A/N: And the plot thickens some more. Hope you enjoy it. I own nothing of Doctor Who but I do own Tash and some of the other characters within this story.

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Chapter 7: Home Sweet Home?

The Doctor began setting coordinates for Tash's planet. He grinned lightly and suddenly the TARDIS dematerialized. Tash looked a bit space sick and nervous. He wondered why? Wouldn't she be happy to see her home? And Rose seemed ready to leave Tash as quickly as they found her. Maybe Tash could sense that? She was after all telepathic. She looked a bit dejected. The TARDIS dematerialized on Mala'shi. Ta'sheeka sighed lightly. The Doctor asked her, "Are you all right Tash?"

Tash shook her head negatively, "They said they would kill me if I came back." The Doctor gave a good pat on her back, "If they even lay one finger on you, they won't know what will happen."

Tash nodded but she still looked a bit downhearted, she didn't know why but part of her felt sad. Perhaps she never thought she would come home. Perhaps she really didn't have anyone at home that would miss her; at least she didn't think so. Her family was dead and most of her friends and those she knew were probably dead as well.

But she walked slowly to the door of the TARDIS and the Doctor looked out and both her and Rose followed. Tash took a look around seeing if she could recognize where they were. Buildings were around them, made of the green blocks, that looked slightly like peat but so much stronger than peat. A great wall of the same blocks was in front of them. Although it was oddly quiet. She smiled lightly at the familiar surroundings of her home. "The city of the goddess, may she be blessed for eternity."

The Doctor smiled lightly at Tash's words but then he frowned, "Seems rather quiet if you ask me. Where is everyone?"

Rose nodded, "It's like a ghost town, without the ghosts."

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, "Come on lets go see if we can find anybody here. Tash, this is your home, you lead the way."

Tash nodded and she quietly led the Doctor and Rose to the gates of the city. But as they entered the threshold of the city she suddenly screamed, before her were the dead bodies of a Mala'shraian guards. There bones were bleached and there hands held onto a staff weapons. Tash looked behind the gate to find more dead and bleached bones of others with weapons in their hands. All of the dead were poised in scenes of combat and warfare.

The Doctor sighed, "This does not look good…."

"At least there aren't any ghosts, lots of dead bodies though," Rose commented not entirely thrilled with the situation.

"Uhh Rose, that's not entirely true. Cities have a sprit, have a soul to them. When the inhabitants die or leave them behind, residual psychic energy is left behind. It can leave behind what you humans might call ghosts. Although technically it's not really ghosts." The Doctor said commenting on the situation.

Tash sighed she pulled a weapon away from one of the corpses, "It's my fault….I caused my people to wipe each other out."

The Doctor looked at all the dead Mala'shraians. War. Just when he thought he could escape the nightmares of his own past, he had come back to a planet he had once saved and now it seemed for naught. It hit him hard, and the disheartened looks on Tash's face made him want to break down and cry with her. This was her race, and for all he knew, she could very well be the last of her race, much like he was the last of the Time Lords. But he gulped it all down; he had to be strong for her. Or at least try to be. He had to consider alternatives and he voiced them to her.

"Don't blame yourself, Tash. One we don't know if it was your fault. You may have encouraged your people to revolt against your own government but that doesn't mean your actions caused them to go to war and destroy each other. Plus this is just one segment of your planet. There are other places, Tash. Maybe your people rebuilt elsewhere."

Tash considered the Doctor's words, "Perhaps, but my people wouldn't have let the city of our beloved goddess to go to ruins like this. This is her center, a place of sanctuary. Her tree, which we believe was the first thing that existed on our planet, is most holy. It is said that from her roots, that the first Mala'shraians came forth. We built our city around her tree. I do not know how much is myth, or how much is actually the truth, but my people wouldn't have abandoned a holy city. They would have preserved it, even if death came to this part of my world."

The Doctor's hearts sank with Tash's words, she was right. Why would Tash's people abandon a city that was considered sacred to them? It was because there was no one left to rebuild it.

A tear went down Tash's eye, "I am alone. I once thought that I would die with my people in war or at least in a cause that was worthy of death and…."

The Doctor nodded, "I know… my people too Tash, they are all dead as well."

The Doctor paused for a moment trying to find the words to continue and then he said, "I fought in a war too… not like this though. But in the end they all died. For a time I wanted to die with them. "

Tash looked at the Doctor, "Who are your people, Doctor? I wish to know. That I might burn sweet Tal'ka incense for both my people and yours, there is a temple to the goddess here, and I will offer incense in memory of their lives. "

" The Time Lords from the planet Gallifrey."

Rose had been quiet for the longest; she felt like an idiot, she didn't know what to say. She had wanted to get rid of Tash and now she felt guilty. "I am sorry Tash." She really didn't know what else to say. Everything else felt slightly hollow within her, she could have mentioned about her father but she didn't, somehow it just didn't seem appropriate.

Tash looked at Rose as if considering something to say but changed her mind. "Come, I wish to see the records of my people. Perhaps it will tell us what happened."

The Doctor nodded, "That's a good idea…"

Tash began to progress through the empty city. The Doctor followed and Rose did as well. Tash paused for a moment. Tash's ears twitched lightly. "I hear something…."

Rose frowned a bit and strained her hearing as hard as she could, "I don't hear anything."

Tash sighed, "It is real faint, like a gust of wind but I hear it. Someone is crying."

The Doctor paused too and he closed his eyes and was quiet and frowned for a moment and then opened his eyes. "I hear it too, Tash."

Tash's eyes brightened, "Then someone could have survived. Come on!" Tash ran after the crying voice.

"Tash, wait! That could be…." The Doctor sighed as he watched the lithe form of Tash run off. "I just get done telling you, Rose about residual psychic energy and she goes running off."

Rose smiled wanly, "At least this time I am not the one running off."

The Doctor smiled, "Nope…and it's a good thing too. It's bad enough having one person run off."

Suddenly the cry got louder as they went following after Tash and Rose cringed, "It sounds like someone grieving, not like a cry of someone that has gotten hurt."

The Doctor nodded and smiled, Rose had gotten so smart these past few years traveling with him. Rose said, "You don't suppose someone actually survived this, do you?"

The Doctor bent down towards one of the dead bodies, ""These bodies have been here for quite some time, Rose. The bones are bleached white, which means they have at least been here at the most twenty to thirty years, it might be longer. If someone is grieving, their loss….it's hard to say, Rose. It's unsettling to say the least."

They heard Tash's voice calling out happily and they ran after her, and they saw Tash's back as they ran and all three of them entered a building. It looked a bit like a temple or a religious edifice of some sort. Various altars were before them and as they entered they found Tash staring at a young white haired girl who looked to be five years of age. If she noticed them, she did not pay them any mind. She was wailing and crying as if mourning and then she took a stick of incense out from the white robe she wore. The Doctor watched as she burned the incense on the altar and then the five year old muttered various prayers. She finished and then she turned around and saw the Doctor, Rose, and Tash.

"They're all gone...," She said. "No one is left, just me. There has been no noise in this city for over a hundred years. Have you come to mourn there passing?"