Frederich backs up a step, but Kay simply furrows her brow, raises her axe and charges. They may share a level, but, at least in her mind, they are still simply a collection of vulnerable individuals. Fred, however, immediately sees the danger, an obvious danger that the naked mouse would have recognized were she a little more concerned with self preservation. Even charging a single spear user is incredibly dangerous, but many? That borders on suicidal. She similarly seems to realize the problem at the last possible moment, her own weapon being long but not enough to overcome the reach advantage of the spears. She blocks three which are thrust in unison towards her, but as large as her weapon is, it can only guard so much of her body at once. It's up to Frederich to dive in, parrying another two with his shield before they both leap back out of range. At least out of range for the moment, as the bizarre tower of rats advances steadily towards them.

"It is not too late to surrender." the rat at the peak smirks. "It would hardly be reasonable for me to condemn a foolish species for acting like fools. Hand over the key to us, and all will be forgiven."

Both of the front-line fighters glare at him, while Mia instead smiles back. "Sorry. You said it yourself: We're fools at heart." she adds, speaking now to both Frederich and Kay. "Go around to the sides! They only have so many spears and can't focus all of them on every direction at once!"

A rather obvious bit of advice, perhaps, but with Kay focused entirely on the treasure and Frederich intimidated by the sheer numbers, it gives both of them a much needed sense of perspective. Kay circles around to the left, Fred to the right, both, for the moment at least, remaining outside of the range of the spears. As for Mia, she has little faith in her ability to deflect even a single spear with her staff, and thus has no intention of getting close. Instead, she chants an incantation under her breath, raises her staff and launches a dozen tiny globes of light towards the 'king', or at least the one with the crown, as he seemed as good a target as any, and well out of reach of both Kay's axe and Frederich's sword.

It wasn't so long ago when they were simply orbs of condensed light, bearing some degree of heat within them, but far from a proper weapon. A lot has changed since then, however. Battles with the fiends, general exploration, increased practice with manipulating the strange arcane energies, and her increased level, as vague as exactly what such a thing entails might be, undeniably boosted their power. Even against a powerful rat, they were bound to inflict significant damage, something even the spokesperson of the king clearly realized. He ducks down, while simultaneously the four retainers just beneath him, shieldmaidens all, raised their guards forming a sort of phalanx about him, the balls of energy bursting in an impressive display which ultimately caused little damage against the barriers.

As for Frederich, he is unquestionably in a vulnerable position, ducking and weaving in and out of range of the many spears but unable to even come close to closing the distance to an extent his sword would prove useful. Kay had things significantly easier. The spears still had increased range, and there were also obviously more of them than there were of her, but her large weapon proved quite effective. Actually moving in close enough to land a severe blow still proved virtually impossible, but she could guard herself and even managed to break the spear of one of her attackers, sidestepping the thrust, bringing down the axe blade across the wooden shaft.

"The one with the axe is strong! Move in, corner her against the wall, and strike without mercy!" one of the armored shield maidens calls. A sensible tactic. Even with how aggressively Kay fights, she still needs to time her efforts carefully, and spending any time within range of the many spears will be deadly. If they can back her into the side of the arena, she'll have nowhere to escape to, and would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. There is just one little problem with this theory.

"What axe? What are you talking about?" one of the bottom rats asks. This particular rat was around the back of the group, and lacked a proper view of any of the attackers.

"Grrr! She's right there! Over on the side!" the shieldmaiden growls, pointing a paw angrily at the naked mouse.

"What side?" a completely different rat, this one facing Frederich asks. "I think she means behind us!" another chimes in, this one facing Mia. "What, behind me?" the first rat asks. The mobile rat palace, the rat king itself stopped entirely, only a few of the chained rats at the bottom knowing where they were supposed to go, still others quite confident yet wrong, and most of them simply crippled by indecision.

Mia smiles wider still. The formation may look quite intimidating, but the weaknesses of it are growing all the more apparent. "They can't maneuver well! Just keep moving and stay out of their range and we can win this!"

"Don't be so sure! Ha!" one of the knights facing the small sorceress calls, launching his spear towards her. She lets out a frightened squeak, diving to the side onto her stomach with little grace, but it still proved a considerably better outcome than being skewered. "Ha! Ha, ha... heh..." the knight laughs as the spear strikes the earth she once stood, but his laughter quickly fades as it looks down at its bare paws. "Hey, give me your spear!" it grumbles to his neighbour.

"No way! I need it!" the rat next to him growls, clutching it to their chest.

Meanwhile, the rat at the peak buries his head in his palm. "You fools... knights, don't squander your weapons! Maidens, maintain your guard! And you, peons, start working as a unit! We are the king, not some random collection of vermin! How can't you handle even the most basic of movements?"

"Hey, it's hard! I've got a very limited field of view, here!" one of the rats on all fours, supporting the remainder of the king calls up.

"You know, this would be a lot easier without these shackles... do we really have to wear them?" a feminine voice asks, looking down at the joined metal bracelets about her wrists.

"Of course! It's tradition!" a shield maiden calls down.

"Hey, I'm just saying, if our job is to move all of us around, if feels like anything that reduces our mobility is needlessly impractical." the female rat calls back.

"I've been wearing these for months now, way longer than you! If the young folks can go around unchained, that means all the time I spent locked up will be for nothing! I won't have it!" another lower rat snarls, although they are inconveniently on the complete opposite side of the original chained female speaker, which made the debate a lot less personalized.

"Yeah, I'm tired of these lazy upstarts trying to undermine all of our hard work! Why, in my day, the shackles were twice as heavy and lined with broken glass, just to help you keep your mind on your business!" another low voice calls.

"You liar! You're younger than me!" the female voice again calls.

"That doesn't mean we weren't born different days!" the low voice responds. "And my days were way tougher than your lazy ones!"

A chorus of bitter arguments erupts on both sides of the matter, half insisting that the shackles were unnecessary, half appalled by the idea of getting rid of them, and a few passionately debating whether it makes them look sexier, an idea rather alien to the mice, but one which the rats were very much conscious of. Speaking of the mice, now would be an excellent time to strike while the rat king argued amongst itself, but instead the three simply stand, stunned, even the normally overly focused Kay having little idea of what to make of this.

"Friends, stop!" the rat at the peak calls out in a booming voice. "Cease these petty squabbles! Within this kingdom, we are all equals... the protectors, the strikers, the movers, we all serve the greater good in our own way, all of our efforts essential. We of the higher levels greatly value and appreciate the constant exertions you peons endure..."

"We kind of prefer 'peasants'..." the feminine rat calls back up.

"Yes, fine, we greatly appreciate the work you peasants put forth, and recognize that without your hard work and the solid foundation you offer, none of this would be possible. Those chains represent your iron will, the mighty spirit which must be bound and harnessed for the greater good of our mighty society. The constant reminder that civilization requires sacrifice, a loss of freedom for the greater good of all involved, for only then, when we truly work together, are we at our strongest! Only then can we all truly be kings!" the rat at the peak announces, every tattered ear perks up to take in the royal decree.

"Yeah, that's right!" a spearman smirks, stepping forward, pressing his foot down on the head or the rat girl. "We're all equals here, so you peasants had better remember your place and do your jobs right!"

"Hey, leave my sister alone!" the lowest rat next to her growls, tackling the knight, which causes a multitude of problems when one considers the fact the other guard stands on his back.

"I thought I was your sister?" another rat at the other side calls, which leads to another extensive debate about exactly who is related to whom, half the peasants wrestling with the knights above them, and as a result leaving the entire four-level tower that makes up the rat king teetering on the brink of collapse. With the formerly impregnable fortress of rat flesh finally revealing its vulnerabilities, it is finally time to strike. Striking the foundation would have been the best approach, but, in truth, Mia kind of felt bad for them, instead hurling another barrage of magical energies towards the knights and the shield bearers. The perpetually wet fur of the the rats didn't ignite, and the burst of heat is far from lethal, but it is more than enough to amplify an already chaotic situation. While the peasants are trying to maintain the balance, at least those who aren't fighting, the knights are shielding their eyes and trying to pat down the sparks which rain down from the bursting magical orbs. The shield bearers largely succeed in guarding themselves from it, but are so focused on the spell that they havn't even noticed an armored mouse rush up towards them, using the pile of rats like a sort of staircase, leaping into the air and striking down hard with his sword.

All four of the maidens united, overlapping their shields to endure that the surprisingly powerful strike which left the first shield cracked and on the verge of breaking. Still, they held off the strike, grinning triumphantly, ready to counter at the smaller creature who is now within arms reach. With all their shields facing in one direction, however, that left none on the other. The leader, the rat at the peak dressed as the king, a symbol of the entire rat king collective looked up just in time to see a determined mouse with cream colored fur, twisted and unnatural eyes and a huge, deadly looking axe leaping up at him, sweeping the weapon down in a terrible, lethal arc.

He dives out of the way, at least as far as he can with his constrained tail. He isn't the only one, either. Rats may have lower levels of technology, but their survival instincts are top notch, and whether ruler, shield maiden, knight or peasant, even without looking, they all sense the deadly strike coming and pull away as best they can. The pile of rats parting, Kay didn't manage to strike a single one of them, but simultaneously struck every single one as the blade of the axe slammed down into the center of the rats, the core, the solidified mass of matter which may once had been an identifiable material but now defied all logical description, the hardened, foul smelling substance which locked the tails of so many of the rats together into the entity known as the rat king.

And thus, with a burst of force, the rats were all launched in different directions, tumbling onto the wet earth of the area, looking about with shock and confusion.

"Freedom! Horrible, horrible freedom!" the female peasant cries out, gripping the gnarled tip of her tail in her bald fingers, a general reaction held by all the former citizens of the rat king. Sure, they still have the numbers advantage, and if anything, they have far more mobility now. In theory, the mice are still in terrible danger, but in reality? The many rats can only stare at their weapons, as though they have no idea of how to use them. Their sense of unity is broken, and the battle has come to an end. The rat king has been destroyed.

Even the crowned and robed rat, who once stood at the peak, can only look about in confusion, barely able to make sense of the situation. What he does make sense of, however, is the two spiked prongs at the end of Kay's axe, pointed directly at his eyes. He can't muster any threats or complaints or even words. Although surrounded by his brethren, he feels completely alone, vulnerable and defenseless. He looks into the strange, monstrous eyes, a sight which didn't intimidate him in the least from the top of his tower but now looks so dark, so empty, so hateful. With a bald, shaking hand he lifts the key from his robe, holding it out towards the naked mouse, who takes it without hesitation.

Time passes in silence. The three mouse invaders had already left, but still the rats, both those formerly part of the king and those of the coliseum audience look to one another with confusion, not angry or scared, just mystified.

"It's... all over." the former head of the king finally says, head bowed, on his knees.

"No!" the peasant girl, still in shackles and metal collar says, a paw rested on his robed shoulder. "We'll find more sticky stuff, put our tails back together and then we can be the unstoppable king once again!"

The leader looks to her with wide eyes, giving it a moments thought before shaking his head. "No... it won't be the same."

"Maybe not. Maybe we can make something even better." she grins to him, looking about at her compatriots, their former squabbles completely forgotten. Even the former spokesperson can't help returning the optimistic smile. There's another long pause before she asks. "Hey, can I be on the top this time?"

A considerably briefer pause, with the former head finally saying. "No."

The peasant girl frowns but doesn't argue or complain. Leadership does sound like an awful lot of responsibility, after all, and she knows, deep down, that she'd never really be suited to a life without shackles anyways. Like so many rats, she was just too kinky for that.

Meanwhile, the three mice have wasted no time in leaving. They were still significantly outnumbered, after all, and feared that at any time the rats would realize it and attack. Even as they worked their way through the tunnels, they regularly spot gleaming eyes in the side passages. The eyes which formerly looked amused by the novelty of the intruders, however, now look anxious. These eyes would watch them for a little bit, assessing them before ultimately deciding that anyone powerful enough to defeat the king isn't worth dealing with, and vanish back into their respective chambers.

"It feels like there was some sort of moral or social commentary to be learned back there..." Frederich says as they continue their quickened pace.

"If so, I imagine it was pretty muddled at best." Mia replies.

As for Kay, where could her attention be if not locked on the newly obtained key? It's a miracle she doesn't trip or fall as they speed through the gloomy tunnels, but even as her eyes are locked on the bright blue metal object, it is as though her body instinctively knows where to go. Out through the tunnels that serve as the home of the rats, out through the structure of pipes and other strange devices. Back out into the wide open world, and straight towards the final treasure.