Of all times for condescension, why in the heat of the moment?  The Margrave cast a dubious glance at Messiah as she foolishly attempted to stretch her hand out in front of his view.  As if he were some child that needed to be protected from the sight of violence!  The sight of staggeringly bright light by his dark-adjusted eyes, however, almost sent him reeling.  Yet, his growl of frustration caught in the striker's throat; he could not afford to reveal his exact location now that his general position had been compromised.  With his ally's attack, the battle had become joined.  [i]You do realize this means war?[/i] he found himself wanting to ask, but sarcasm wouldn't do anyone any good at the moment.  Any second now, the Margrave expected to hear the tramp of many footsteps down the tunnel, just begging for a good puncture on his caltrops.

First, he heard the distinctive bellowing of the the enemy boss—the big cheese, the head honcho, the number-one bad: Eyeblight.  Before the villain even finished, the Margrave had already forfeited his composure to give a derisive smirk.  Having little regard for subordinates totally befit a cruel ringleader, and the Margrave could -as an antihero- sympathize with the need to make sacrifices to get the job done, but did this foo truly believe he could capture the Wards?  No bonds could ever dream to restrain him.  He was the smoke to slip between the foe's fingers...or to choke their lungs.  In the Margrave, this Eyeblight would find a formidable opponent indeed.

That said, he did not exactly anticipate the psychopath's unnerving transformation.  Transfixed in fear and fascination, the Margrave witnessed his flesh become straw, his mouth become a jagged opening, and his eyes become portals into a world of nightmares.  A sudden, inexplicable terror, different and far greater than his own surprise, washed over him, and instinctively he recoiled.  The instant he did, he felt some of the horror drain away, but the cold sweat now making his pits, chest, and lower back clammy did not, unfortunately, disappear.  Something clicked in the clever boy's head.  [i]Hypnotism?  It must be!  As long as I do not look into his eyes, I cannot be lulled into a trance.[/i]  So thinking, he turned back and straightened up, but made sure to regard Eyeblight out of the corner of his eye rather than head-on.  Some of the fear returned, but it paled in comparison to what Margrave genuinely felt when the scarecrow used Tulpa's evil spirit as a springboard to charge straight at him.  He gulped, knowing that unfeeling straw would not care much about pointy spikes on the ground.  Some of his horror stemmed also from his conviction that the array of tiny weapons currently in his palm wouldn't work, either.  His only choice was to apply force—a lot of it.

The Margrave's adrenaline kicked in and time seemed to slow down.  From his hand, the bundle of plastic pieces fell, and like a gopher into its hole the and dove into its owner's coat in a desperate quest.   Eyeblight closed the distance at a frankly worrisome pace, and neither Tulpa nor Messiah appeared to be doing anything to help him despite the fact that he was clearly the scarecrow's target.  Rage sparked in his mind.  [i]Trying to get me killed, are you?  Well, I'll show you![/i]  His fingers closed around a single plastic toy pulled off an action figure, special enough to warrant its own pocket.  A wild, near-maniacal grin spread across his features as he whipped it out.  [color=8F9779]”Yes!”[/color] he shouted.  In his hands, the tiny armament grew to full-size in a flash, and Eyeblight would find himself staring down the barrel of a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/MAC10.jpg]Military Armament Corporation Model 10[/url].  [color=8F9779]”Victory to the swiftest!”[/color]

The tunnel lit up with muzzle flash, and over the loud whine of automatic gunfire the Margrave could barely be heard shouting, [color=8F9779]”Ahahah!  This MAC-10 fires a thousand two hundred rounds a minute, but without much penetrating power, you're gonna be blown back to the stone age even if it doesn't rip ya to stuffing!  Consider it the last present you'll ever receive from the brilliant Margrave, Eyebliiiiiiiight!”[/color]