Zahn Und Klaue

Fandom Notes

This page is meant to provide those unfamiliar with the video game upon which this story is based with a background summary along with an introduction to some of its unique cast of characters.

"Killer Instinct" is the name of a fighting game series created by Rare Limited, also known as Rare or Rareware, a UK-based studio who are also responsible for games such as "Donkey Kong Country", "Banjo-Kazooey", "GoldenEye 007", "Perfect Dark" and "Conker's Bad Fur Day", along with various other legendary titles. Created in 1994, "Killer Instinct" took its cues from the likes of "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat" but had made its own distinct mark on the genre with its pre-rendered graphic style and FMVs (Full Motion Videos), which were considered revolutionary for the time. Combined with its dark presentation, its memorable cast of characters, a rich soundtrack, sound system and a bombastic announcer along with its unique gameplay and fast-paced combat, KI was one of the very few games in the genre to be able  to stand out from its numerous peers. 

In terms of the game's story, I'll let the game's manual speak for itself:

"Prologue: 

A wind-swept battlefield of the distant past, littered with the debris of war. 

Above the moans and cries of the defeated can still be heard the clashing sounds of a single titanic confrontation. 

Two great warlords, leaders of their now smashed armies, are locked in battle, with the world itself as the prize. 

But this epic battle is not to have a conclusion. 

Suddenly, the warlords were engulfed in a nimbus of light, and vanished from the face of the earth, banished to the realm of Limbo. 

The battle-weary heroes whose spell had trapped the warlords heaved a sigh of relief. 

Armageddon had been averted, for now.

The Future: 

The world has seen much progress in the centuries since the warlords were banished, not all of it for good. 

Pollution has weakened the environment. 

Governments have fallen. 

Chaos rules, with huge mega-corporations battling and destroying each other for shares of the world's wealth.

In this bleak world, a single corporation, Ultratech, rises above the others. 

Rather than joining in direct battles with their competitors, Ultratech has profited from their suffering by selling them the very weapons they use against each other. 

Sales of weaponry are not the only source of profit for Ultratech, however. Their entertainment division produces the top rated television broadcast of the future, the Killer Instinct tournament, which also serves as a testing ground for Ultratech's weapons. 

The winners of the tournament are promised whatever they desire. 

The losers suffer a significantly poorer fate.

It is into this bloody contest that our heroes have been drawn. T. J. Combo, disgraced heavyweight champion of the world who seeks redemption. Glacius, a captured alien fighting for his life and a chance to escape. And the deadly robot Fulgore, programmed by Ultratech with a Killer Instinct and the freedom to use it. Each fights for his or her own reasons, but each has the same goal: win the tournament and destroy all opponents.

It will take more than radical moves and deadly special attacks to win this tournament. It will take a will, a desire; it will take a Killer Instinct."

The Characters:

"Black Orchid, also known as B. Orchid (or just Orchid), is a secret agent sent by an unknown group to investigate the mysterious disappearances that surround the Killer Instinct tournament. Her true identity and abilities are shrouded in mystery.

Chief Thunder is a mystical defender of the Native American people. He enters the Killer Instinct tournament to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of his brother, Eagle, in the previous year's tournament.


Cinder, real name Ben Ferris, was a convicted criminal who agreed to participate in Ultratech's chemical weapons tests in exchange for early parole. A failed experiment turned him into a being of living flame. He has now been offered freedom if he can defeat Glacius in the Killer Instinct tournament.


Eyedol is Ultratech's trump card. He is one of the two great warlords who were trapped in Limbo by the humans years ago. Ultratech's scientists snatched him out of Limbo to do battle with the finalist of this year's Killer Instinct tournament. Little did they realize what kind of power they were releasing when they set Eyedol free from his magical prison...

Fulgore is a prototype cybernetic soldier developed by Ultratech company. This cyborg entered into the Killer Instinct tournament as a final test of its combat capabilities.

Glacius is an icy alien being from a distant planet. When his spaceship crash-landed on Earth, he was captured by Ultratech. Hoping to prove these alien beings to be inferior, Ultratech forces him to fight for his life in the Killer Instinct tournament.

Jago is a mysterious warrior monk from a remote region of Tibet. Guided by the powerful Tiger Spirit to seek his destiny, he has been led to the Killer Instinct tournament to destroy the evil within.

Baron Von Sabrewulf is a European patrician afflicted with the rare disease, Lycanthropy. Although the werewolf has spent most of his life as a recluse, he enters the Killer Instinct tournament on the promises of being given a cure by Ultratech if he emerges victorious.

Spinal is a skeleton whose origin is a closely guarded secret of Ultratech. A secret branch of the corporation, using a variety of special techniques such as cell regeneration, have succeeded in reviving an ancient warrior. With only vague memories of his past life, Spinal knows how to do only one thing: fight.

T.J. Combo was once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for five years straight. He was stripped of his title for the brutal methods of punishing opponents after it was discovered that he had illegal cybernetically-enhanced arms. He now fights to regain his fame and fortune.


Riptor is a product of Ultratech's DNA manipulation projects. By splicing human and reptilian genes, they have created a fighting creature with animal ferocity and human intelligence. Should she succeed, more of her will be created."

A sequel, "Killer Instinct 2", was released in arcades in 1996, while ports for the two games were released for the Super-Nintendo, Gameboy and N64 before the series underwent a twenty year-long hiatus before finally being rebooted in 2013 for the Xbox One. Two comic book series, one published by the now-defunct Acclaim Comics and another more recent series by Dynamite, had been released. A sequel has yet to be announced, leaving the series' fate uncertain at this moment. 

In terms of the title for the story, the title is German for "Tooth and Claw", which is a reference to Sabrewulf's theme:

I hope you all enjoy this story! :)