James sprinted along the lively streets of Toon Town. "I really hope Roger knows why this barrier is here—I can't be stuck here forever." Taking a sharp left turn, he headed toward Jessica's place, knowing that Roger was spending time with his wife. "Maybe she can lend a hand too," he thought.
Approaching a building with a flight of steps leading to a door, James ascended and rapped sharply on it.
"Who is it?" came a voice from inside—a voice that unmistakably sounded like Jessica's.
"Jessica? It's Jam—,"
Before James could finish his sentence, something collided with his face. He heard playful giggling as he instinctively wiped away what turned out to be a messy smear of pie. Glancing to his left, he saw a human-like, basic black and white cartoon character standing on the street near the curb which he didn't recognize. "Haha! Got you!" the stranger chuckled before dashing away in pencil smear lines.
Stunned, James stood rooted for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.
"James? Is that you? You're... never here this late," the voice from the door repeated.
At that moment, the door clicked as it unlocked, and it swung open to reveal Jessica Rabbit herself, her expression one of surprise. "What happened to you?" she asked, noticing the pie splattered all over James' face.
"Some Toon I've never seen before just hurled a pie right at me," James explained.
Jessica nodded knowingly. "It must have been The Trickster," she surmised, tilting her head slightly.
"The Trickster? Who's that?" James queried, surprised to learn of a character unknown to him, given his encyclopedic knowledge of cartoons.
"He was a Toon created by Warner Brothers back in the 1930s," Jessica revealed.
"Woah! Really? I've never heard of him," James marveled.
"That's because he never actually made it on screen. He was scrapped before the first episode even aired," Jessica replied.
"Oh, that's a shame," James said, a tinge of sympathy in his voice for a Toon he'd only just heard about. "Do you know why he was axed?" he pressed.
Jessica shook her head. "No idea. But hey, why are you here this late?" she asked.
"Oh, right—that's why I came," James began. "There's this strange invisible barrier keeping me from leaving."
Jessica's eyes widened in surprise. "An invisible barrier?" she repeated. James nodded. Without missing a beat, Jessica turned and called out inside the house, "Hey, Roger, honey?"
Moments later, Roger Rabbit appeared, descending the stairs. "Yes—my quee—AHHH!" he shouted as he tripped, tumbling down the stairs with a boisterous cartoon sound echoing through the house. Jessica only sighed at the commotion.
Quickly regaining his composure, Roger exclaimed, "I'm fine! I'm okay! Oh! Hello, James!" There was a brief, comical pause, with Roger just staring at the human. "Wait—James?! What are you doing back here?" Roger finally asked.
"That's exactly why I'm here," James explained. "I can't leave. Something is blocking me—some force or barrier."
Jessica interjected, "There's some invisible wall or something holding him back, honey-bunny,"
"We should head down there with you! Maybe we can help!" Roger volunteered.
Jessica agreed, and a soft smile spread across James' face.
"Thanks, you two," James said gratefully.
