DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters appearing in this story. I use them only for the entertainment (hopefully) of whoever reads this, not for monetary gain. I am receiving no money for this. Enjoy.

The air swirls around her, tiny twinkling lights dancing through her hair. She has never looked....felt?......so beautiful, she thinks, as she does when she is here. This place is as much home to her as anywhere in the universe. And it's master, as much a part of her as any man could ever hope to be.

"Are you here?"

"Of course. I am always here."

"I-I've missed you."

"How is that so? I have never left you."

"In the....other......world, I mean. The world that seperates us."

"Ah, but you are wrong. We are never seperated, you and I. For now and all eternity, we are bound together. Wether you realize it or not, I am with you always."

"But, how is that possible? When I'm there, you never show yourself, never make your presence known."

"Really? Do you truly think that is so? Tell me then, who is it that assists you in alerting your fellows to the dangers around them? With all the myriad possibilities that abound in the universe, do you truly believe that you alone have the knowledge to decipher the endless possibilities of the future without my help?"

"I-I don't understand. Please, tell me what you mean! After all this time, all we've....meant...to each other, can't you just say what you mean?!?"

For an eternal moment, she watches as he stares at her, pondering her question. Once again, she feels the fear and longing that he inspires deep within her being. It is as if he is a part of her. A part that she cherishes, yet dreads, too. When he speaks, her soul is filled with icicles and rainbows.

"Very well", he whispers. "I will show you."

A wave of his hand, and the world itself changes. Her senses reel. Sights and sounds, scents and colors swirl around her as throbbing holes explode in the air, showing impossible things. She sees places and....faces....that are all-too-familiar, yet........different.

A broken, disillusioned young man.....Rokk?.......wanders the dismal streets of a planet she knows to be Braal, looking for hope and absolution.

Two children, a boy and a girl, playing in a field of flowers on the planet Orando as their parents, the former Princess Projectra and Karate Kid, watch joyfully.

Oh, Val.....

She and her friends honoring the fallen Imra Ardeen, Saturn Girl, killed while saving Lightning Lad from Zaryan the Conqueror.

A Legion vastly different from her own, where Ferro Lad and Invisible Kid are alive and well, Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl are married, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are not, and Princess Projectra is a....snake?!?

Brainiac Five, racing from the future to intercept the deadly energies of a being called the Anti-Monitor, saving his beloved Kara.

Kara, how we've missed you.....

Mon-El, being hunted by the entire Legion after killing Shadow Lass in a fit of madness and rage.

No! Shady, too?!?

Another Legion, this one a group of younger, cloned versions of the originals.

How young they look! And look at those horrible hairstyles!

Timber Wolf as some huge, hulking man-beast.

Could that possibly be...Brin??

The wedding of Superboy and Triplicate Girl.

The destruction of Earth, its inhabitants victims of the Dominators' machinations.

No! NO!!!!!!

"Please, stop it! Stop it! I can't see any more of this!"

As quickly as they appeared, the visions vanish, leaving Dream Girl slumped to the ground, sobbing. The being cloaked in white watches, waiting for her to compose herself. Then, he speaks.

"Do you see, Nura Nal? Do you see the immensity of all the dreams and nightmares in all the possible realities?"

"Y-Yes. Yes, I do."

"And do you realize now how I have been with you every moment of your existance, filtering all these possible dreams, assuring that you see only the ones that affect your own reality and future?"

Wiping a tear from her eyes, determined not to let him see her like this, she answers. "Yes. I understand, now. But, what I don't understand is, why? Why have you done this for me all these years?"

Again, the silence, and Nura feels what she knows is an unfounded fear of repercussions to come. Yet, it is a fear the she instinctively knows is a also very real possibility. She jumps slightly when he speaks.

"Although I am Lord of this place, I have grown bored and....lonely. I sought you out all those years ago for companionship. Your affinity for the influence of dreams is unheard of in the mortal realm, and you also have an aura of some degree of sorcery about you. In all my existance, never have I seen one such as you."

"Then, are you saying you....love me?"

Something akin to a chuckle escapes his thin lips.

"No, I do not love you. Long ago, my predecessor loved a mortal woman......more than one, in fact........and it inevitably led him to disaster. I vowed soon after never to let that happen again. No, Nura, I cannot love one such as you. I only desire your companionship, nothing more."

"Oh."

Could she really have expected otherwise? In her heart, she knew this, has always known it, yet....why, then, does it hurt so much? In all their talks, all that they have shared physically, he has never once mentioned his feelings for her. Now, she is suddenly faced with the knowledge that he sees her as nothing more than a pleasant diversion from the weight of his duties.

She blinks back a tear, and he is suddenly next to her, wrapping his bright white cloak around her. He puts a thin, gentle finger beneath her chin, and raises her eyes to meet his. Lost in the vastness of them, she barely hears him speak. Yet, is that .....regret......she hears in his voice?

"I see that I have hurt you, though that was not my intention. Perhaps it would be best for you to go from this place. Perhaps it would be better for....both of us."

He brushes his hand lightly through her shining platinum blonde hair. A single tear runs down her cheek, her eyes unwilling, or unable, to look away from his.

"No.....", she whispers.

"Yes", he replies. Then, with a flourish of his cloak, she is gone from his realm, with the slight scent of her perfume all that remains.

For a moment, he stands, staring at the spot where she stood, thinking of what might have been. Then Daniel, the Sandman, Lord of Dreams, bows his head and turns away as he whispers, "Never again....."

Epilogue:

One week later, Element Lad awakes, wondering new challenges this day will bring him as leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Stretching, he folds back the soft fur of his blanket and notices the message light blinking on his personal com-pad. Curiously, he punches in his access code, and listens to Dream Girl's saddened voice.

"Hi, Jan. I'm sorry for such short notice, but I'm leaving the Legion. It seems that my powers no longer work. I-I haven't had any dreams, precognitive or otherwise, in a week, and you know that's never happened to me before. I'm going back to Naltor, to see if the Seers can help me, but I somehow doubt it. If they can't, I'm going away, try to find someone who can help me. But I have a feeling, deep inside, that I'll never...sniff.......I'll never get my powers back. I don't know why. It seems like I should remember something, something that happened to me, but I don't know what it is. All I know is I just feel so.....empty.......inside. Please tell everyone else for me. I just couldn't bear to face them right now. Please. I'll be in touch soon, I promise. Th-Thanks. Love you."

The End