Of the many varieties of psychics (non, standard, pseudo, scion, and evolink), nullifiers are the most mysterious among them. Nullifiers are related to scions most closely, as all recorded nullifiers in known history had psychic parents, but instead of enhanced psionic abilities, nullifiers have the opposite: the ability to suppress the psychic powers of those around them.

Humans, for the most part, are unaffected, but as psionics are treated as a sort of sixth sense by psychics, the suppression of their abilities is equivalent to being rendered blind, deaf, or denying you the sense of touch. This has caused no small amount of grief for nullifiers, whose presence can cause mental disruption and lessened ‘feeling’ through mentalism.

Nathaniel Davis, dean of Phoenix-Paiute Academy, is the most well known nullifier in the world, and was given the chance to hone his unique psionic quirk with the help of Zhou Ping, thus making him the most powerful nullifier in the world as well.

Under the scrutiny of medical psientist Dr. Hugo Dewitt, nullification has steadily developed from an obscure and feared mutation into a practicable psionic discipline. However, as a brand new discipline with relatively little study put into it, nullification is not ready to be taught at large. While its practical applications are obvious, it is still being tested for short-to-long term negative effects.

The lock to room #224 clicked open with the tap of Taz’s student ID to the sensor, and her hand sought the light switch as she walked in. She blinked as the light flared on, revealing a room maybe a quarter larger than her own back home.

There was a bed in the corner opposite the door nestled between the wall and a dresser, and a bed in the back far right of the room sandwiched just the same, with a tall, wide window on the far wall with the blinders drawn. Underneath it was her luggage; five filled-to-bursting carriers in pink and blue, and a single red, hotrod-style minifridge.

The walls were plain white, the cheap carpet a calm blue.

“Yeah, it’s just like you said, everything’s here.” Taz said into her phone in a relieved voice as she walked over to the windows to open the blinds. She had a good view of the telepathy and divination labs, the private study sanctum, and the Dewitt hospital, and if she really strained her eyes, she could see the sparsely lit memorial park.

“Toldja it was nothing to worry about.” Madeline said. Taz fiddled with the screen for a moment to put Madeline on speaker while Anna and Noelle both walked in, Anna immediately shutting the door to test its locks, pressing her hand against it to try and determine its density…

“Doesn’t look like my roommate’s arrived yet, though.”

“Don’t gotta worry about that, they’ll get there when they get there. What’s the plan? You got a desk?”

Taz unzipped one of her bags and pulled out her tablet, turning it on and putting on some Flyleaf. “I’m getting a desk delivered somewhere between Wednesday to Friday. Right mom?”

Anna looked away from the window lock she was fiddling with and gave a confirming nod. “That’s what I was told.”

“Yeah, Wednesday to Friday!”

“Good, don’t do too much unpacking and decorating before I get there. If you’re gunna be there a while, I’m gunna make sure that place looks nice for ya.”

“You’re just trying to make a second hangout spot, aren’tcha?” Taz teased her, unpacking her guitar with an eager smile, bobbing her head to the music filtering through the room, though she resisted the temptation to play along with it.

“As long as your roommate’s cool with it!”

“I’ll make sure they are!” Taz beamed.

“Anyways, I’m gunna be flying in super early tomorrow morning, so I’m going to get ready for bed. Have a great first night at PA, Taz!”

“Aaaaaaah-I’m-gunna-try-super-hard!” Taz squirmed in place, nearly bumping into her mother as the woman stared underneath the beds, then checked the restroom.

“There’s my girl. Pass me over to Noelle, please?”

Taz did as asked, the older girl accepting the phone with a little grin before Taz started pulling out her toiletries and pajamas.

“‘Tis your darling, ma Madeline… Yes yes, today went very well~! Monsieur Davis’ speech was as dire as ever! We visited Tony’s Trattoria after… The margherita, what else? Tony’s meat-lover’s is a nightmare… Of course they loved it, my tastes are égalitariste, after all.”

Taz flopped onto her bed, testing the mattress and watching her mother bustle about, a small frown on her face, checking the old-style room phone hanging by the door before moving to the center of the room and looking around, looking like she felt out of place with her arms over her chest and her stiff, straight knees.

The woman flinched as she felt a tug on her wrist, and glanced over at her daughter, following her psychic pull until she awkwardly lowered herself to sit by Taz, and all the tension in her body suddenly released as she felt that blonde little head lean on her shoulder.

“Thank you.” Taz said, and Anna felt her face twist up as the words sank into her heart like an arrow.

“You’re welcome, love.” Anna took her daughter in her arms and squeezed, her eyes crushed shut as she tried to keep herself from crying. “I’m not ready.” Anna whispered, her voice shaking holding Taz close.

“I dunno if I a-hundred percent am…” Taz admitted, her fingers closing around her mom’s, and instinctively rocked left and right, trying to console her mother with the motion. “But I wanna be. I’m… I’m really happy.” Taz smiled, twitching a bit as she felt a wet drop land on her scalp.

“I-I’m happy you’re happy, love.” Anna whimpered, moving her hand down to squeeze Taz’s hip. “You make good grades.” Anna ordered, though the usual hard tone that accompanied such an order was wavering. “You stay safe.” Anna sniffled. “And, at the end of all of this, you prove me wrong, okay?” Anna shivered a moment, squeezing her daughter tightly. “That’s what you’re going to do, alright? You’re going to make this world yours.”

“Yeah.” Taz smiled, just trying to keep her mother calm and reassured, through trembling and tears. “I-I’ll do my best. You have to be okay too, though, right? I wanna meet the puppy!”

“You will, hon, you will.” Anna sucked a deep breath into her lungs, and let it loose, long and slow, but the calming gesture ultimately fell apart as the urge to cuddle her daughter took over and she dragged her into a tight, limb-flailing hug with a number of kisses to her scalp.

“Ow! Mom! Mooooom!” Taz whined.

It didn’t get any easier to let go, but, eventually, Anna did. It took everything in her power to unlock her arms from her daughter’s body, and she had to draw the energy up to stand. She knew that staying here any longer would just make it harder, but she needed to see her daughter off, and she needed to give her space to adapt. She was thankful that Noelle seemed to have made herself scarce–though mildly worried since she had Tasha’s phone.

“Every night, make sure you lock the door and the window.” Anna said slowly, taking deep breaths before turning to face her little girl. “Close the blinds, too.”

“Okay.” Taz slid off of the bed to take Anna’s hand, making her mother shiver again.

“I want you to call me too, at least once a day, whenever you can. If not, I will call you before curfew.”

“Okay.” Taz nodded.

“Which is…?”

“Oh, uh, nine PM.”

“Good.” Anna kissed her daughter’s forehead, and resisted the urge to bundle her up in her arms again and drag her home. “I have one more thing for you.”

“Jeez, mom, am I gonna start getting packages from home, too?” Taz smiled, half-hopeful, half-concerned about her mom’s disposition, only to get a nod.

“Absolutely you will. I’ll be learning to bake, and sew, and some of those other things your aunt has been harping on about, and you’ll get the best results.” Anna smiled, getting a doubtful look from her daughter. “And anything else I can think of, too, of course. But, for right now, I have something serious to give you. Come with me.”

Taz followed her mother into the bathroom, little more than a toilet between a bathtub with a shower head looming over it and a sink. Over the sink was a medicine cabinet with a mirror, which Anna opened up to reveal the empty contents, then reached in to tap against a few of the boards making up the back.

Taz tilted her head as Anna pulled one of the boards back, revealing a small, likely unintentional little hole in the wall behind the sturdy cabinet. Taz couldn’t really see anything in the hole other than shadow and darkness, and maybe a strange black… material?

“I’ve put your gun case back here.” Anna spoke in a low voice, and Taz immediately straightened, her eyes almost bugging out of her head.

“What?!” Taz squeaked.

“A two-shot derringer.” Anna explained calmly, her hands cupping Taz’s face. “It’s already loaded and there are six extra bullets, just in case.”

“Mom, that could get me kicked out!” Taz hissed.

Anna knelt down, slowly, her expression, her eyes, her everything serious, except her hands, which were warm and comforting as could be. “Then forget about it. Forget about it until you feel endangered.”

“I—you need to take it back!”

“No.” Anna said softly. “I will pay any price for your security; your safety. The school can promise every security measure under the sun, but I won’t be happy. This is my line of defense. Tasha… Taz?”

Taz felt her face go cold. “Y-yeah…?”

“There is nothing in this world more important than your safety. If you need to…” She trailed off, staring her daughter in the eye.

“... shoot to kill.” Taz finished with what felt like an apple stuffed in her throat.

Anna nodded, then stood in full. Then, Taz found herself in her embrace once more. It felt colder, more tense, a strange melancholy filling the room as Taz uncomfortably returned the hug.

When they parted, Taz opened the cabinet and prodded the board blocking that little hole in the wall, and she gave her mother a small frown.

“How did you know this was here?”

“The same way I always know where your shoes are, dear: mother’s intuition.” Anna kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Now, forget that it’s there until you need it, okay? If this school is keeping its promises, you will never need it.”

“But…”

“And if you ever do, I will take the consequences for myself.”

Taz frowned. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, and suddenly the room felt like it had a weight in the air, like she suddenly discovered that a murder had happened here. In theory, it was just an object, a bit of molded metal, but what it was intended for…

She thought she was coming here to get away from that.

“Don’t look so down, Tasha.” Anna said consolingly, stroking her chin. “Like I said, you probably won’t ever need it. It’s only there in case you do.”

“I know…” Taz mumbled, rubbing her mother’s arm. “Okay, I’ll… forget about it.”

“Good.” Anna said, then slowly led Taz back into the bedroom, where she stood, calm, quiet, sullen, but at the same time, a little relieved. “Once a day.”

Taz blinked, shaken out of her thoughts. “Huh?”

“Call me once a day.” Anna reminded her gently, hiding a sad chuckle.

“Oh.” Taz gave her mother a nod and squeezed her hand. “I will.”

“Good girl. I love you, Tasha.”

“I love you too, mama.”

Anna leaned down to kiss her daughter’s forehead, and hug her one last time. Pulling away from her was difficulty beyond difficult, but eventually, Anna managed to convince herself to walk out the door with Taz waving goodbye.

She stood in the Puellama’s hallway, glancing over at Noelle standing by the door, surfing on her own phone, Taz’s in her other hand.

“You’re leaving?” Noelle asked gently, and Anna gave a small nod.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Well, fly home with no worries under your wings, belle reine!” Noelle grinned, giving her a hearty pat on the back. “I will ensure your daughter settles in comfortably!”

Anna took a deep breath through her nose, turning fully to face Noelle, her expression serious, but just marginally soft enough to let show some affection. “Good. I expect to hear good things about you from her.”

“You may be certain of that.” Noelle’s smile was somewhere between cocky and reassuring, and Anna nodded.

“Good. Also…” Anna trailed off, watching her daughter crouched over her luggage, pulling out her pajamas, before glancing back at Noelle with an expression full of dark, cruel promise. "Si tu couches avec elle, je vais te tuer."

Noelle opened her mouth to respond, but the words caught in the back of her throat as comprehension came over her, and she just watched, stunned, as Anna headed towards the elevators with a purposeful saunter.

The fille tapped her chin, blinking, and made sure Anna was out of sight before slipping into Taz’s room.

“Chouchou?” She asked gently, and Taz glanced over her shoulder as she sorted through a pile of folded clothes. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” Taz answered half-truthfully, not wanting to mention her sadness of saying goodbye, nor her… new concern in the bathroom. “Oh! My phone?” She asked, only to find it floating into her hand, and then her folded clothes, stack by stack, flew out of her luggage and into the dresser by her bed, the drawers opening one by one as Noelle, with a profound easiness, knelt down by Taz as the little blonde stared at the display with awe. “Whoa…”

“Je suis impressionnant, n'est-ce pas?” Noelle teased, though it was clear from the strain in her voice it was taking a good deal of her concentration to be so precise.

“I still don’t speak French, but wow…” Taz smiled, then swallowed an embarrassed blush as her unmentionables found their place in the top drawer.

“Merci! Telekinesis is my specialty.” Noelle beamed.

“Wha’? Not divination?” Taz asked, drawing a low chuckle from Noelle.

“Non, non, I much prefer the more physique abilities!”

“Then why were you with Maddy at the divination booth?”

Noelle didn’t answer for a few moments, too busy making sure that one bag of luggage was clear before rubbing her temples a moment to ease the strain. Anna’s threat rang in her ears for a moment as she considered her next step, but decided… why not? She had the purest intentions.

“Before I answer that, I would like to extend to you an invitation.” Noelle offered with a little grin.

Taz tilted her head. “An invitation?”

“Mhmm~! Madeline is away and I am most unnerved by the idea of sleeping in our dorm room alone! What do you say? You could have her bed for the night, spend it in a room more lived in?” Noelle offered.

Taz stared at Noelle for several long seconds. Spend the night in the same room as Noelle.

Just her and Noelle.

Her face began to turn such a violent shade of red that, for a moment, Noelle feared blood would start shooting out of her nose, until in a burst of sparkles and bubbles, Melodica’s voice, then face screamed into the room.

“OF COURSE WE’LL STAY IN YOUR ROOM!”

Noelle yelped, falling back onto her ass from her crouched position, while Taz leapt to her feet.

“There you are!” Taz raised her voice. “D-don’t go answering for me!”

“I’m in your head, Taz, I already know the answer!” Melodica huffed, cupping Taz’s cheeks with plastic-like fingers. “Don’t blow this for us!”

Taz just stared in quiet shock at Melodica’s desperate expression, and glanced over at Noelle.

“Um… yeah, okay, we’ll stay the night.”

Noelle stared in silence at the two girls, and had to suppress a laugh.