Once again, another one of Marcel's scary, brash attitudes.

While we're fighting the Kraang in an alley, we all figure out how ruthless of a fighter Ivan can be. He can split a Kraang droid in half with one Iron Tail! As you all know, Ivan is the friendly Luxray I met the other day. About a week or so ago. He's made a type of bond with each of the turtles, Splinter, Kijani, and my Pokémon.

But it was Leonardo that we're worried about.

I think he's developing a crush on Karai. And since then, I've been kinda avoiding him. I haven't spoken to him much, either. I want to hang out with him again, but after he said that he hated me? To my face? How can I handle something like that? And let's not forget the death threat from Karai the last time I saw her.

And to add on, what if Karai hurts him? I've seen her skills compared to mine, as far as fighting and Pokémon battles go. But I have a Charmeleon and an Eevee. All Karai has is a Liepard. I mean, what can Liepard do that Charmeleon can't? Other then learn Shadow Ball. Don't know.

Maybe Leonardo likes the dangerous type. My fighting style is dangerous, me being a tiger, but it's starting to occur to me that the dangerousness of a mutant tiger isn't enough. I haven't entirely forgiven Leonardo, but enough so I wasn't mad at him.

The only thing Leonardo keeps talking about is Karai. Karai this, Karai that, Karai, Karai, Karai, Karai! He barely asks about me! Not that nobody asks about me. Pātonā, it's almost like he's been stalking Leonardo ever since Ivan came to stay with us. Now he flat out doesn't trust Leonardo.

And, to be honest, neither do I. Come to think of it, when Pātonā said the same thing I told Leonardo when we first met Leatherhead, that he wasn't fit to be leader, Pātonā did not apologize. Didn't even think about it.

Oh, and about that Fire Stone necklace I told you about? It's as good as new.

I'm leaning against a building, arms and legs crossed. Doing what I can to avoid eye contact, specifically with Leonardo. I just don't trust him right now. Don't think I didn't see Karai watching us!

"Hey, are you okay?" I hear Leonardo ask me. Great. Now I have to tell him. "Why do you care?" I spat. "Because I do." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. That sentence ticks me off.

"Really?" I ask. "Can Leonardo and I be alone, please?" Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Pātonā, and Ivan turn and walk away, leaving the two of us alone. Furious, I whirl around and pin Leonardo against the wall. Charmeleon hides in fear. "Ow! What was that for?" He asks angrily.

"You knew the Foot was watching us!" I bark at him. He immediately knows what I'm talking about. "Not the Foot! Karai!" He retorts. I hiss at him. "Karai is the Foot, you idiot!" He struggles to escape my grip. "Stop moving!"

"Why are you acting like this?" Leonardo asks me. "Why? First off, you knew she was watching us with that crony of hers, and all you did was show off! And what about me, huh? Do you even care about me?"

"Of course I care about you! And I was just showing how formidable we are. I knew they weren't gonna attack us!" I sneered at him. "No. You were showing how formidable you were. Testified!" I growled.

Silence.

I take a deep breath before speaking again. "Infatuate yourself with a girl and you forget how things work. Well, let me explain it to you. You don't flirt with the enemy, you take them down. And I'll have you know that I've been nothing but an emotional mess this past week. My sparring is turning into mauling, I'm setting things on fire, and I thrash myself to sleep at night!" I yell at him. "But all you care about is Karai! If this doesn't stop, I'll go crazy! You want that!?"

"N-no..." Leonardo trails off, taking in everything I said. But something inside him snapped. "No, you're wrong about her! She has a good side! Look, I know what I'm doing! You're gonna have to trust me!"

Wow... Just wow. I don't think I've ever been so angry in my life. I was so close to scratching Leonardo, after I roared in his traitorous face. I'm so angry, I can't even calm myself down. My breath and body is shaking. I'm ready to cry out of anger.

"You must be the biggest traitor I've ever met." I hiss at him. "I'm not a traitor-"

"Yes you are! You care more about Karai than your own family! She's all you've been talking about! You wonder why I haven't been talking to you all week!" Leonardo glares at me. "You think you know everything, why don't you come with me and see that I'm right?"

"I'm not taking a walk with a traitor like you! I'd rather die at the Shredder's hands!" Leonardo gasps at this. I'm not done yet. "You've learned nothing from what happened last time we saw Karai. I bet you haven't even told the others yet, right?" I don't get an answer. "Just as I thought. You don't trust your own family. Or your own friend."

"It not that I don't trust you guys, but..." Leonardo trails off again.

"Yeah, right! If you trusted us, you would have told us! Seriously, Leonardo, you really are the worst leader ever! The worst!" Leonardo freezes. I grab him by the plastron. "Now, you'd better listen to me. And don't you forget. You're a liar, a traitor, and I hate your guts, and until you get your act together, I don't think I wanna see you again!" I push him, landing on his rear.

So now I know how Leatherhead feels. "I'm done with you, Leonardo."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I want nothing to do with you anymore. I'm going to find the Pokémon that raised me. After all, I have no brother as of now. Never have, and probably never will." Leonardo looks at me in disbelief and shock. "I've been extremely forgivable up until now. But this time, you've crossed the line. I'm through with you, Leonardo." I walk away without another word.

Ivan's POV

Well, isn't this nice.

Not only did Leonardo go rogue on us, but he just got told off by Marcel. Don't get me wrong, Marcel has every right to be mad at Leonardo, but he just took his temper out on him. We were lucky Pātonā didn't get involved.

I don't really think it's necessary for Marcel to go back to his old life, whatever that means. Maybe I should try to talk to him. He's not going to talk to Leonardo, that's for sure.

But on the other hand, Leonardo looks heartbroken. Almost as if the love of his life just dumped him. He pretty much lost his best friend. Again. Now Marcel hates him, and not the other way around.

In a way, I'm mad at Leonardo, too. "I'll go talk to him. But Leonardo, I'm sure this isn't how Splinter raised you." I said to him calmly. "I'm thoroughly disappointed in you."

I find Marcel having a face off with... Karai. I growl. What could she possibly want this time?

"Where's your Luxray?" She asks him. "None of your damn business." Marcel answers, ticked off. "Oh, foul mouthed today, are we?" I see what she's trying to do. She's teasing him. "I don't usually curse, but when I do, it's only when I'm angry at unbelievable levels. And it's normally for a good reason."

"And what is that reason, if I may ask?"

Marcel gives Karai the hardest glare I've ever seen, and that's saying something. "I want you to stay away from Leonardo. Stay away from my Luxray. Stay away from my friends. I will not warn you twice."

"Is that supposed to be a warning?"

"I know you're not scared of me. And I'm not scared of you. But you will be if you don't heed my warning. Because if you don't, then you'll have to give me a good reason why I shouldn't turn you inside out. Get the picture?"

"I thought you didn't care about them anymore."

"I don't care about one of them anymore. I hate his guts, but I don't want him dead. And I'll protect him from you if I have to."

"So you do care about him?"

"A little. Point being, stay away from me and my friends, or you might not see the light of another day. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Now shove off before I really get angry." Karai was strangely obedient as she left. He was surprisingly calm while he was talking to Karai. At least he doesn't have a crush on her. He already has a girlfriend.

"Are you feeling any better now that you've talked to someone?" I ask, revealing myself. Marcel turns to me. "Kinda, yeah. I guess she did your job for me. But I still don't trust her."

"I don't blame you one bit. Neither do I. But cut Leonardo some slack, will you? He's trying not to think about Karai all the time."

"How do you know? Did you talk to him?"

"I did. He said he thinks about you and everyone else. He just talks about Karai when he's around you, I have no idea why."

"And why didn't he tell me?"

"Please don't get mad at me, but he said that you wouldn't understand."

Again, Marcel keeps his cool. "What wouldn't I understand?"

"That what I told him. You're the most trusted member of the team, and yet here we are."

Marcel takes a deep breath. "You can't just avoid him all the time. But he's not the first one to make a fool of himself over a girl. Right?" I ask him.

"I'll be honest with you, yes. I try not to swoon over Cyrus, and I try not to look or act cool just to make myself more attractive. She already knows I'm attractive. And she can tell if I'm lying to her."

"Have you ever lied to her?"

"Only once. I told her I could perform Misty Terrain, I really couldn't. I ended up performing Grassy Terrain. She wasn't mad at me, but she wasn't entirely happy, either. She forgave me, though."

"Good, good. You have a good soul. You never try to hurt anyone, you rarely lie to anyone, and you try to keep your anger issues under control, especially in times like this."

"I'm glad you understand."

"Do you think you're ready to go back?"

"No, I don't think I am. I just need time to calm down. I'm angry, no, furious, with Leonardo still."

Marcel's POV

We've been sitting out here for hours, and I can't get over my anger with Leonardo. He's being a selfish idiot! How can I forgive him for that? Will I forgive him for that? Should I? My mind's all discombobulated now, I can't think straight! My head's already hurting as it is!

Ivan was kind enough to come find me, and we talked after I gave Karai my warning. But I don't trust her. I gotta do something or my head might explode. Figuratively speaking. Maybe I can sing something that fits my current situation.

Where is the moment I needed the most?

I kick up the leaves, and the magic is lost,

They tell me my blue sky's faded to gray, they tell me my passion's gone away,

And I don't need no carrying on,

I'm starting to feel a bit better. Slowly, my anger dies down. I can feel my tenseness dissipate.

I stand in the line just to hit a new low,

I'm faking a smile with the coffee to go,

They tell me my life's been way off line, I'm falling to pieces every time,

And I don't need no carrying on,

I tap my foot to the beat of the music. Now I'm really starting to feel better. Ivan walks beside me, knowing what I was singing, and joins in.

'Cause I/you had a bad day, I'm/you're taking one down,

I/you sing a sad song just to turn it around,

He says I/you don't know, He tells me/you "don't lie",

I/you work at a smile, and I/you go for a ride,

I/you had a bad day, the camera don't lie,

I'm/you're coming back down, and I/you really don't mind,

I/you had a bad day, I/you had a bad day.

I'm not sure where I am now. I was lost in song. But rest assured, I feel so much better. "You know, that's a great way to calm yourself down. Did you come up with that?" Ivan asks me.

"Kind of. I sing whenever I want to, but it helps when I'm bored or angry."

"I absolutely love your voice. It's amazing."

"Same thing to you. You sounded like you could sing. Anyway, I can't believe I'm saiding this, but I think I'm ready to talk to Leonardo."

"That's good to hear."

A cry from an Eevee interrupts our conversation. I look to see my Eevee running to us. He stops in front of me, panting. "I got here as fast as I could." Eevee said, still panting.

"What's the rush? Is something wrong?"

"Yes. The team needs your help. They're fighting the Kraang. I should probably tell you that this Karai person and her Liepard was with them."

If they need my help, it's only fair that I help them. I just wish I knew sooner. I feel a lot guilty for leaving now. Especially after telling Leonardo off. I'll give him a chance to make amends with me, but I can't fully forgive him yet. "Where are they?"

I have absolutely no idea where we are. All I know is, the turtles are fighting some kind of octopus thing. It was cute for a second, but then it turns, um, not cute. The turtles are cornered. I'll bet they wish I was here.

Well, their wish already came true.

Ivan roars and uses Iron Tail on the octopus's head. Okay, this might be the most heartless thing I've ever done. But I can't sit here and watch their defeat.

I focus myself, cloaking myself in fire. I'm hoping they're bracing themselves. I'm about to use Eruption. It's an extremely powerful Fire type move that hits all opponents. May inflict a burn. The attack leaves a hole in the ceiling, several balls of fire flying everywhere, and, well, all you could see was fire.

The octopus notices me, and so do the turtles. They're ecstatic to see me. But I'm not finished here.

I growl at the octopus, ready to use a move called Magma Storm. It's a Fire type move that can only be learned by Heatran. The target is trapped in a maelstrom of fire for about four to five turns. Not as powerful as Eruption.

"Guys, get out of here, NOW!" I order, the fire in the room spreading like wildfire. "But what about you?" Donatello asks urgently. "Don't worry about me! Just go!" Reluctantly, they did exactly what to told them to do. Ivan had to go with them, since he'd be incinerated if he stayed. I have fireproof fur.

After making sure the giant octopus wasn't going anywhere, I ran as fast as I could, escaping before something explodes. I'm only about a mile away from the premises when it explodes. I'm panting for air. And at the same time, I'm relieved that I made it out in time. I mean, even if I didn't, I'd live. It's just fire. Not sure about Charmeleon, but..

Anyway, I look everywhere, but the turtles are nowhere to be seen. Must've gone back to the lair. But Ivan sticks around in case I came out alive. He was relieved, too. He pretty much pounces me happily, and I just give him a hug. His tail is wagging like crazy.

"You're okay!" He said happily. "Where are the boys?" I ask him. "They went back to the lair. And they're worried sick about you."

"Aw, geez. I'll bet they think I'm dead."

I was, sorta right.

I came in to find Leonardo hopping on one foot. Splinter must've jabbed him with his cane. Poor guy. But he kinda deserves it.

The boys, and April, notice me and are happy to see me again. Leonardo rushes for me and tackles me for a hug. Not caring about the fact that I was mad at him earlier today, I return his hug tightly. He groans happily, giving me a squeeze before patting my back. "You're okay."

"I am now." I said as we separate. I give his a serious look with a raised eyebrow. "Did you learn your lesson about Karai?" I ask him. "Yup." He said with no hesitation. "Good." I respond, patting his shoulder. "How much did I miss while I was gone?"

"Well, after you left, Leonardo and Raphael were sparring, discussing the same thing you were. A while later, April has a bit of a robot problem." Pātonā explains. "Then the Kraang, Karai and her Liepard were getting on my nerves, the octopus thing appeared, you and Ivan showed up and saved our hides, and that's about it."

"Aw, man, I missed all the action. Oh well. At least Ivan and I showed up in time to save everyone." I said, sad that I missed the action. Leonardo hugs me around the neck.

I chuckle darkly. Leonardo has no idea I'm sitting in his room. And I can hear him and Raphael talking to each other. "I'm glad you came to your senses, bro." Raphael said. My tail wags. "You were right. I don't know what I was thinking. Besides, I already have an awesome friend that... you know," Leonardo said. Is he talking about me?

"I can see why you think Karai's hot," Raphael grins, crossing his arms. "In an, evil kind of way." I fake vomit. Too much information.

"Yeah, well, don't worry. I am so over that. I'm actually gonna talk to Marcel right now and sort this out,"

I back away, stumbling on something. Did I hear what I thought I heard? Leonardo wants to make amends with me? Odd. I was gonna ask him first. But even if so, I can't help but think that he hates me. After what I said to him. He looked broken-hearted when I left him there in the alley.

"I know you're in there."

Leonardo's playful tone of voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I look over at him. He's standing in the doorway. Tears are threatening to fall from my eyes. I turn away from him. He probably hates me. I'm ready for him to start yelling or something.

He sits down next to me, and I'm trying not to cry in front of him. I feel a hand on my shoulder, but I refuse to turn my head. "Are you okay?" He asks me. I don't answer him at first. "No. Not at all." I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What's the matter?"

I open my eyes, but to my annoyance, tears fall. "Do you hate me?" I ask him. His eyes widen. "No, of course not. Why?"

"I feel terrible for screaming at you earlier. I don't think you're a bad leader, I don't hate you! And I especially don't think you're a traitor. I was never so angry in my life, and I thought I had my temper under control, and-"

Leonardo shuts me up by hugging me. Tight. "Please, don't be sorry. I was being selfish."

"Selfish wasn't really the word for it, was it?"

"No... You had every right to be mad at me... And I wanna make it up to you. If you'll let me." Leonardo takes my hand into his. Now I turn my head.

I take a deep breath. "Leonardo..."

"Go ahead. I'm ready." He said, expecting the worst. Think again.

"I'll let you. I wanna make up, too."

Leonardo reacts like he was about to have a heart attack. "You do?"

"Yes. I knew you'd come through. I do trust you. And being mad at you hurt me on the inside like you wouldn't believe. I don't care if turtles and tigers have little to nothing in common. And I'm sorry too. I don't hate you. I never have." I can't take it anymore. I hug him with every ounce of strength I have. Leonardo, the happiest guy in the lair right now, returns my hug.

I would be crying right now, but I had something else in mind. We pull away, and I can see the happy look on his face. "Thank you."

Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" does not belong to me.