There were many ways I could have reacted to the sudden appearance of my arch-nemesis.

Surprised for one.

Of course, I knew that the Mc'Valium family owned the school, so it only made sense that they would be connected to the Underground.

But Apollo's hatred for the Game, the way he had been involved in destroying it... it just didn't make sense if he was part of the organisation running it.

Anger was another emotion I could have responded with.

I sure was feeling enough of it at the moment, so it would have taken little for me to have thrown one of my usual temper tantrums.

Hell, I could have just gone for the simple "Hi Apollo, long time no see."

Yep.

I pretty much could have done anything at the moment Apollo opened up the dollhouse and warily met my eyes.

What I did do was blink at him.

Turn around.

And shut myself up in the wardrobe.

Ha! How do you like that, World? I play along with your cruel games no longer!

"What are you doing?" Apollo finally asked, and just from the exasperated tone of his voice, I could tell he was dreading the answer.

"Boycotting!" I shouted back, crouching down in the darkness of the wardrobe.

I had had enough. Through everything I had endured lately, I had put on a brave face and dealt with every problem as it came.

This time around, I was not going to even acknowledge the crappy situation I was in, let alone cooperate with it.

Even if it did mean I had to shut myself up in a small dark space.... funnily enough, I was starting to find it didn't bother me as much as before.

Just needed a bit of perspective.

"Idiot." Apollo was usually quick to seethe, his outrage tangible through the closet door. "All hiding in that wardrobe does is make it easier for me to handle you."

A loud thump came....my guess being Apollo flicked the door.

"So?" I called back defiantly.

Look at me. Dominating this argument.

"So you can at least save yourself the humiliation of being carried around in a piece of toy furniture by coming out willingly."

Well, when you put it that way...

"Bite me, Apollo."

From past experience, I was expecting it to take a little bit more bickering before Apollo snapped.

That's why I nearly had a heart attack when the door to my wardrobe was yanked open by a giant pair of fingers.

"I don't have time for you to play princess." My field of vision was consumed by his fingers as they reached into my hiding place and pulled me out by a pinching grip on my arm.

Ow. Ow ow ow. Damnit Ow.

"What is with you and the MANHANDLING?!" I screeched, trying to pull out of the giant's crushing grip on my upper arm.

My struggles served no purpose as I was pulled forward, feet barely touching the ground until I stood at the edge of dollhouse floor.

Apollo removed his hand and glared down at me. Unimpressed, his pale eyes critically studied me from head to toe.

Which brought the fact that I was in a dress right back to mind, front and centre.

Red in the face, I stood stubbornly stiff under his analytical gaze.

"Where are your shoes?"

I opened my mouth to snap an answer, he waved a dismissive hand.

"Doesn't matter." He muttered, stiffly reaching up to the breast pocket of his black suit jacket.

This drew my attention to the fact that, just like me, Apollo was dressed formally.

An elegantly cut suit that managed to make him look slim, instead of just short and scrawny, with a greenish-grey dress shirt underneath. The tie was a lighter green, to match his eyes.

Who knew this kid knew how to colour coordinate...

"Here," Apollo announced in a clipped tone, shoving something at me. I flinched back in surprise before I noticed what exactly Apollo was actually giving to me.

My Jump Boots.

The ones he had stolen that time he abducted me.

Suspicious, I reached forward to take the boots from him, glaring up at him from around the bulk of his hand.

"And I suppose you're just returning these out of the kindness of your heart?" I bent over to pull on the boots, sarcasm doing little to lessen the awkwardness of the situation.

Stupid dress not helping here...

"Or is this just some sort of mind game you Underground people like to play?"

"Shut up." He hissed, his green eyes suddenly fuming and his expression tight. "Mouthing off like you have any idea what's going on just makes you sound stupid."

Yikes. Someone's obviously going through a rough puberty.

His snarly tone made me draw myself up angrily, fist tightening at my sides.

I'm stupid, am I? Well, I might as well stick to what I'm good at then.

Jaw clenching in fury, I opened my mouth to snap something at him, only to have my attention caught by the door in the far off distance.

I froze in shock, taking a hesitant step back.

Panic crossed Apollo's face, and he reacted without really thinking it through, shifting slightly to look behind him.

To see nothing there.

Ha, couldn't have been easier even if I screamed "Look! A UFO!"

Apollo had said that misdirection doesn't work on him. Guess that only applies to when he's expecting it.

Or not terrified of what could be at the door.

I paid Apollo's worrying expression little thought as I leapt out of the dollhouse, landing lightly on the floorboards near his crossed legs.

I didn't have time to celebrate.

Apollo was fast, smart, and not inclined to treat me gently. Every second was precious.

Lifting the hem of my dress, I sprinted off across the carpet, before Apollo even realised I had moved.

When he did though, he swore so violently I nearly missed a step.

Noise exploded behind me as Apollo leapt forward in pursuit, just the sound of it makes me want to shrivel into a shaking ball of apologies.

Having someone that huge and overpowering coming after you was certainly not something for the faint-hearted.

Instead of looking back on what could possibly be the death of me, I let the ancient instincts of the cockroach take over, leading me towards a giant, normal person-sized wardrobe.

Time for round two.

It was a narrow fit, even for me, but by diving down and rolling, I managed to get smoothly under the heavy furniture.

The moment I did, the floor beneath me shook violently, and there came an ear-splitting sound similar to thunder as Apollo crashed to the floor.

The tips of giant fingers briefly brushed my back as I continued to roll deeper into the darkness.

To close.

"Tramph!" Apollo growled, but I didn't stop, not until I was far out of arms-reach.

Under the wardrobe, I had just enough room to sit, and I did so, trembling as I continued to back away.

My heart felt ready to burst out of my chest, and I couldn't quite get ahold on my panicked breathing as I finally pressed my back against the wall.

On the other side, the dark shape that was Apollo peered under the wardrobe. I doubted that he could see me well in this darkness, but the knowledge that he was looking still made my skin crawl.

"Come out." He hissed, his voice dripping with fury. "If you force me to drag you out from under there, I'll make sure you regret it."

I didn't reply, completely unable to find my voice as I fought to breathe.

Something was wrong. This was all wrong.

The only time I had seen Apollo act even remotely like this was when he found out about Robin being the Ace.

He was angry, ruthless, and scaring the crap out of me.

"Maddison!" He snarled once more, and I nearly whimpered at the pure loathing in his voice. As he continued to curse and threaten, I curled up and ignored him.

This wasn't like the first time I had curled up in the wardrobe to be difficult.

Now, I was just hiding.