Simon, his eyes sunken from lack of sleep, stalked out of the elevator and through the observation deck of the Tower. Tourists and staff unconsciously moved out of his way without being able to consciously perceive him. He stopped in front of the giant windows, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

Simon used a Space spell to project his Mind spell remotely. In this way he was able to appear to his follower as a vision in the mirror of his small, dark bathroom.

"How is the situation in High Park coming along?" asked the vision of Simon in the mirror, his face mostly obscured by the darkness of the bathroom. He made immediate eye contact.

Anderson was startled by the sudden appearance of the archmage. He quickly regained composure.

"I'm still in the thick of it," said Anderson.

"The thick of it?" snarled Simon.

"I have my fingers in a lot of pies," said Anderson. "I'm going to figure something out."

"High Park belongs to me. It was my original territory. Having these parasites leeching off it is a significant loss of face for me. If I have to take charge of this situation I will but if I have to do that what use are you to me?"

"This coven, they're stubborn fanatics. They're never going to acknowledge your claim-" Anderson saw Simon's expression change even in the darkness, "-no matter how legitimate," he added. "How far do you want me to do with this? Because I'm having them all followed. I know where they live."

"I expect you to do whatever it takes to resolve this situation permanently," said Simon.

"Understood," said Anderson. "Don't worry, I will have this taken care of tonight."

"Do that," said Simon. "Do not boast to me. I will contact you again at this same time tomorrow. Make sure you have kept your word by then."

"Yes-" began Anderson, but Simon was already gone from the mirror.

Anderson permitted himself a full body shiver. He really didn't appreciate being ambushed in his bathroom mirror. He added 'working for Isengrim' to a long list of lifetime regrets.

Simon returned his awareness to his body, fuming. He hated having to rely on agents. There wasn't another reliable human on the planet. He needed to become more powerful, powerful enough that he could enact his will without the handicap of other people.

He sensed Aubrey enter the Tower, and followed her presence up the elevator to the observation deck. Simon turned to face her the moment before she arrived.

"Aubrey," said Simon, "this isn't a good time."

"I figured," said Aubrey. "I can't remember the last time it was a good time."

"I have a lot of very important concerns competing for my time," said Simon.

"You haven't slept," said Aubrey, abruptly changing the subject.

"As I was trying to explain, I have enormous responsibilities as the steward of the Tower. The magical underpinnings of the entire city would come apart at the seams if it wasn't for my constant vigilance. I can't afford to sleep."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, Simon," said Aubrey. "The whole city isn't going to come apart if you take one night off."

"I can't expect you to understand," said Simon. "You don't have a concept of what I have become. The pressure I am operating under," he was getting angrier and angrier, "I am the sole magical superpower left in the city. I am this city! I can't be frivolous with my time the way you can. I can't just piss it away!"

"Don't yell at me Simon," Aubrey refused to raise her voice to match him.

"Take no for an answer," said Simon, lowering his voice but removing none of the menace.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Aubrey. "Do you really want me to leave?"

"Yes," said Simon. "I need to focus on my work."

Aubrey crossed her arms. The two just stared at each other for an uncomfortable moment. Finally Aubrey walked over to Simon.

"Come here. I don't want to leave with us all tense," she kissed him lightly. "It's always love right?"

"Never in doubt for a moment," said Simon. "I love you too."

"Ride or die," said Aubrey, pumping her fist.

They both laughed. Aubrey felt the tension was sufficiently cleared.

"You need to sleep some time," said Aubrey.

"I will," said Simon.

She left him to his work.

* * *

"Deja vu," said Cicero.

Gabe and Harper's apartment was a lot nicer than Gabe's old place, and they were down one member, but the little conspiracy they had going was starting to resemble the one that brought down Ted Rogers. Only this time they were there to discuss one of their own.

"Just so we're clear," said Aubrey, "I said I'd come and listen and I promise not to tell Simon about this meeting, but I think you're all traitors for even considering this."

"You don't see the side of him we're talking about, Aubrey," said Cicero.

"Oh, trust me, I see it," said Aubrey. "The Tower has gone to his head. Like it would go to anyone's head. Did you all forget we pressured him into taking on that responsibility?"

"That's not the extent of it, Aubrey," said Jackie.

"Oh?" asked Aubrey, still seething. "Why don't you *enlighten* me?"

Gabe walked into the room behind Aubrey with a large bowl of popcorn, but Harper gave him the most withering look of his life so he turned right back around and left it in the kitchen.

"He keeps asserting his control over more and more of the places of power in the city," explained Cicero. "He's pushing out the rest of the magical community to the fringes. It has everyone at each other's throats, fighting over scraps."

"The agents he's acting through have murder written on their souls," said Jackie. "They're using all kinds of unnatural rituals and stolen power."

"Things are even worse than when Rogers was in charge," said Harper.

"He's strangling the magical community. That has ripple effects. Do you think it's a coincidence how many vampires have been active lately?" asked Jackie.

"Yeah we're not supposed to say anything at the station but there are a lot of murders lately that scream 'vampire'," said Gabe.

"Even Gabe notices, Aubrey," said Cicero.

"So what, you steal the Tower, one of you goes insane, and we start the cycle all over again?" asked Aubrey.

"Aubrey's right," said Cicero. "We can't just treat him like Rogers and steal the Tower out from under him. He's our friend. We can talk to him."

"We owe him that much," agreed Harper, "we did put him in this position in the first place."

"Something has to change," warned Jackie. "If he won't listen to reason we'll have to find another solution."

"He will," insisted Aubrey. "He's still the same person he's just stressed out. He's not sleeping. We'll all go talk to him together. He'll see that he's gone overboard."

"Like an intervention?" asked Gabe, skeptically.

"No, like a-" tried Aubrey. "Fine an intervention," she admitted.

"I don't have to come do I?" asked Gabe.

"You're going," snarled Harper.

* * *

The four mages and Gabe arrived at the entrance to the CN Tower. Simon noticed immediately. When they stepped into the elevator he brushed it aside into another dimension with a wave of his hand. The elevator doors opened and the group found themselves inside Simon's Arcane Sanctum.

The pocket dimension was cluttered with a pack-rat's hoard of magical fetishes, stacks of books and papers, and laboratory equipment. All around were the telltale signs of dark magic: eldritch sigils, black candles, suspicious red liquids, bones.

Simon was waiting for them, standing directly in their path as the elevator door seemed to open out of thin air. He looked absolutely hollow inside.

"You would dare attempt to Bogers me?" he somehow managed to ask with a straight face.

"We're just here to talk Simon," said Cicero. "This isn't a Bogering."

"I know a Bogering when I see one," said Simon.

"Do you even hear yourself?" asked Harper "You're using Bogers as a verb."

"You have no idea how powerful I have become if you think I will be as easy to destroy as Rogers."

"Simon, Calm down," said Jackie.

"Honestly, Simon, we just want to talk to you," said Aubrey. "We have some concerns but we're your friends. We all agreed we wanted you to be steward of the Tower. Nobody is getting Bogersed."

"Not you too Aubrey," said Simon.

"No, Simon-" started Aubrey.

Aubrey took a step towards Simon and he stepped back.

"You were fools to come in force like this, to attack me in my place of strength," Simon began to rant. "Here I could kill you all with a single thought. Don't think that you can dictate to me how to run my city in the place where I am a god!"

The room became electric with barely restrained puissance.

"No, Simon, listen to me," said Aubrey, walking forward.

She held Simon's face and kissed him, then pulled away and stared deeply into his eyes.

He never saw it coming. She was the only person left in the world he trusted. The moment he looked her in the eye she seized his brain with magical power and locked away every memory he had related to magic, virtually every memory that made up his self-identity. Before realized he was under attack he had forgotten how to resist.

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Aubrey locked away all of Simon's magic abilities and left him an amnesiac.