Jim and Delbert were outside on deck and heard everything in Captain Amelia's office from outside. After hearing Venus and the captain's argument, they saw the hazel-haired feline girl run angrily past the two.

Not bothering to go after her, the two went inside Amelia's stateroom and found her kneeling on both knees, feeling devastated and heartbroken by what she heard from her niece. Delbert asked, "What happened?"

His wife answered sorrowfully, "Look at what she's done," gesturing to the painting, now with a tear between the captain and Venus. The boy and the Canid doctor gasped in surprise.

Jim asked, "She did that?"

Amelia nodded and sighed, "What will it take to get through to her?"

"She just needs some time to cool down," reassured Jim with his hand on her shoulder.


As Venus continued to run into the woods, away from her aunt and her actions, she came upon a ring of tall trees. She collapsed down to rest on one of them and began to cry. "How could she do this to me?" she thought, upsetly. She couldn't bear to lose Silver, another father figure who had put her back together on the voyage to Treasure Planet. Venus continued to cry, thinking about how Silver had taught her many things and gave up the treasure to save her and Jim. Suddenly, she heard a humming voice, and then her sobs slowed down.

She saw a glowing light spirit motioning her to follow it. Venus wiped her tears, stood up, and started walking. Then, more light creatures appeared, circling her before flying off, leaving a trail of glowing dust. Venus said, "Hey, wait," running faster toward the little creatures. They all slowed down at a time so that she could keep up with them.

Just then, they all stopped at an old cottage and flew away. Venus was surprised to be led to a strange-looking house. She knocked on the door; then suddenly, it opened by itself.

Inside were various paintings of dragons. Some of the vases and glasses were also painted with dragons.

A senior goat-like woman was painting on a canvas. She had albino skin, large ears, and two horn nubs on her head. She wore a deep blue robe and jewelry on her wrists and neck. The goat woman then noticed Venus. "Oh, look around. Yelp if you find anything interesting," she said, in a Jamaican accent. "Everything is at a discount price." Venus kept looking in the shop, curious about why the light spirits led her there.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The woman replied, "Just a humble painter," dusting all the paintings.

The feline girl was confused about why she was led to a painting shop. "I don't understand," she wondered, picking up a dragon-painted mug and then putting it down. The old lady then appeared in front of Venus, making her gasp in surprise.

"See anything you like?" she asked. "Perhaps a touch of sparkle to bring out some bling," she advertised, motioning her hand to a dragon painting with glitter.

Then she picked up a dragon cutout lampshade and said, "Oh, this is one of a kind." She pressed a button on the lamp, making it slowly spin, and added, "I'll make you a good deal for this one."

Venus rolled her eyes and noticed the feather duster the shopkeeper was using dusting by itself in midair. She gasped, "Your duster!" but the old woman snapped her fingers, stopping the feather duster and dropping it to the ground.

"It... it was dusting by itself," the Felinid stammered.

The goat-woman scoffed, "Oh, do not believe what you see." "Nothing is as it seems. I should know because I'm a w..." she stammered before she could think, "a wonderer of art with inspirations." Venus continued to look around before spotting a weasel-eagle hybrid with wings and a beak sleeping in its bed. "Shh. He needs his nap."

Suddenly, the winged animal woke up and shouted, "It's rude to stare!" before chattering.

"Aahh! That creature is talking!" hollered the girl.

The small critter added, "That's not all I can do." Then he started singing scales up to an out-of-tune pitch. The old shopkeeper snapped her fingers to float a broom and wack her pet on the head, knocking him down. Just when the broom started sweeping the animal back to his bed, he was able to get up and hiss at the broom, retreating it to a wall corner.

Then Venus's eyes widened; it all came together in her mind. "You're a WITCH!" she exclaimed.

"Painter," the senior woman tried to correct her.

"That's why the spirits led me here!" the girl said, figuring out the answer.

"I said 'painter!'"

"You can help me help someone!"

"PAINTER!"

"You see, it's my aunt."

"I am not a witch!" the old lady denied. "I am trying to make a living here. But if you don't feel like buying anything, LEAVE!" she blurted out, pushing Venus to the door as she tried to resist.

"Wait! Hold on!" protested Venus, trying to break free from the albino woman's grasp on her shoulders.

"Bye-bye. Don't come back unless you want to buy something," bid the witch as she tried to push the Felinid out the door.

"No, wait! I... I'LL BUY IT ALL!" shouted Venus. The woman stopped at what she just heard.

She asked, "What was that?"

"Every painting," retorted the hazel-haired girl.

"And how are you going to pay for all of this?" asked the elderly woman skeptically.

Venus turned around and replied, "With this," pulling out her father's compass.

The compass caught the conjurer's eye, and she stared at it in awe. "Oh my stars, that is beautiful," she whispered.

The winged weasel perched on her shoulder and said, "That would definitely make us a fortune." The goat-woman tried to snatch the compass, but Venus quickly pulled it away.

"Ah, ah," she tutted. "Every painting... and a spell."

"Spell?" asked the aged lady.

"Yes," Venus answered.

The goat lady brushed her pet off her shoulder and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure you know what you are doing?"

"I want a spell to change my aunt," the feline persuasively requested, "...that will help a friend of mine change his fate."

The senior woman thought momentarily, then responded, "Done." She took the compass and went out the front door.

"Where are you going?" Venus asked. The goat-sorceress snapped her fingers, making the door close automatically, and returned to open it. "What are you doing?"

She declared, "Never rush your art. It is very delicate." Then she opened the door to reveal the room, which had been changed into a potion room with a large cauldron.

"Whoa!" Venus gasped in awe.

"Last time I did this, it was for a young spacer," the witch told her. She clapped her hands twice to start her cauldron. It poofed into a mysterious golden glow.

The weasel-eagle spoke, "Easy on the eyes. Cool jacket, too."

The old lady added, "He demanded I would give him the strength of ten men. And he gave me this," she said, pulling out a medallion with a star and crossed rings around it. "...for a spell. A spell that would change his fate."

Venus leaned in to look closer at it and asked, "And did he get what he desired?"

The goat-witch laughed, "Yes! He made off with it and showed it off to his family." She looked around the room, finding ingredients for the spell the girl required. "Now, what do I need? Oh! Yes, a little bit of this," she said, pulling out some pine needles and tossing them into the cauldron. Then she found a small rose quartz shard and threw it in. The animal hybrid flew to Venus, plucked out a piece of her hair, and gave it to his mistress. She rubbed the hair in between her fingers and dropped it into the bowl. "That ought to do it," she said. Then she stirred the cauldron with a large metal spoon, which then melted the scoop end. The sorceress threw the spoon away and put on a welding helmet. She even put a small one on her pet for him. Venus looked into the cauldron as the glow got brighter before she covered her eyes.

The light then exploded into a bright flash of rays, which then caught Jim's attention from far away. "What was that?" he asked in curiosity.

Back at the cottage, the goat-woman flipped her mask up and said, "And now, let's see," dropping a dispensing faucet and pouring some purple liquid into a small vial. "What do we have here?" she asked rhetorically. She closed the vial with a small cap and placed it on a small table. The animal hybrid pecked at it with his beak before his mistress slapped him away from it.

Venus asked in confusion, "Um, what is it?"

"You don't want it?" snapped the witch.

The young girl answered loudly, "Yes! Of course, I do." She took the vial from the table and hesitantly asked, "You're sure that if I give this to my aunt, it will help my friend be free off the hook?"

The goat-lady chuckled, "Oh, trust me. It'll do the trick, love."

Venus left the cottage with the vial in a small bag and waved goodbye to the elderly woman. "Expect your delivery of your order within a week or so."

Suddenly, she remembered something that tried to tell the Felinid about, but she couldn't remember what it was. "What was that thing about the spell?" she struggled.

"Did you say something about..." asked Venus as she turned around to find herself back at the ring of tall trees where she had started. "...the spell?" she finished. She was surprised and baffled about how she had ended up back there so fast.