Charlie flinched as Paul let out a yell of anger and frustration. It had been three hours since Dakota and Julia had gassed them, and it had not taken them long to figure out what happened. Paul raved for five minutes about how much he hated Dakota, using words that will not be repeated for the sake of our younger readers. When his temper had subsided, he and Karma began to plot. They wanted a new witch, and Paul had one in mind. He sent Karma to find a person named Waverly, who he said had more power in her pinky than Mira had in her entire body. Karma did not seem happy about it. Suddenly, Charlie felt a shock rush through his body and he fell backward onto the ground. Karma had found him again, but this time, Nicole could not save him. He had gone off alone into the woods so he would not be distracted. Now, he had to fight Karma himself. He only had one problem; he had no power to fight her back with. Fire pulsed through his veins and he feared that he would die right there, alone, in the woods.

"I've got you now you little brat, see if you listen in on our conversations again," Karma taunted.

This would be a good time to gain a power, Charlie thought. God, I'd really appreciate some help here, he prayed. He sighed as the fire increased. Let your will be done.

"Hey Karma," another voice came. In his incoherent state Charlie did not recognize it.

"Get your hands off my kid." He continued.

Charlie felt all the power sweep out of him and he heard Karma yell out in pain. He felt himself jerk. All the feeling returned to his body and he gasped, filling his lungs with air.

"You OK kid?" Now he knew the voice.

"Xander?" He asked.

"Yeah, you OK?"

He felt extremely weak and could not sit up, but the fire had vanished from his veins, and he could breath again. Between gasps he reassured Xander that he was all right. Heavy footfalls approached. David, Charlie thought.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I was listening in on Paul and Karma again," Charlie said still gasping for his breath. "She … caught me..."

"The kid needed a little help, so I thought I'd jump in," Xander finished for him. "Besides, Karma's fun to defeat anyway."

Charlie smiled. He knew his father cared, even if it was in his own special way. But he had no time to worry about his father's affection, Paul and Karma's plans needed to be brought into the open. They needed a new plan.