Thunderjaw Heart - Horizon Zero Dawn Fanfiction

Blueish ribs

Aloy had no idea how long she had remained unconscious but a sharp pain in her ribs woke her up. Looking down, she saw a huge bruise covering the upper side of her belly.
She growled and sat down, placing a hand on her forehead. And then the first thought appeared :

Where am I ?

She instantly changed her position, adopting a more defensive one. Looking around, she understood she was in a kind of prison cell, with four walls and a stone door.
It was just her and the dust covering the ground.
Trying to understand where the cultists took her, she placed a hand over her focus to turn it on.
It wasn't here anymore, just like her whole gear.

Predictable, she thought.

She examined the door and tried to open it but it didn't even more.

Predictable as well...

She calmed her breath and focused on her other senses. After closing her eyes, she was able to hear a distinct noise, quite close but quite muffled as well. It was a cheering crowd. Where the hell was she ?
She sat against the wall and crossed her arms, deciding to wait until someone would come for her.

And it happened a minute later.
But she was not expecting this.

The woman with pink hair was accompanied by two guards and another person that Aloy wasn't able to see for now. She pushed the door and finished the sentence she was saying a second before coming in :

"...Or we could hurt her. And him. Or put them in the arena, see how long they would last. You choose."

The guards stepped away, revealing not only a Bast who seemed as lost as Aloy, but also Kïma with a flat face.
Aloy felt her heart skipping a beat and worries replaced relief : she looked like she had just finished a long fight.
Her body and face were covered of bruises and cuts, and blood was escaping the smooth corner or her lips and the top of her eyebrow.
She seemed unseated when she saw Aloy.

"So, what's your answer, tiny girl ?", Continued the imposant woman.

Silence remained. Kïma was looking at Aloy, without any expression. Bast's glance was going from Kïma's face to Aloy's, before going back to Kïma's.

"Well, shit, guess I'll have to kill one of them then.", Said the cultist, pointing another huge weapon at Aloy.

"No.", Kïma stated simply.

"So, the chick knows where to go, now ?", She mocked, lowering her weapon a bit.

Kïma crossed her arms and answered, with a voice full of rage, pointing at her tattoo :

"I already told you, I don't know where to go ! I can't even read that thing !"

Her sleeve have been torn apart, showing the blue picture under her skin. Aloy remained confused.

Read... Her tattoo ? It wasn't really hard, just 'Zero Dawn'...
...Or maybe it wasn't just that.

"Bullshit ! We found documents stating that you people were taught how to read your tattoos, this kind of code, during your childhood. While you were still living in the bunkers."

"What ?", Kïma questioned, suddenly really pale. "You must be wrong, I never learnt that. Or maybe I did, but I'm amnesic. I don't recall my childhood. And I never lived in a bunker."

The woman looked at her, like she didn't believe a word she was saying and placed the canon in front of Aloy's face again. Her finger was ready to pull the trigger. A second before she could do so, Kïma exclaimed :