Iris stood alone in a field of flowers.

The flowers were small, barely coming up past her feet, but they coated the whole valley, and Iris knew that they extended further beyond.  While they were not as numerous in some areas, these flowers still bloomed everywhere on Earth - and not just on Earth.  Across the multiverse, the chain that linked every habitable planet together was this flower.  The Flower of Life.

Iris knelt down and looked at one such plant closely.  It didn’t look much different than other kinds of flowers, save for its pink, heart-shaped blossom, but Iris knew better.

In the Flower of Life lay the power to save the world - or to destroy it.

And at this rate, it seemed as if the world would soon be destroyed.

Iris glared up into the sky.  How much longer would it be?  How much longer until Dark Joker came to this planet?

For a second, Iris thought she could see Buros looming there in the sky, larger than life, smiling inhumanly wide.  She blinked, and the image faded.  Still, she tensed, clenching onto the Angel Cap.  

Just who had decided this, anyway?  Who’d made it so that an ordinary girl had to defend the multiverse?  Whoever they were, Iris wished she could go up to them and slap them hard across the face - or at least give them a piece of her mind.

What, are you looking for someone else to blame? Iris scolded herself.  This is all on you.  Everything rests on your shoulders.

Still, why?  Why did she have to be Nurse Angel?  If it had been someone else, perhaps Buros and the others would be dead by now.  Perhaps the planets of Proserpina and Libera would still be full of life.  Sure, Iris had claimed victory on numerous occasions, but only temporarily.  Now Proserpina and Libera were dead planets, and Earth was next.

Earth…

It had been hard enough to lose Proserpina and Libera, and those weren’t even her home planet.  What would it be like when her home was invaded, defiled, turned into a farm for the Black Vaccine?

Was there truly nothing she could do?

Again, Iris’s eyes fell to the Flowers of Life below her.  Soon, Dark Joker would come to this planet.  They’d seize the Flowers of Life and warp them into monstrosities only capable of producing the Black Vaccine - liquid death.  There were more Flowers of Life on Earth than anywhere else, which would mean that much more Black Vaccine…enough to overwhelm more planets than Iris could even think of.  Perhaps starting with Queen Earth…

Iris lowered her head.  Queen Diana…I’m sorry…I tried, I really did!

And it wouldn’t just be Diana who would die.  Iris’s parents, her brothers and sisters, her friends, anyone she’d ever known - they’d all be dead soon.  And what would become of Iris then?  Would she wander alone through the cosmos, searching for another habitable planet to protect, only to see it fall?  No, there was no way she could do that.  Without her loved ones, she’d be too despondent to fight.  She’d be killed, and the multiverse would be overwhelmed.

I can’t let that happen!  But there’s nothing I can do.  Dark Joker will come to Earth, and then they’ll kill us all.

The Flower of Life rippled gently beneath her feet, and Iris narrowed her eyes.  Her entire planet would soon be ruined because of those flowers.  For a split second, Iris wanted to burn the whole field to the ground - but it wouldn’t save anyone, would it?  As long as there was life on this planet, the Flower of Life would grow.  It was impossible to -

“With Nurse Angel’s power, anything is possible!”

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Iris had heard those words from a little boy living in Libera’s capital city.  The words had given her some much-needed hope, and so she’d charged into the next battle with everything she had.  And yet the city fell two weeks later.  The boy hadn’t even lived to see it happen.  He’d been one of many to die of a plague caused by the Black Vaccine.

So why did those words stir up something completely unexpected in Iris’s mind?  Something like hope?

It came to her in a flash.  There was a way to save Earth.  If Nurse Angel’s power really was limitless, surely she could do this.

It might cost Iris her life.  But if it would save Earth, if it would save those she held dear, Iris would do anything.

Her mind already made up, Iris placed the Angel Cap on her head for the last time.

“Holy power, holy prayer, be here!”

It wasn’t long before Iris was done transforming.  Back when she had first transformed into Nurse Angel at the age of ten, she was surprised to find that she’d grown about ten inches and had the face of a teenager.  But now, seven years later, she looked pretty much like her untransformed self, sans the outfit change.

Iris?  Did you just transform?

Iris flinched when she heard Diana’s voice.  Diana was skilled at telepathy, and she could also sense when Iris transformed - she’d made the Angel Cap herself, after all.  Oh God, what would Diana think of this idea?  Surely she’d scold Iris for attempting something so reckless.  But still, Iris wasn’t going to back down.

“Yes, I’ve transformed,” Iris replied.

Why?  Panic laced Diana’s voice.  Don’t tell me Dark Joker has already - 

“No, they haven’t come yet,” Iris reassured her.  “And they never will.”

What do you mean?

“Queen Diana, can humans live without the Green Vaccine?”

Well, yes, Diana said slowly.  Animals live without using it, and they do just fine.  And new types of medicine are being discovered every year.  So I suppose -  Diana stopped mid-sentence, and Iris could tell that she’d realized just what Iris was planning.  Iris, whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t -

Though Iris knew it wasn’t proper to interrupt a queen, she did anyway.  It was an emergency, after all.  “Tell me.  What would happen if Dark Joker never came to Earth?”

I think they’d retreat.  Thanks to your efforts, they’re low on the Black Vaccine, Diana explained, so they’ll probably travel to one of the weaker universes to find a habitable planet with plenty of the Flower of Life.  Diana’s voice hardened.  But they will return to Earth one day, no matter what.  Buros wants nothing less than complete silence in the multiverse, and he will never give up.  So you shouldn’t -

“It’s all right, Diana.  I’ve got a plan.”

Yes, Iris had a plan - she’d had another idea while Diana was speaking.  She knew how to drive out Dark Joker for good.  It would take a long time, perhaps even centuries, but eventually the multiverse would be at peace.

All she needed was herself.

All it would cost was herself.

Iris, what are you - 

“Angel Shine Scroll!”

In a flash of light, the Angel Baton appeared in Iris’s hand.

Iris, don’t!

Iris did not reply.  Instead, she called upon her power of flight, levitating high into the sky.  She took in a deep breath, feeling the cool, fresh air seep into her lungs.  Below her was the field of the Flower of Life.  It looked like a rippling pink ocean.

Diana’s voice shrank to a whisper.  Iris, please.

Iris bowed her head, closing her eyes.  “Forgive me.”

Clutching the Angel Baton, the girl began to spin.

And so it was that on a bright spring morning in the year 912, the girl named Iris died.