JORGE JOESTAR Chapter 10: The H.G. Wells

Chapter 10: The H.G. Wells (H.G.ウェルズ) is the tenth chapter of the light novel JORGE JOESTAR. It returns to the perspective of Joji Joestar and continues his side of the story after the events of Chapter 8.

Summary
Joji and Narancia are caught inside the American spacecraft, H.G. Wells. They are then tied to a bed, and are questioned calmly by a name who introduces himself as Enrico Pucci. Joji speaks for Narancia, as he cannot speak English, and tells him his name and address. Joji then wonders what Tsukumojuku had meant when he said someone needed help, and how he was still alive. Pucci continues to question them, Joji explains that they came from Morioh and Nero Nero Island, surprising the other crew members. Pucci asks them to stay where they are, and walks back to the crew. Joji remembers what he had known about Enrico Pucci; an astronaut who was once a priest in a prison, and had caused a stir when he told a reporter that he was searching a way to get to Heaven. Narancia suddenly kicks Joji's leg, asking what was going on. Joji looks out the window, and sees the hidden third moon of Mars that they had discovered. He explains that it had no craters, smooth like a mirror. The scientists in the spaceship had already determined that it was made of rock, and was possibly carved out of Mars back when it still had water. As he eavesdrops on their conversation, he believes that this third moon was the reason Tsukumojuku had brought him. Narancia glares at Joji, asking him if he is a Stand User. As Joji denies it, Narancia advises him not to turn his head unless he wishes to die. Joji realizes that something was inside of him, and learns that it is a. It bursts through him, causing blood to spill and giving him a tremendous amount of pain. As Joji screams, the crew members head to check on them. The crew members are revealed to be Funnier Valentine, Pucci, Pocoloco Tripleseven and Goyathlay Soundman. They stare at Narancia, he then shoots torpedoes out of Joji's stomach, towards them; believing they are Stand users. As he ignores Joji's warning, Joji braces himself for the explosions. Suddenly, he sees a sand monster protecting the astronauts. Another missile shoots the zip ties off of Joji's hands, freeing him. He gets punched by Narancia, and his tooth is flown out, which is revealed to have a tiny submarine on it. The sand monster knocks it away from Soundman, and he learns that Narancia's Stand is able to dive into the bodies of living things. Narancia tricks Soundman, and attempts to attack him with his ability named U-Boat, but is stopped when a gun suddenly emerges from his mouth, and points it to his head. Funnier Valentine orders Narancia to hold his fire, claiming that he can kill him before his missiles explode. As the hand disappears, a torpedo shoots into Narancia's mouth, blowing the entirety of his lower face off. Joji tries to stop Narancia, telling him that he'd never see his friends again. Suddenly Narancia begins to burst into tears, and his skin begins to melt. Joji looks to see that there was a Stand behind Pucci, wearing a crown and its body covered in letters of the DNA base sequence. Pucci explains that Soundman's body is almost entirely made up of sand. He states that he and Soundman had named his ability a Bound, as he had become one and merged with his homeland and is now bound to it. Pucci walks to Narancia, and pulls two DISCS out of his head. He also takes Joji's memory DISC and puts it back after he reads it, explaining that Joji hasn't understood what Tsukumojuku had said yet. Behind Pucci, Pocoloco states that someone is coming to destroy the H.G. Wells. Outside, they see a black string wrapped around Soundman's sand, pulling it towards the third moon. Pucci returns Narancia's discs to him, and fixes his melted skin. He asks him to move his Das Boot ship. Narancia threatens to blow the whole ship, and Pucci takes his DISC again. Suddenly, a massive impact shakes the ship, flinging everyone. The scientists share their images with the astronauts, showing a man with long hair, wearing only a loin cloth, staring straight into their camera. They see that he is holding a string, connecting to the third moon, hiding it by running around Mars. With the diameter and circumference of Mars, Joji determines that running at that speed around Mars is humanly impossible. Suddenly, Pocoloco screams, everyone looks out the window to see that the third moon is a giant eyeball. The ship is knocked again by another impact. Narancia fires at the giant eyeball, only for the eyeball to swallow its attacks with its giant mouth. Over the loudspeaker, the President of the United States, The Funniest Valentine, asks to speak with Funnier Valentine. With the security council, they decide to name the mysterious moon, The Eyed Balloon. Behind the moons interior, a part of a machine is floating against it. The Funniest reveals that it is a probe, launched back in 1985 to survey. There are seven pictures of the same spacecraft, the probes. They learn that the Eyed Balloon had swallowed seven Giotto probes. The Funniest shares another image, collected from a Nazi base in Switzerland during. It shows the same long-haired man, grinning at the camera lens. The Funniest reveals that the mans name is Kars, one of the Pillar Men discovered by Nazi scientists in Mexico. He had become the Ultimate Being, and was sent to space by an American named Joseph Joestar. This surprises Joji, as Joseph is his adoptive great-grandfather. The Funniest asks Joji how he managed to get into the H.G. Wells over the loudspeaker. The Funniest concludes the council, and states that everyone is given ten minutes to flee the Eyed Balloon, once that time is up, they will detonate the H.G. Wells to prevent Ultimate Kars from returning to Earth. Funnier begins to shout orders at the crew, asking Pocoloco to find a way to cut the tentacles off the H.G. Wells. Soundman kneels to Joji, asking him if Narancia is able to have his fleet become one big boat. As he relays the question to Narancia, he retreats his fleet, and begins to regroup. Soundman and Pucci board the ship, and the U-Boat ship flies away from the H.G. Wells. The Eyed Balloon shuts it eye from the explosions, and Pocoloco states that his Stand, Right Stuff, has found a way to escape its tentacles. Funnier turns to look at Joji and the others, and asks about the 'Way to Heaven' Pucci always talks about. He explains that Pucci had begun sleepwalking at the age of 17, worrying his parents. One day, as he sleepwalked, he runs home to see that his house had disappeared. Learning that a metal plate had crashed into it, killing his whole family; a metal plate from the Giotto probe. On the plate, fourteen phrases were scratched on it. Narancia continues to fire at the Eyed Balloon, complaining that it won't break. The tentacles let go of the ship, and Pocoloco prepares to start the engines. Funnier asks if Joji could pilot the ship, suddenly, he turns to see Funnier's Stand move away from him, with a gun in hand. Through the speaker, Pocoloco curses at Valentine, and is shot. Funnier's Stand presses its gun against Narancia's head, and shoots him. Through the speaker, Pucci asks what had happened. Funnier states that he is dead, and then asks Pucci if he had ever truly believed in God. He then reveals that he had been negotiating with Kars for the last eleven years, ever since the metal plate fell on Pucci's house; claiming that was how he met all of the Kars. Another gunshot comes through the speaker, Joji looks out to see Soundman's sand approaching the H.G. Wells. Funnier calls back his Stand and fires a volley of bullets at Soundman. The bullet shoots him between his eyes, and his sand suit crumbles. With only two minutes left before the ship explodes, Joji sits on his knees, he turns to see that Narancia is still alive. With a small submarine with a bullet inside of it, which it had blocked. Narancia grins and stares outside through the window, Joji watches as Funnier's escape pod explodes. Narancia and him then discuss escaping, when suddenly the giant U-Boat rams into the H.G. Wells covered in tentacles from the Balloon. Narancia and Joji jump into a hole from the submarine, and they turn the sub around. Narancia looks through his periscope, asking what they should do about Kars. They plan to leave the ship, but realize they wouldn't be able to survive for long with the amount of air they have. They learn that Kars has invaded the ship, bending through the pipes; moving towards them. The two stare as the flesh from the pipes turned into Kars, he takes a deep breath and speaks in Italian; stating that it is time to return home. Kars claims that he can fix his ship, Giotto, as he had been studying it since Halley's Comet. Joji states that they need fuel in order for it to work, Kars says that they can use the Eyed Balloon as fuel, or the other versions of himself he reveals. Kars explains that the universe had looped 36 times, ending and beginning a new universe, bringing 36 more versions of himself. He shows them the Eyed Balloon crumbling; the pieces each turning into Kars. Kars uses them to repair the Giotto's, and some as fuel. Kars asks Narancia to shrink U-Boat so that it would only fit him and Joji, and inhales all of the remaining air, and releases it inside.

Joji asks why Kars couldn't return to Earth on his own if he was able to create such a modern ship. Kars explains that he didn't have the materials or fuel, and had to find a way to survive a trip to return to Earth without vaporizing to death. As he reached Mars, he waited for the universe to end, and restart thirty-six times until he had enough fuel. He explains his connection with Funnier Valentine and how they both planned for him to return. Joji realizes that Kars eats people, Narancia yells at Kars to not eat them, and asks him to wait until they get to Earth. Kars states that they would die anyway, as he could just stop releasing air from his body. Joji looks to see Pucci in the corner, learning that he had been listening the whole time. Suddenly, an electronic jingle next to Narancia begins to vibrate, he grabs it and answers. With Bucciarati on the other end, he explains that they are on Mars instead of Morioh, he then hands the phone to Joji, stating that Bucciarati wishes to talk to him. Joji criticizes him, stating that he knows about the people they had massacred on Nero Nero Island. Bruno explains that they don't kill civilians, he explains that a man named Secco Rottario, and his Stand Evil Dead, may have been the one behind this. Bruno thanks him through the phone and hangs up. Kars asks if he is a JoJo as well, after overhearing Bruno addressing him as 'Joestar'. He grins at him, stating that Joji has a lot to explain before he eats him.