In the days after the end of the mecha dragons there was much confusion and hardship. Humanity was moved into the long abandoned Martian tunnels, many which had fallen into disrepair; however, they provided much needed shelter from the cold nights and with some TLC were soon decently habitable. The spirit of Durdumples also showed us the location of the Martian food larder so that we would not starve; incidentally, Martians had lived off the equivalent of Twinkies and McDonald's fries so we had no worry of anything going bad. In time we were about to replant crops on Mars' surface and expand our diet, though recovery to what the settlement once had been is still quite long away.

Dr. Snively and Laurence initially used their time in those days to look closer at the mecha dragons and why they had chosen to attack when they did.

"I'm guessing it has to do with the amateur blasters at the Vice Villa site," theorized Laurence, the seismologist.

"We know the dragons were sensitive to sound from our personal experiences," added Dr. Snively, "so once awakened, they felt the need to defend their planet from further invaders."

The explanation made sense to all us survivors- but as the dragons were all destroyed now, this information it was of little use other than for us to sit back and say "a-ha!".

Speaking of Laurence, in the years that past he and Detective LaLouf eventually had two children, Lorraine and Lemuel. I believe they must be tweens by now, if not already going into high school.

Detective LaLouf has since become Police Chief LaLouf, of course. Not that there is ever much crime here, but she does an admirable job in her position.

Dr. Snively went on the found Tunnel University, which focusing on the study of all things Mars and Martian. It's my understanding his habit of farting only got worse over time but that he was lively educator so his students were able to look past such matters. He passed away a few years ago but was revered for his skills and knowledge. Durdumples often stopped in on the Doctor's classes when he was alive; Durdumples has since taken over Snively's role as an educator and, being an essentially immortal ghost, no doubt with stay teachingvat Tunnel University for some time yet.

Cleetus and I originally shared a tunnel in the early days.

"I know we don't yet have the technology again," I remarked, "but if you're alive when we do, would you want to return to Earth?"

Cleetus just sighed. "I dunno," he mused, "I guess I see Mars as home now. Besides, Earth is literally just ghost towns. Might be too weird."

"Don't want to see your wife's ghost?"

"Remember," he waved a finger, "she's the reason I volunteered to go to Mars in the first place. "

In time, Cleetus met a young lady at the larder named Darlene and wound up moving into her tunnel to be close.

"Technically my wife is dead," he reasoned, "but kind of still around too. I don't know that it's right for me to tie the knot with someone new, but that's not gonna stop me from shacking up."

I just shrugged. It was his life.

This left me alone in my own personal tunnel. But as you well know, I wasn't really alone; the Boom-Boom bloom had free range of the tunnel as well. There were some initial accidents with sulphuric urine holes in the floor, once everyone was well-trained they made good companions.

LaLouf and Laurence, incidentally recalled my fondness for cats- they somehow managed to find two cats that had been spared in the dragon attack and gave them to me as "they knew they'd be well-cared for " and "be in good company". While they didn't talk as the Boom-Boom bloom could (they were, after all, ordinary cats), the different species hit it off just fine. That led to new litters of kittens with a mix of cat-hybrid features and regular cat features, which have kept me busy as I try to provide adequate pets to all.

Did the humans get over the fact that I blew up their homeworld so long ago? Most seem to have, yeah. Like Cleetus said, Mars is own home now. Maybe one day we'll be able to build rocketships and visit Earth once more, but I am now an old man. I don't have any desire to travel far.

I do admit that some nights when I can't sleep I go up to the surface and gaze at the sky. Earth looks just like a star from here, but I still stare at it, pondering what would have been.

Perhaps it was a good thing I blew up Earth by accident. If I hadn't, so many humans would have immigrated, only to be burned to death in the horrible fires of the mecha dragons. In a sense, I saved many people from that kind of suffering.

Of course, dying in the explosion of your planet is probably pretty painful too, come to think of it. But I'd still like to believe my actions did more to help than hinder humanity. Would the ghosts roaming Earth's surface agree? I don't know. All I know for sure these days is that my name is Cole Rapp and that I accidentally blew up the Earth thirty-one years ago in July.

But really, who cares? I've made amends. It's in the past. The only way now is forward. But I suppose if I were to go back in time and be asked again if I'd help blow up the Earth, I'd say no. I know better now that there is no need to waste so many years feeling guilty.

That's a sappy way to end a story, thinking about wasted years. Instead, I leave you with some words of wisdom Durdumples would say: Les gardes métalliques ont disparu.

I still don't speak French or Martian or whatever but whatever it means, it sure sounds pretty.

THE END