A/N: This originally got taken down by because the interludes were in script format which is not allowed here so I'm putting it back up without the interludes.

Chapter One

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door and looked out. He looked back in at Rose who was standing behind him.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"I guess so; I just swallowed that little purple pill ya gave me. What's it for, anyway?" Rose asked.

"That pill, Rose, will help to keep your body in proper working order. We've landed here on Tiempo Five. The rotation of this planet is so fast the days are only twenty minutes long here and the planet is lozenge-shaped because of it. That means that gravity is much heavier than on Earth and you and I would be crushed to death in seconds if we didn't take the necessary precautions. This pill helps counter the effects on our bodies. Now are you ready?"

"I don't know, Doctor, am I gonna be crushed like a piece of paper the minute I come out the door?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

"Gee, Doctor, your concern for my well-being is overwhelming."

"You don't see my body being crushed into a wad, do you?"

"Well…no."

She gasped when the Doctor pulled her out the door.

"Well, get out here then, Tyler. Time's short here and so are the people. We have lots to explore before we leave."

He closed the doors, locked them and turned around. He scratched his chin while he examined Rose closely.

"Hmmm, from what I can tell your body has survived uncrushed," he said. "Always a good sign. Now, allons-y Rose! It's time to meet the Bok, the natives of this strange little planet!"

They paused when they noticed a short, squat, brown being waddling towards them.

"Well, what'd ya know? Here comes a native now," the Doctor said, walking forward to greet him. Rose followed him glancing up as the sun quickly sped across the sky. She looked back at the little alien who was shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Welcome, my friends, to Tiempo Five. I am Plok. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Plok. I am the Doctor and this is Rose," he said, pointing to her.

Rose frowned. Plok resembled a tiny, plump raisin with arms and legs. Plok waddled over to her and shook her hand.

"Greetings, Rose."

"Greetings, Plok."

Plok glanced up when the sun began to set in the sky.

"Oh my, it's dinnertime already!" he said in disbelief. "My, the day has just flown by today, hasn't it?"

He smiled up at his new friends.

"I'm sorry, I really must eat something. I haven't had anything to eat all day. Busy, busy, busy!"

"That's fine, Plok. Go ahead," the Doctor said.

Rose and the Doctor watched while Plok looked down at a belt around his waist and opened a small pouch attached to it. He took out a green pill, swallowed it and licked his lips.

"Mmmm, that really hit the spot," he said, rubbing his belly. "I'm so full now I'm about to burst."

"But, Doctor, all he did was swallow a pill," Rose whispered.

"Yeah, well, what do you expect on a planet where the days only last twenty minutes?" he whispered back." A seven course meal?"

Plok burped.

"Oh, excuse me," he said. "And I apologize for eating in front of you. It was extremely rude of me."

"No worries, Plok," the Doctor replied. "I want to ask you though where is the nearest town? Rose and I are from out of town and we would love to visit."

"Oh! Why, our capital city is just over that large hill in front of you. Minnock is lovely, you'll like it and--"

He glanced at the sun as it sank below the horizon.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my friends. It's bedtime. I hope you understand. I have to go to work tomorrow. I hope to see you in Minnock."

"Thanks, Plok, you've been a tremendous help," the Doctor said smiling.

Plok nodded. He closed his eyes and fell asleep standing up. Seconds later he was snoring loudly.

The Doctor reached in his trench coat pocket, brought out a torch and clicked it on while Rose stared at the sleeping alien.

"Boy, I'm glad our planet isn't like this one," she said. "Can't imagine having to live my life as a walking, talking poo."

The Doctor gave her a shocked look.

"Rose Tyler, that's rude. Plok can't help the way he was born," he said, scandalized.

Rose stared at him and saw that he was desperately trying to keep a straight face.

"Now, come on, Rose. Sunrise should be in about...ooooo, three minutes or so," he said, shining his torch on his watch. "Let's get going."

When they started off again, Rose heard the Doctor let out a giggle and mutter "Walking talking poo, that's great," under his breath.

By the time they reached the hill and started down, the sun was beginning to rise. The Doctor switched off the torch and they stood and looked at Minnock. Rose noticed that the buildings were dome shaped and looked like they were made out of dried mud. The Doctor took Rose's hand and they resumed walking. As they neared the city, Rose let out a gasp as Plok zoomed past them. He stopped and looked their way.

"Good morning, my friends," he said waving. "You only made it this far? I figured you would have been inside the city by now."

He glanced up at the rapidly rising sun and his eyes widened.

"Oops, gotta go. I'll be late for work!" he said.

He waved at them, turned and ran into town at such a fast speed all Rose could see was a little brown blur.

"Fast little bugger, yeah?" Rose said.

"Has to be, Rose. Twenty minute days, remember," the Doctor said, pointing at the sky.

They walked into town and Rose looked around at the Boks swarming around them while they quickly headed to their workplaces.

"My God, it's like walking through a sea of poo," Rose remarked as she looked down at all of them.

The Doctor snorted out a laugh and quickly put his hand over his nose.

"Now, Rose, that's not polite," he said, trying not to laugh.

Rose gasped when a brown blur nearly knocked her over.

"Watch where you're going, slowpoke!"she heard him call out as he zoomed away.

"It's a good thing that bugger's fast, I would have made him even shorter than he is now," Rose muttered.

Another few seconds went by and the sound of doors slamming resounded up and down the street as all the Boks ran into their workplaces. Rose looked at the deserted street in front of them.

"So, now what?" she asked the Doctor.

"Well, we could go to city hall and ask for directions to any places of interest," the Doctor mused. "That would be a good first start."

"Where is city hall?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pointed to a gigantic domed building in the center of town.

"I believe that's it," he said.

They took two steps towards city hall. Suddenly, a whistle blew and the streets were instantly filled with Boks. Rose looked at the Doctor.

"Their lunch hour," the Doctor explained.

They stood and watched while the Boks swallowed an assortment of multicolored pills, talked to each other briefly for a few seconds and then as one swarmed back into work and slammed the doors with a deafening BANG! Rose blinked as her mind tried to take it all in.

"Okay, this is an extremely surreal little planet they've got here," she said.

"Surreal, yes, but the Boks are friendly little buggers you've got to admit."

"Yeah, except for the one that almost ran me down," Rose said.

"Now, Rose, that wasn't his fault. He was late for work. Show some consideration for their lifestyle here. Time is everything to these people. Now come on, let's get to city hall before the workday ends and rush hour begins."

Rose grimaced at another round of being pushed and shoved and nearly knocked over by swarms of walking, talking poo. Taking the Doctor's hand, they quickly ran towards City Hall before that happened.