A/N: I am so, so sorry it's taken this long. This story keeps pulling me in all sorts of directions, and it takes a bit to find a clear path.
ΘΣ
A flash of cerulean light was their only warning as Amy vanished and an enormous pendulum swung towards them.
"Down!" Rose shouted, dragging the Doctor out of its path—and straight into a deep gulley.
He scrambled up, helping Rose to her feet as the tripwire they'd landed on began to drag a wall of spikes towards them. Amy's voice echoed out of the air around them, buffeting them with sarcasm. "I can see why they wanted you."
Rose growled as the Doctor helped push her up the steep slopes of the gulley, swinging around on her knees to drag him up once she'd reached the top. "We weren't exactly warned!"
"You aren't going to get a warning, princess. When you're out in the field, you deal or you fail. And trust me, you do notwant to fail." Her voice hardened. "What color did you see?"
The Doctor shoved himself just ahead of the spikes, checking his plimsolls with a frown. "We were a bit busy!"
"Fieldwork is a bit busy! You have to stay observant, no matter how much is going on around you. What color?"
Rose darted out of the way of the boulder careening towards them, clutching the Doctor's coat desperately. "Blue! Bright blue!"
"What does that mean?"
"Immobilization spell!"
The ground beneath them began to warm as a blast of red light streaked past them, and the Doctor wrapped an arm around Rose as he grabbed a pulley. "Rose, cut it!"
She yelled a severing spell as a sudden rush of flames roared up beneath them, the heat toasting their feet as they rocketed upwards. He kicked out against the wall, swinging them onto a small balcony, as Amy's voice snapped out again. "What color?"
"Not blue!"
There was a long pause before she spoke again, the flames beneath them crackling into nothing. "Really? That's your answer?"
"Blood red, it's a pain spell! Attacks your nerves!" Rose charmed a counterweight onto the pulley, wrapping her arms around the Doctor as they descended to the floor once more.
He sputtered and crossed his arms once she released him. "I knew that, too."
Amy's snort resounded around them. "Then give me an actual answer next time, not 'not blue'."
Rose smirked and retied her hair, brushing the sweat from her brow. "She has a point."
"Oh, ha bloody ha. Side with the murderous trainer, why don't you."
An ear-splitting shriek rang out and Rose crumpled, clutching the sides of her head. The Doctor fell to his knees beside her, tracing an intricate pattern with his wand, and soon the pain faded as a thick pair of earmuffs grew on both their heads.
Rose peered about until she sighted the banshee. With one spell it toppled backwards, a thick gag muffling its scream.
The Doctor took aim and mouthed a spell. The banshee froze in place, its limbs contorted in a desperate attempt to free itself of the gag. Rose's heartbeat rang out in the stillness, and she carefully pulled her earmuffs off. He tried to speak to her, but she shook her head. She was swimming in a riot of noise, the ringing of the banshee's shriek echoing throughout her brain and drowning every other sound.
The Doctor winced and pointed his wand at her, doing the same to himself moments later as she scanned for the next danger. Soon she could hear his ragged breath, the overwhelming silence of the training room.
Amy spoke again, her voice softer this time. "Out on the field, you have to take care of yourself first."
The Doctor's jaw clenched as his hand met Rose's, tightened. "That's not going to happen. Especially not if we're about to get killed by an illegalDark creature."
With a crack of sound, Amy reappeared in front of them. "Oh, Myrtle? You don't have anything to fear from her." She whipped out her wand. "Riddikulus!" The banshee's torn robes transformed into a gaudy Elvis costume, and it fled into the tall metal cabinet that had appeared behind it. "She's a boggart. The Ministry wouldn't be too happy with me if I were using a banshee without permission."
"Without permission. That reallymakes me feel better."
"It should." Amy paused, crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea how long it usually takes my trainees to trust their partners, to work with them instinctively?"
Rose grimaced and rolled her shoulders. "I'm guessin' longer than this."
"Yeah. You could put it that way." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Looks like there'll be some record-breaking after all."
The Doctor brightened. "Are we done?"
She snorted. "Absolutely not. This just means you move to the next lesson faster."
He threw up his arms. "So what was this lesson? 'Our trainer is a sociopath'?"
Amy stiffened, her eyes darkening. Rose jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Oi! Rude!"
The trainer scowled. "You know what? I think you could do with a bit more practice."
She vanished with a bang, and Rose groaned. "Oh, brilliant.You just had to open your gob."
The afternoon passed in a haze of adrenaline as they scrambled their way through trap doors, mazes, troll encounters, and a memorable incident with a Chimaera, all with Amy's frosty voice in their ears.
Rose gasped for breath as she ducked behind a short wall, the Doctor following close behind her. Above them, a gleaming blade scythed through the air. "You ever gonna apologize?"
He glared at her incredulously as the blade whipped through the air again. "Are you kiddingme? Since we arrived, we've almost been crushed, impaled, roasted, killed by a Banshee's scream, dropped to our deaths, poisoned, smashed, eaten, and now sliced to bits. And you want meto apologize?"
Rose shook her head. "The banshee was a boggart, and I'd bet money the rest of it isn't actually fatal, either."
"I'm not about to find out what happens if we mess up!"
She growled and shoved loose strands of hair from her face. "You shouldn't have called her crazy!"
"Yeah, well youshouldn't have—have—" His voice caught in his throat as Rose peered above the barrier, and he launched himself forward as the scythe hummed through the air. "DOWN!"
She yelped as he bore her to the ground, covering her body with his own as the blade ground against the top of the wall. "What the hell, Doctor?"
"It's getting lower. It's getting bloodylower, and will you pleasebe more careful?" His hands were shaking as he cupped her face. "I am not losing you to something so stupid as a trainer with a grudge."
Her breath shook as she exhaled. "Then you shouldn't have insulted her."
His eyes darted down to her lips. "Oh, shut up."
"Make m—" His lips crashed against hers, and she broke off with a groan. His arms wrapped around her, hand cradling her head as she fell back against the floor.
A sudden blast of water drove them apart, ice-cold and powerful. They were attempting to clear the water from their ears when Amy appeared, her arms crossed. "I hate having to use that spell. Actually, scratch that—I love having to use that spell. Your faces were priceless." The Doctor glared at her, and she smirked. "Just like that."
Rose tightened her jaw. "Are you done?"
"For the day?" She tilted her head. "I suppose, but only because you'll need your rest for tomorrow. There's a box of Floo powder on the mantle upstairs. Apparition doesn't work around here. Arrive back at 0800 sharp, or else you'll get to spend more time with your favorite trainer." She leaned forward and winked at them, her voice carrying in a loud stage whisper. "That'd be me."
She apparated away, leaving the Doctor and Rose alone in a blank cavern of a training room. The pits, the pendulums, the mazes— it was all gone, leaving only tall slate walls and a chill marble floor.
Rose smacked the Doctor's shoulder lightly. "I toldyou it was an illusion."
"Yes you did, good for you, let's go." He stood and pulled her up, his grip tight.
She frowned. "Are you scared of her?"
"This day has been long enough. I'd rather not have the floor fall out from under me, hmm?" He tugged her closer, his breath warming her cheeks as he nuzzled her hair. "Besides, we're got some unfinished business."
Rose smirked up at him, her skin flushed and her tongue sneaking out of her grin. "Last one to the fireplace has to do the dishes."
They tore up the stairs, Rose yanking on the Doctor's coat as he shouted with laughter. Neither of them noticed the young woman stepping out of the shadows, a waterfall of braids trailing over her shoulder.
ΘΣ