"Well... I guess I'm stuck here." James sighed.

"So are we, apparently."

James turned to Jessica. "What's causing this? Who could possibly know?"

Roger paused for a moment. "Maybe... a Toon who knows a lot can help us?"

James fixed his gaze on Roger Rabbit. "Do you know, or do you know anyone who might?"

"Hmm..." Roger mused, clearly deep in thought. "Maybe a wizard Toon..."

"Roger, you're a genius!" Jessica declared.

"I am?" Roger asked with a goofy grin.

"What's so genius about that, exactly?" James inquired.

"Maybe Merlin can work some magic!" Jessica suggested.

"Oh yeah!" Roger chimed in. "Maybe even Yen Sid!"

James considered it for a moment; it didn't sound like a terrible idea at all. "That might actually work..."

But then doubt crept in. "But... what if it doesn't?"

"The least we can do is try. We don't have many other options," Jessica said, and James nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's head out. Merlin should be at his place—not too far from where Daffy lives."

James grumbled, "Me and Daffy don't exactly see eye to eye," causing Jessica to chuckle. "You're not the first one to say that."

Jessica, Roger, and James then set off toward Merlin's house, passing by the streets of the town. But as they were walking, James saw something in the corner of his eye. It looked like it was Toon or something, that had black mist circulating around it. Whatever it was, was standing near the wall that's next to the tunnel entryway. "What the.." He narrowed his eyes, the Toon looked like it was a demon character, it was in black mist. There wore a giant letter "D" on it's chest which was glowing a bright white light.

James blinked. "Who is that?" He thought he knew all and every cartoon, but his lack of knowledge on The Trickster made him realize that he might not. He was having many thoughtds go in his head, becuase if this thing was a "Toon" it didn't look two dimensional. It maybe came from CGI Town.

He glanced at Roger and Jessica who were some ways from him. "Maybe it's from a new movie,"

But when he turned to look directly at it again, it had vanished. "Huh? That's strange..."

Then, he caught up with his companions. After he did, he asked, "Hey, have any of you seen a Toon with black mist around them?"

"Uh? Not that I know of. Although there are plenty of Toons here—some I've probably never even met," Jessica replied.

"What is it, James? You saw a Toon with... black mist?" Roger asked.

James nodded. "At least, I think I did. When I looked, it just disappeared."

Jessica shook her head. "Probably Trickster up to his usual antics again."

James hesitated, uncertain if it really was Trickster.

Eventually, they reached Merlin's house—a neat residence on a pleasant street, near Daffy's place. Luckily, Daffy wasn't around to give them a hard time.

Jessica walked up the steps and knocked firmly on the door.

James lingered nearby as he listened to the sound of locks disengaging inside.

The door swung open.

"Hello Mer—" Jessica started.

But instead of Merlin, standing there was Trickster.

"Trickster?!" Jessica exclaimed in surprise. "Where's Merlin?"

James ducked behind Jessica; he wasn't eager to get hit by another flying pie.

"Oh, he's inside. I just came to answer the door," Trickster explained casually, reaching his hand behind him.

"If you throw another pie at me, I swear I'll slap you all the way back to the 1930s, buster," Jessica warned in a stern tone.

"Geez, alright. You're no fun," Trickster replied with a mischievous smirk.

Jessica stepped past him and called, "Merlin! Are you in here?"

James tried to avoid catching Trickster's full attention, but it was no use.

Their eyes locked—Human eyes and Pie-eyes.

"Hey there~," Trickster cooed, and with a playful flick, he sent a pie sailing straight into James's face.

"Hey!" James shouted, wiping the pie off.

Trickster giggled as he sauntered into a nearby room. "I'm the Trickster. There's nothing you can do about it," he teased.

James groaned, "That guy's so annoying."

"1930s humor for you. What can you gonna do about it?" Jessica smiled..

Just then, Merlin emerged from a room. "Hello? Who's—Oh! Roger, Jessica, and James? You're never here this late. Is something wrong?"

Jessica nodded. "Yes. Something is seriously off."

Roger nodded very hard. "Yes! There's this giant invisible wall—and—,"He babbled so quickly that Merlin couldn't quite catch his words. "Roger, old chap, calm down... Now, what's going on exactly?"

Jessica sighed. "There's this mysterious invisible force field blocking James from leaving—not just him, but even us Toons, too."

"Hmm... that is odd," Merlin mused.

"Is there anything you can do?" James asked hopefully.

"Possibly. There's a spell I can cast called 'cartoonus blockra' that might clear it. It's an old Toon spell that can remove things. But it's in a very old book—and I'm not even sure where that is. I'll have to search for it," Merlin replied.

"So if you find it, James can get back home?" Roger clarified.

Merlin nodded. "Hopefully,"

"Well, I hope. I wouldn't want my parents to worry," James said.

"Why is Trickster even here?" Jessica turned back to Merlin.

"Hm? Oh, the old scrapped Toon? Since he has nowhere else to go, I've let him stay with me," Merlin explained. "Seems they don't want him in Two-Tone Town, so I look after him,"

"Oh..." Jessica replied, clearly taken aback. "And he doesn't cause any trouble?"

"Heavens, no—not at least with me," Merlin assured her.

Turning to James, Merlin said, "Hold on, let me have a word with Trickster."

He left the main room, disappearing into what looked like a bedroom.

James turned to Jessica. "I really wonder what could have started that whole mess."

"I'm assuming you're talking about the barrier. I'd love to know too," Jessica agreed.

"I don't think any Toon would have done something like that. Or even a human?" James speculated.

"Well, you humans can't perform things like that... no offense" Roger said.

"None taken," James replied with a chuckle.

Soon, a door creaked open, and Merlin walked out, with Trickster by his side.

"So, James, can I have a word with you?" Merlin asked.

James nodded and stepped aside as Merlin led him away from the group.

In a quieter corner, Merlin said, "I was thinking—while I go search for that book, you should spend some time with Trickster."

"Wait, what?" James protested. "He's just gonna throw pies at me!"

Merlin sighed. "Yes, he does have a certain way about him. But perhaps he'll act differently around you once you get to know him. The poor fellow is stuck at the age of a 15-year-old kid, all by himself. You two might get along, since you're the same age,"

James glanced over at Trickster, who was leaning casually near the door.

Looking back at Merlin, James relented, "Alright. Just... he better not throw anything at me."

Leaving Merlin, James approached Trickster. As he drew nearer, he noticed Trickster had his hands neatly clasped behind his back.

"You better not be planning another pie attack!" James snapped.

"Don't worry—I won't," Trickster giggled.

"So, why did you come over to me?" Trickster asked.

"Uh... wanna... um... take a walk around Toon Town?" James replied, hesitating.

"Why?" Trickster inquired.

"Uh... I don't know?" James blinked.

"Fine," he finally said. "Let's head to the Toon Theater."

"Toon Theater?" James echoed, puzzled.

Trickster blinked in confusion. "You haven't heard of it? And you come to Toon Town a lot?"

James just shrugged, leaving the question hanging in the air.