of them had in the group. Lucky was the brave, courageous, and loyal leader, even if a little arrogant, Patch was Lucky's somewhat timid, yet still cheerful and excitable right hand, Two-tone was Lucky's girlfriend and was also the voice of reason of the group, and was also the thoughtful and creative one in the group. As for Rolly, he was kind and clumsy and loved food, but he couldn't find much beyond that.

When Rolly finished brushing his teeth, he started talking to himself in the mirror. He seemed to be reflecting what he was going to say to his friends during lunch, making sure to sound genuine, but not as if he was pushing them away. The last thing he wanted was for his friends or family to be kicked out of his life. "Look guys; I've been thinking, and with the whole year and a half we've been a friend group for, I can't really name a major contribution I've done outside of some minor gags. I think I need some time to figure out what I can do. We can still hang out."

The scene changed over as Rolly continued speaking, and he was talking to his friends at lunchtime as they listened to what he had to say. "I just need time to figure out how I can contribute to the group. You all have your roles. Lucky, you're our leader and are always giving us confidence in ourselves, Patch, you're his partner in whatever he decides to get involved in, and Two-Tone, you're the sweet one who's always thinking about everyone else before yourself. I don't think I've found what I contribute to this group yet, and I want to find out what that is."

Lucky, Patch, and Two-tone were all listening carefully with Lucky smiling as he gave Rolly a fist bump and wished him luck. "Can't argue with wanting to find yourself dude. It's never too late, or too early, to start. And the best way to do so is to find it on your own." Lucky then brought up a benefit to Rolly taking the time to find himself. "Plus, it'll give me a little extra time to (Tickles Two-tone's tummy) this darling out to the fanciest restaurant in the common parts of London."

Two-tone couldn't help but laugh as Lucky tickled her tummy with Patch speaking up about Rolly's decision. He was also proud of him and wanted him to succeed in his goal. "That's also part of what the Bark Brigade courses are for, right? I couldn't see a better opportunity for you to start."

Two-tone also had her own two cents on the scenario, and was happy for Rolly, just like Lucky and Patch were. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we know this'll be a good thing for you. And if you ever want our help with this, all you have to do is ask."

Rolly smiled genuinely as he thought about the supportive and caring friends he had, even if they were technically his brothers and sister. As he did, he took out the pamphlet and showed everyone the page he turned to. "I decided to do something relating to my love for food. Butch is leading the culinary course, and I don't think he's made a single bad meal yet if his page in the Elite Force bio is right."

Lucky and the others were all set on this decision with Lucky then realizing an advantage to Rolly's decision. "Hey; it says here Butch has a special event to those who sign up for his course before it officially begins. Looks like you'll be able to show off your skills in no time." Rolly took notice to that too and got excited and nervous at the same time. He wasn't entirely sure what this event would be, but he wasn't ready to quit on finding himself now.

After school, Rolly was getting ready for the special event Butch had in store for the students who signed up for his course. He noticed that he didn't notice anyone out of the other fifteen students who signed up for the culinary course. He was a little worried about that, since it meant he wouldn't have anyone to talk to. This was especially apparant when he saw that some of the students already knew each other. At least he thought that was the case. However, he quickly heard Inky's voice from his right. "So you signed up for this course too Rolly?"

Rolly looked and saw a nervously smiling Inky looking at him, making him smile at the sight of knowing someone in the group, even if he didn't know him that well yet. "Yeah, I did. I didn't expect to see you here Inky. Then again, we only hung out together once, so what COULD I expect?"

"Exactly." Inky replied while laughing a little, and he then spoke up about why he chose this course. "Tripod convinced me to take this course after we hung out one time. He said since I was creative, and I was thinking about getting into cooking, that this would be a good thing to try."

Rolly was glad to see Tripod being so supportive when it came to Inky. Like the others, he caught onto the fact that they shared feelings for each other pretty quickly, even if they didn't show it yet. "Well I'm glad there's someone I know here. I came here to try and make something of myself and contribute to my group of friends more. As much as I love them, ever since we started, I always felt as if they contributed more to me."

"Well now's your chance to change that." Inky pointed out, making Rolly smile as he and Inky then shook each others paws, being glad to be in this course together.

Just then, the door opened, and when Rolly and the others entered, they were greeted by a female Bloodhound standing before them on her hind legs with her front paws behind her back. She gave off a profesional and fierce vibe to the other contestants, and she made it clear what they were going to be doing here before Butch arrived. "You guys signed up for this because you love cooking, wanna get into cooking, or for another special reason. (Rolly nods to that last one) I'm Silver Bloodhound. I'm one of Butch's sous chefs when we work in his restaurant."

Some of the students were impressed by this knowledge with Silver explaining what Butch wanted them to do. "Your task is simple. Go into the kitchen over there," Silver gestured everyone to the kitchen, which looked similarly like the kind that's used in Hell's Kitchen. "And you'll have forty five minutes to cook Butch a dish of your choosing. It doesn't have to be good in order for you to stay in this course, but it's strongly preferred." The students started discussing this as Silver then got them moving with an authoraitve voice. "Well whatya waiting for? Let's go!"

The students instantly started running into the kitchen with Rolly getting a look at what was there, and was amazed by what he saw. There were all kinds of foods he could work with from chicken to salmon, and even some of the fancier, higher budget foods like Wellington and halibut. He was tempted to drool at the sight of it, but he knew he had to stay professional to make a strong first impression in this course. So he grabbed a piece of chicken and got to work.

As everyone was cooking their signature dishes, Rolly made absolute sure that his chicken got the right amount of seasoning, and that the sides he picked for it were made just right for consistent quality. He was going for a mashed potato side along with some asparagus, and he also had some rice on the side, although, it was still white. One of the other contestants, a female Chocolate Labrador, got a good look at what Rolly was making and took notice to how Rolly was using plain white rice in his dish. "There's no way you're gonna win with plain white rice made with chicken."

"I'm pretty sure this isn't a contest." Rolly pointed out, flipping his chicken over, as it was just about right on the side it was on before then. "And I don't know any recipes for flavored rice, so this is the best I can do."

The Chocolate Labrador couldn't help but laugh at that, making sure it was quiet enough to keep everyone else from hearing as she then taunted Rolly's lack of rice cooking skills. "Well you'd better learn if you expect to do well in this. Just watch; my lobster is gonna destroy whatever you're failing to make." Rolly didn't find herself very fond of the Chocolate Labrador's attitude, and then she boasted a little about where she was from. "Of course, my mom being an executive chef helps."

Rolly got a good look at the Chocolate Labrador's dish and had to say that he was impressed. He hoped he could cook something that good someday. "I can see that. I'm definitely not at lobster level." The Chocolate Labrador smirked as she got back to cooking with Rolly looking around and finding that some of the other students were struggling harder than he was. After seeing this, he decided to get back to his own dish, making sure to season his mashed potatoes for appropriate taste.

Everyone was having their dishes judged, and it seemed that most of the students, twelve out of sixteen, had their dishes judged already. Most of the dishes were scored with a three or a two, but one in particular was given a one, and two were given a four. The next student to go up was Inky, who came up with some kind of burrito, one that puzzled Butch as he was about to taste it. From the looks of it, the challenge was making food for Butch and seeing how he'd rate the dishes. Inky was a little nervous, or a lot nervous, about how Butch would react to his.

"It's a salmon burrito." Inky explained after a few seconds of nervous silence, and then he explained how he came up with it. "I was in over my head about what I wanted to make, so I decided to see how a fish burrito would look if I used a full salmon." Butch nodded and cut his first bite of the burrito, and when he took a bite, he wasn't a fan. Inky took notice of this and chuckled nervously as he spoke up about it. "It was my first time cooking salmon actually."

Butch nodded in response, and was able to swallow the dish, but wasn't very fond of how it tasted. "The salmon itself could've used another minute or two, and the ingredients inside of it, while they would mix well in a regular burrito, I don't think would mix well with a salmon burrito. I think sour cream should stick to being on meat."

"Understood."

"I'll settle for a two."

Inky nodded in response and Butch set his dish to the side with Rolly speaking up as Inky went back in line and stood next to him. "At least it was edible."

Inky did like that sense of confirmation, since he would've broken down if his dish was deemed inedible. The next student, a male Chihuahua, went up with some kind of taco dish with Butch asking about it. "Alright Diego. Explain your dish."

Diego then went on to explain the dish as Butch went to taste it. "What I've made for you Butch, is three chicken tacos, and in them I've put spicy salsa and chopped onions." The spices definitely got to Butch, and he wafted his mouth as he went for his water to swallow the food properly. Diego's cheerful expression changed to a nervous smile as he took notice to Butch's reaction. "Some people like spicy foods; I take it you aren't one of them."

"The spices certainly overwhelm my mouth, but I can tell what edible food is when I taste it, and making the tacos crunchy was a nice touch." Diego was glad to hear that with Butch then pointing out the flaw with his dish. "That said, I still give it a two, because a unique idea is far from a valid excuse for too spicy chicken and onions on top of it."

Diego took note of that and took his dish while speaking genuinely to Butch about how it was. "I apologize."

Diego went back to line with Butch looking towards the Chocolate Labrador, and when she went up, she was confident and well composed, and also a hint of smugness in her smile. "What I've made for you Butch, is a full lobster wish a side of mac n cheese. I seasoned both with salt and pepper, but the right amount of butter on both, and I also put a pinch of garlic in the mac n cheese to give it just the right amount of spice to stand out from other portions of it."

Butch did have to admit that he did like a good lobster, and it did look appealing. As he cut his first slice, he asked how long the Chocolate Labrador had been cooking for. "How long exactly have you been cooking for Elise? I understand that lobster takes a long time to learn how to cook properly."

"About two years." Elise explained, and then she went into a bit more detail about her cooking skills. "My mom is an executive chef and doesn't have a lot of time for her family, but whenever she can make time, one of the things she does is teach me and my siblings how to cook."

Butch nodded in response, and after he tasted both the lobster, and the mac n cheese, he put his fork and knife down and couldn't help but admit to how stunned he was. "Honestly? If you weren't eight years old, tasting that would make it seem like you've been cooking for TEN years. Perfect five, well done."

"Thank you Butch." Elise said humbly, and as she went back to the line, she gave a devious grin to the others, letting them know not to mess around with someone of her skill.

Butch then spoke up about Elise's mother, knowing that she would be proud if she ate a dish like that. "I don't know if your mother ever ate that dish from you, but if not, then I recommend making it for her one night."

Elise smiled and nodded in response with Rolly going up, since he was the only one left, and he presented his dish to Butch, who made sure to inspect everything, like he did with the other students' dishes. "What I've made here Butch, is an entree of pan cooked chicken with sides of mashed potatoes, asparagus, and white rice. I haven't learned how to season it yet." Butch nodded in response as Rolly explained what he put into everything. "I used onions for the asparagus for flavor, and for the chicken, I seasoned it with garlic salt and black pepper."

Butch took a bite into the mashed potatoes and felt his mouth melt with Rolly beaming as he explained what was in those. "The mashed potatoes were also seasoned with garlic salt and black pepper, but I also put some bacon bits into them, along with some milk to help make them creamy, and I even found some sour cream in the kitchen added that to it." Butch couldn't help but love the mashed potatoes especially, finding everything from the neutral rice to the amazing mashed potatoes to work well.

"Well done Rolly. I especially love those mashed potatoes." Butch assured Rolly, who was incredibly happy to hear that as Butch then gave his score. "If the rice was seasoned rather than being plain white rice, I would've given you a five. But because everything else was so good, I'm giving you an incredibly strong four."

Rolly couldn't help but feel proud of himself for that one. With the exception of Elise, he seemed to have the best dish of the day. As he took his dish back with him, he thought to himself about how well he did. 'I managed to score a four. On my first go I almost got a perfect score! Maybe I could join Butch in the kitchen one day.'

Butch then announced the last part of his plan of introduction as he spoke to the students in front of him. "Now many of you may be wondering what you'll be doing in this course aside from cooking the assigned dishes I have prepared. Well, we'll figure that out when we start official classes on Monday. I hope to see you all then." Rolly and the other students were glad to have been able to introduce themselves and show off their cooking skills, but Rolly still had Elise on his mind. He knew she was gonna be a fierce and tough girl to cook alongside, and to top at that if he had to.

Silver was handing everyone some aprons, cook books, and cooking supplies outside the room with everyone taking a look as they passed by. "Make sure to take these so you can get your cooking skills up to par! That means you Josh." A male Beagle bought some of the supplies with Silver then encouraging him to improve. "Take some notes from that book there and you'll go from one out of five dishes up to perfect scores."

Josh nodded and walked off with Rolly using what he could of his allowance to buy one of everything Silver was selling. This surprised her, at least until Rolly explained why. "If I wanna reach my best in this course then I gotta have all the details I can get on how Butch's cooking style works."

"There ya go." Silver responded, and then she commented on how good Rolly did for on the spot cooking. "You said you're new at this, right? And you made a dish that great?"

Rolly had to admit that his incredibly high cooking skills surprised him as well. The last thing he expected was to get a perfect score, and he almost did. "It definitely caught me off guard. I was worried for my life when I came up there with white rice, the plainest rice in the book."

"You definitely don't have to worry that much." Silver assured Rolly, knowing that he and Butch would get along great. "Butch can be incredibly tough in the kitchen and isn't afraid to be blunt about how he feels regarding food, but so long as you give it your A game and continued to do a great job, you'll be fine."

Rolly was glad to hear that with Silver giving him a fist bump before he walked off. "Thanks Silver. I'll keep that in mind." Silver continued to sell her stuff with Rolly holding his book tightly and looking at the cover. He couldn't help but smile as he saw Butch on the cover with an expression that really stuck to him.

Anyone can cook, but to excel, takes time, effort, and skill.

Rolly was heading home and looking through his book, only to end up bumping into Elise because he wasn't paying attention. Elise was of course annoyed by this, and instantly called Rolly out on it "Hey; watch it!", and then realized that it was Rolly and got a little less annoyed. "Oh, it's you Rolly. You always zone out when reading?"

"No; sorry." Rolly apologized as he closed his book, making sure that he kept the page he was on saved. "I just can't believe some of the recipes in this book. This mushroom and cheese soufflé sounds divine!"

"I should know. I've already made some of the recipes in here." Elise informed Rolly, and then she made it clear that she wasn't ready to let him surpass her. "I didn't get a chance to say this during the competition, but you'd better watch out. You're a good cook, but if you can't even give rice a decent flavor, then you're not gonna get as good as me. Passing this course means you have to give it your A game; not your B+ game."

Rolly put his book away as he made an effort to stand up to Elise. He knew he couldn't just stand and say nothing every time a confrontation between them happened. "Improving my craft is one of the reasons I joined this course Elise. And something you should relate to is that I also joined because I love cooking."

"It wasn't because you felt insignificant (Rolly flinches) like what you were talking to Inky about earlier?" Rolly thought for a moment and started to feel despondent as Elise then gave him some advice as she looked into his eyes. "Listen closely Rolly. I will not let you surpass me. And if you truly do care about cooking, you won't let anyone surpass YOU either. The path to becoming the best chef you can be is to destroy everyone in your way, and to not let them know how much you care about their opinion; it doesn't matter if it's friends, your co-workers, or your family."

The words Elise used to finish her statement hit Rolly the hardest. "Don't. Let. Them. Beat. You." Elise then walked off, having already established herself as a threat and one who wouldn't let Rolly get better than her. Rolly didn't know what to make of her. On one hand he saw her as intimidating, but on the other hand, she seemed to have more to her than that, seeing as she just gave Rolly some harsh, but still believable advice to some. He could only improve from here, as she told him."

Rolly was in his room as he sat on his bed and thought about what Elise told him before he got home. The words she told him made him wonder how much he really had in him. As he thought about this and where he'd go from here, Lucky came up the ladder and saw him contemplating those words. This caught his attention, and he went over to Rolly to check on him. "You doin' okay Roll?"

Rolly saw Lucky sit down next to him and couldn't help but admit to what he was thinking about. "It's just this girl in the culinary course with me. She gives off this really fierce and harsh vibe when talking to her outside of the kitchen; but she also has amazing cooking skills that I've never seen from someone our age before."

Lucky caught onto Rolly's current situation, but he just couldn't help but joke about it with a sly grin. "You're not into her, are ya?"

"What? No!" Rolly quickly denied. Actually, he was still unsure of whether or not he even liked Elise. He couldn't say he disliked her, but still. "We just met Lucky. I can't say whether or not she's someone I'd want to be in a relationship with."

Lucky snickered a bit before assuring Rolly that he was all good. "Well good. You should only be with someone who treats you right." Lucky then got serious with Rolly still being a little annoyed by the joke, but not enough to not take Lucky seriously. "Just tell me what went down. This could be something I can help you with."

Rolly nodded in response before he began. He knew Lucky was someone he could trust to help him with something like this. He just hoped Lucky wouldn't think he took it too personally. Then again, it was Lucky; he wouldn't assume anything like that for something he wasn't there for. "Well for starters, while we were cooking our dishes for Butch to test our skill, and she mentioned that her mum was an executive chef, and that she trained with her brothers. So she's clearly passionate about this. Then as I was walking home, I accidentally bumped into her while reading this book that Silver, Butch's Sous Chef, was handing out, and I didn't see her."

Lucky was listening closely as Rolly then got to the root of his feelings. "Then she told me that she wasn't going to let me surpass her, and that I shouldn't let anyone do that to me either. Not my friends, or my co-workers, or even my family. (Lucky becomes surprised) I mean, obviously I'm not gonna cut ties with any of you; especially at eight years old. It just...made me wonder. How far would I have to go if I wanted to be my own canine?"

Lucky got what Rolly was saying, but he also knew that he couldn't let him take Elise's words the wrong way. He didn't know exactly what she was trying to do with him, but since she didn't hurt him physically, he didn't get the impression that she was trying to hurt him. Perhaps she was just cold and abrasive in the beginning to those she saw as a threat. The best advice he could give her was this. "I wouldn't take it personally. Words like that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, and one of them could mean she's trying to hurt you. But I don't think that's it."

Rolly listened closely as Lucky told him what he would do if he was in the middle of this situation. "Now if it were ME in this situation, I'd come up with a witty comeback and watch her sulk in the fact that she's not as cool as me." Rolly snickered a bit, loving that particular trait about Lucky. He did have a way with his words. "But since you don't have any chance at actually beating her out verbally, I'd say keep doing your best and don't let her get to you. You clearly love cooking; just take her advice and use her as an example of not letting anyone surpass you."

Rolly thought about the last thing Lucky said in that explanation, and it sounded right. As long as he had a passion for cooking, he couldn't let anyone take it away from him. That was one thing he loved about Lucky. As rude as he could be, he was still a good friend. And he had to smile to that. "Makes sense to me. Thanks Lucky."

"Just ring me up whenever you need my advice dude. I'll always be there." Lucky assured Rolly, which only proved why he was still glad to be in this friend group. As he and Lucky headed down the ladder to hang out with Patch and Two-tone to finish off the night, they started talking about life.

"So how was your date with Two-tone?"

"It went great, and for more than just the food."

Rolly was lying down on his bed late at night as he looked through the cook book Silver gave him after the Signature Dish event. As he looked through it, he saw all kinds of delicious looking meals from Chinese cuisine, a recipe for squid tacos, and so many more. As he was looking through this, he thought about what this course could bring to him. He managed to start a friendship with Inky, but he also gained something of a rival in Elise. He knew that both of them would provide him quite a bit of interesting moments in the journey he'd have in this course.

He then looked over to Lucky and Two-tone, who were snuggling up in bed and all cozy in their blanket. After that, he looked to Patch, who was sucking his thumb while seeming to have a dream about something he was excited for. Rolly was glad that he was starting to get an actual place in the group. One that he could be proud of. Before he was just the fat kid in the group who loved eating and had the occasional joke. But now, he was starting to become his own canine. Someone he could call, Rolly.

Rolly knew that he was going to have a lot of work to do in order to make his role in the group worth it. In spite of that, he was glad to have such supportive friends who were going to be there for him, just as much as they were there for each other. He then closed his book and set it down before snuggling up into his bed, amking sure he was tucked into his blanket. While thinking about his friends and how much they cared about him and were ready to support him, he turned the lamp off, since he had it on for his reading, and went to bed, ending the episode off.

An instrumental version of the main theme played during the credits.