A/N: I swear the pigeons are taking away the remnants of my sanity...

Disclaimer: I do not own SRMTHFG, never have in my lifetime and never will. Darn.

Chosen to Live

There's a strange thing about lying on your bed staring at the ceiling with the door locked. You're feeling like crying and it's one of the most depressing and saddening parts of your day. But it's also when the best philosophical thoughts rise from the depths of your mind.

Tonight was one of the rare nights when Chiro didn't cry straight away. Of course, he was still thinking. It was something he did a lot at night. Tonight he was dwelling on a subject he often dwelled upon. It was perhaps the biggest question of his life, and yet no matter how often everyone talked about it, no one he knew had an answer for him.

It was a cliché question. A why, a who, maybe even a what. Chiro blinked at the ceiling of his bedroom, big blue eyes showing no sign of drowsiness until he had solved this problem.

Why me?

Why was he the Chosen One, who picked him, what was he supposed to do and why him? The boy suspected the Power Primate, it seemed to be the root of everything in his life recently. Antauri talked so much about it, repeatedly told him that he was the Chosen One and that he must embrace the Power Primate.

Chiro's forehead creased slightly now. He'd just realised: Antauri had said those things, but had never actually drawn a line between them. Was it the Power Primate that had chosen him?

Fate, destiny, or chance? Did the strands of fate bring him to the Super Robot? Was it his destiny from birth to awaken the Monkey Team and protect the universe? Or was it just chance that he was the first one to really see the Super Robot and whatever was inside for what it could be, to see that it was a promise of enrapture and a better life?

Chiro's lips drew into a thin, determined line. He had been chosen to live this life of the Chosen One. He was called the Chosen One, but was it just chance and maybe luck that had given him this title? Or either the Power Primate or some elaborate force in the universe?

Or was it even simpler than chance?

It could be so plain. The boy thought about the possibilities. Was he living right now simply because the fireman had chosen to save the screaming little boy first? Or was it the lifesaver on the shores of Shuggazoom City? Chiro closed his eyes. He thought he could see a wall of flames, but then it disappeared. He tried to envision water, and felt his shoulders tremble. A maelstrom, a rip current? A face appeared in the dark teal-coloured water, huge and terrifying.

Skeleton King?!

That explained his fear of water back in his early days with the Monkey Team, then.

Hmm, was it Skeleton King that had pointed his finger at him? The thought made the teenage boy shudder in fear. Did he choose him because the evil lord knew his weaknesses, and thus knew that the boy could be beaten? There was still that mystery about his old toys in the Citadel...

Chiro thought it would make more sense if he had had an experience with water. There was his fear to take into account, and he tried to conjure up a picture of the person that might've saved him. But then he couldn't remember a time when Shuggazoom had a beach that was unpolluted...

The water vanished and Chiro blinked again. Had he been allowed to live now because of a fire? The wall of flame came back to him, and he thought he heard a woman give a wailing cry.

His forehead creased again and his joints felt weak.

Mom?

Oh, it was so frustrating! He was trying to figure out why he was the Chosen One, and his stupid human mind had to run off the rails. And his memory capabilities... They hurt him the most of all. Did he once have a mother to tell him to turn off the Sun Riders and clean his room? Or did he just imagine it?

This world, this universe... Chiro wanted to curse it now, for the answers he did not have, for not letting him know what he once possessed and for making him the Chosen One with the duty to work it all out by himself.

And finally, once again, Chiro began to cry.

To be honest, I felt like crying for Chiro as I wrote this. You know, I remember this little snippet from when I was watching 'The Sun Riders'. I heard Chiro's mother call something while he was watching the Sun Riders, and he called back something like, "Okay mom" or something similar.

Or did I just dream that? It was a long time ago... My mind thinks that Chiro still has his mum around, but she isn't ever mentioned anywhere else other than in the musings of SRMTHFG fans.

Also in the fan's questions: What's the deal with the Chosen One thing?

Not the best wording of that question, but more importantly, will we ever know?