AN: Hey, ALittleBirdSaid here! So... this is a story I'm basically making for enjoyment, but I'm certainly not going to lag on my Zelda fanfic (Shattered Times, hint hint) and plan to balance both out. If the title wasn't pretty obvious, it's basically the SSBB (SSBM?) universe in The Maze Runner plot (you don't have to know the book to read this, actually). The books were really good, and I plan to basically put the whole general plot - in a video game style. Hope you enjoy it; rate and review. Also, let me know about any weird mistakes I may have missed :) So, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any video games (Super Smash Bros.), and I certainly don't own a book series (The Maze Runner). No flames and unrelated comments as well. Don't have anything helpful to say, don't type it please.

Rated T for Teen

He woke up, and the first thing he felt was panic, in a world of darkness with the screeching, jarring sounds of metal against metal.

The ground was shaking, trembling, and he could feel the rough metal beneath his hands as he backed up against a wall. It shook with a rattle - a chain link wall.

Where was he?

He was breathing hard, he was panicking internally; he could tell that at least. He could see vague shadows of boxes and crates alongside him, occasionally illuminated by brief, flashing red lights as they shook with each jolt of the dark room.

Where was he?

There was a whining sound, slowly growing higher and higher in pitch. The room - box - whatever he was in - was speeding upwards. Yes, it was going upwards, that was for sure.

He fought to remember something, anything. Anything before waking up, anything.

Then he remembered.

My name is Mario. He thought.

It was the only thing he remembered. He didn't know why he was in a box, why it was dark, why he couldn't remember.

He didn't know why he was so afraid.

Abruptly, with a sudden jolt, the box picked up even more speed. Those occasional red lights had disappeared, and Mario was plunged into total darkness. Over that increasing whining sound, he could hear his own panicked breathing. The rattling of the boxes and crates grew louder as the box sped upwards, the chain link behind Mario rattling more and more.

He didn't know why he hadn't screamed, or yelled yet. It was like that panic was pushing down on his vocal cords, making him unable to let out any sound. He pushed himself as far against the chains as he could. He wanted to get out of here, he wanted this to stop, whatever it was -

Then, as quickly as it started, the box stopped with a loud thud, one final jolt shaking the box. Everything stopped moving. Mario felt like he stopped breathing.

After an ominous, confined silence, Mario shakily stood, legs trembling. He fell once, before standing up again, this time a little more stable. Was he stuck here forever? He couldn't be sure.

Mario waited for what felt like hours, but was likely only minutes in real time. For anything to happen, anything at all. Nothing happened.

Slowly, hesitantly, he forced himself to speak.

"H-hello?" his voice was scratchy, shaky from disuse. How long had he been in this box?

It was as if his voice was the key to the box he was in. He could feel the metal ground below him tremble violently, and for a moment, Mario thought, It's going to fall-

The top of the box split open suddenly in the middle with a rough grinding noise, and a harsh, bright light shone directly into Mario's face. Mario stumbled, bringing his hands over his face. He nearly fell over from the shock, the light practically burning his corneas. It was so bright, so bright...

Then, nearly right away, Mario heard voices.

Many voices. There were many people, then.

It was a first a murmur, an incoherent blob of voices, that quickly evolved into distinct words and statements.

"We got another newcomer, fellas."

"It's not much of a surprise, tier scum -"

"At least he doesn't look like dirt -"

"He looks scrawny for a newbie though, kinda like Link -"

"Shut up, at least he can think and function normally, unlike you -"

"What do you think he'll be good use for? Dirt cleaner?"

There was a loud collection of laughter that followed the comment, one that Mario didn't understand. He still couldn't see the group; the light was still too bright - he could only vague-looking silhouettes -

All of a sudden, there was a large thud in front of Mario, who instinctively scrambled backwards, falling back and slamming against the chain link behind him. He felt the chain dig into his back as he pushed himself up against the chains. Mario's breathing had picked up again as he shielded his eyes from the bright light above.

"Whoa, relax newbie."

The voice had a definite accent to it, one that was smooth and appealing to Mario's ear - almost relaxing in a way. Mario squinted as he let his right hand fall from covering his eyes. There was a bright shine before his eyes began to adjust, slowly yet surely.

Standing over him, was a tall, lithe boy, looking as if he was in his older teens. Sandy blond hair fell around and over his face, while bright, vivid blue eyes sparkled at him. A small smile was on the boy's face, accentuating his handsome facial features.

The boy offered a hand to Mario, which he didn't take. This was all so weird to him... at least his heart wasn't leaping out of his chest...

"C'mon, newbie, you can't stay here all day. In fact, it'd be rather terrible to." the boy said, leaning closer to Mario.

"Just force 'em out Link, he's a stubborn piece of dirt -"

"Bowser, you're not helping." Link turned from Mario to speak upwards at the owner of the voice, and as Link was looking back, Mario stood slowly again, leaning against the chain link for support. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, which was rather unsettling. Why wasn't he running away? Why wasn't he yelling his head off already?

Link had turned at Mario standing up again, and a grin appeared on his face.

"There we go! Alright boys, let's get this newbie out..."

"I got it Link, shove off."

Another boy landed heavily in the metal box as Link backed away to jump back up from the box at the order. Mario could now see a bright blue sky, with clouds speckling the clear, ocean-like blue. This was all happening too fast -

"You all right, kid?"

A rough hand grabbed Mario's upper arm, and practically dragged him toward the opposite end of the box. The owner of the hand was a muscular, dark-haired boy, with a heavy jaw and the vague beginnings of a beard. His eyes were dark and sharp like flint, thick eyebrows giving the impression that the boy seemed always angry-looking.

"Uh, y-yeah -" Mario managed to speak. He was surprised he was even able to say anything at all.

"Alright, get up there." the boy shook the chain link as Mario looked up at the group standing around the box. Link was standing at the front, arms crossed, a small smirk on his face. He jerked his head, and winked.

"C'mon newbie, it's not that hard."

Mario didn't hesitate to jump up and grab the edge of the box, heaving himself upward. He felt a couple pairs of hands grab his shirt, and lift him out completely from the box. Mario's hands met soft, slightly damp grass, and many pairs of shoe-clad feet in his eyesight.

"He looks like dirt." A snarky voice sounded from next to Mario, who looked and stood up. Many, many people were around him.

Mario ignored these people, and in a daze, he shoved slowly through the crowd that seemed to part automatically, and took his full first look at where he was.

There were walls, walls all around a massive prairie-like space, with trees and small clumps of forest in the enclosure as well, the bright sun making the area light up. The enclosure was gigantic, but the walls were even larger - tall, foreboding, intimidating. Mario could see a large black gap in one of the walls at the opposite end, like a door...

"Where am I." he whispered, more of a statement than a question. "Where am I." he repeated, this time louder, turning around to face the group.

It was a group of around twenty or twenty-five, Mario would say, of mostly boys around his age - teenagers. There was only one girl in the group - a very pretty, blond haired girl, her hair in a loose braid. She was standing towards the back near Link, hand on the shoulder of a smaller, pudgy-looking, pink-faced kid. The kid's eyes were shining excitedly as he looked at Mario.

Most of the group stayed silent, and Mario felt panic bubble up in his chest again.

"Where am I?!" Mario asked, his voice growing higher in pitch. "Wh-what am I doing here?"

"Be honest with ya, newbie, none of us know what we're doing here." A tall, muscular boy said, a smirk upon his face. He seemed unimpressed by Mario's panic, which Mario was attempting to bring down.

"Bowser, lay off. You'll be fine newbie, just relax," Link said as he stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowing as a slight frown graced his face. Mario still didn't feel relieved as he began to look around wildly, around at the large enclosure of trees and prairie. His world was spinning as he turned, this was all so overwhelming -

What was he doing here?

What was happening?

In his brief shock, Mario barely noticed the other boy who had helped him out of the box step up next to him, clapping a firm hand of Mario's shoulder, keeping him from swaying. The boy waved a hand back at the group, who were still mulling around the box.

"Alright, you guys, unload the Box, would'ya? I'll give the newbie a tour. Link, check the Gate - I wanna check if those runners are gonna come back soon."

Link nodded tightly, running a hand through his hair before jogging lightly toward the gap in the opposite wall. He had flashed Mario an encouraging smile as he turned away. The group that had witnessed Mario's arrival began to jump into the box from which Mario came, unloading the crates that came with him.

Mario noted through his receding panic that all the boys were wearing worn, dirty clothing, mostly pale colors of pants and shirts smeared by dirt and grass stains. Some had belts, bags, or odd harness-like accessories. Link, for one, was wearing a loose belt around his waist, with another around his torso, holding a small machete-type sword on his back. The boy he was walking with was only wearing one belt around his waist - but - there were multiple knives along the belt, sending a chill down Mario's back. Most of the teenagers looked as though they had been in this place a long time.

"My name is Snake, newbie. I'm the leader of the Smashers here." Snake sent a small smile Mario's way, a reassuring one at best. "And this is where we live. The Sanctuary. Well, at least we call it that."

Mario looked down at his feet as they began to walk through the grass. Boot-like shoes were on his feet; like a hybrid between combat boots and running shoes. They were comfortable, that was for sure. His panic had gone down a little less - it was a miracle he hadn't lost his head completely in the last couple minutes.

Shock, probably. I can barely comprehend what's going on - Mario thought, before Snake's words interrupted his thinking.

"Look, newbie, I know this is a lot to take in, but -"

"Uh - my name is Mario... by the way." Mario said almost automatically as he looked up at Snake(he was rather tall), who had an impressed expression on his face at Mario's response.

"...Wow, you remember your name already, newbie. I didn't remember mine until like, a couple days after I came."

Nobody was giving Mario any straightforward answers, he deduced. How didn't Snake remember his name right away, if it even was his true name? And why was everyone so... okay being in some enclosure-like area?

"What's out there?" Mario pointed briefly at the massive opening that Link had gone in the direction of, but Snake didn't answer right away. Mario looked at him again, and his jaw seemed to have tightened. He obviously didn't want to say anthing.

"...That's something you don't need to worry about. For now, it's getting adjusted to The Sanctuary - you're doing significantly better than most -"

"I'm fine." Mario said quickly. It was incredible, even to him, that his fear and panic had just... disappeared.

He still didn't remember anything though. That was the one thing that continued to nag him.

"Why... why can't I remember anything?"

Snake didn't respond for a moment again as he steered Mario towards a tall look-out tower. It was situated near a small pond, which was surrounded by a few trees hanging over the water. "...It's something that happened to all of us, newbie. Most of us panic for a few days, some don't. It's just... something we have to live with. To be honest with you, I can't even answer some of my own questions..." He stopped Mario when they reached the foot of the tower. There was a rope ladder that led to a top platform above, but Snake made no movement to go up it. "We don't really need to go up there; our main living quarters are around that glade." Snake said offhandedly as he gestured vaguely around a patch of thick trees from the watch tower, and began to walk again, toward the direction he gestured. "I'm not here to do all the touring anyway, I have a lot of dirt to do - hey, Kirby! Come over here!"

The same pudgy kid from the group at the box, who was walking by them now, jumped slightly at Snake's voice, then jogged toward the two slowly. Kirby was a short, rather round kid, with those bright pink cheeks and a dopey smile on his face. He seemed like a friendly face to Mario at least.

"Hey Snake! Hey, newbie." Kirby said cheerfully, waving a hand as he stopped by them, putting his hands on his hips.

Snake smiled, nodding at Kirby. "So, Mario," Snake patted Mario roughly on the back, making him stumble forward slightly. "Kirbs is gonna show you around - he was the newbie before you. For now, I gotta go - help out with the Box and other things." he said vaguely. "Make sure he doesn't run, Kirby." Snake did a slight salute, and Kirby returned the gesture.

"Got it!"

Once Snake turned away, Kirby turned toward Mario, a large grin on his face. He had a few gaps in his teeth from lost baby teeth, likely, some of them crooked.

"So you're the newbie, huh? Wow, I got a lot to show you." Kirby began to walk briskly in the opposite direction that Snake went, and Mario followed. Each stride Mario took through the long grass, Kirby took two. "You're doing so much better than I did my first day, I started crying when I saw everyone, almost dirt my pants, accidentally punched Link in the face, I - Hey! Where are you going?"

Mario had gone in the direction of the Gate, jogging slightly ahead of Kirby. He didn't need a tour, he needed to figure out what was going on -

"Hey! Newbie! We can't go over there! I'm supposed to take you to the living quarters and stuff, not there - hey!" Mario could hear Kirby running after him, to which he picked up his pace toward the Gate.

As Mario neared the Gate, there was a long shadow cast over him by the massive concrete walls, and the grass became sparse and more stone than vegetation. There was an odd breeze coming the black void past the Gate. Mario slowed down to a walk, and turned around. Only Kirby was slowly running toward Mario; no one else was paying attention to the two, as far as Mario could tell from this ways away from the Box. Link was nowhere to be seen - he must have left the Gate from Snake's orders.

"What's in there?" Mario asked Kirby. "Past this gap?"

"We... can't go in... there." Kirby huffed as he stopped next to Mario. "It's - it's dangerous. Seriously, I don't know what's in there, but it's -"

"- a maze, newbie." Mario looked back, and saw that same muscular teen staring at him with a smirk on his face, arms crossed. He was the one who had kept saying those snarky comments before. His eyes were dark, and even though he was smiling, the smile didn't reach his eyes. Kirby frowned.

"Bowser, I thought you were supposed to be helping out with the Box -"

"Well, we got it done, and I noticed this piece of dirt coming over to the Gap, like he's going into Subspace!" Bowser let out a bark of laughter. "Like he would last a minute..."

Mario frowned slightly. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to figure out what was going on, not get interrupted by some guy -

"We're also supposed to be nice to other Smashers, Bowser. He's a newbie..." Kirby muttered, but Bowser ignored the younger boy, shoving by him roughly. He brought his face close to Mario's, and poked him roughly in the chest. Mario could smell his breath, he was that close. You need something for that breath, dude...

"This one thinks he can just waltz into Subspace... that's also against the rules..."

"I - I didn't think I was doing anything wrong... I just want to know what's going -" Mario stammered, pushing his cheeky comment from his mind, but Bowser cut him off.

"You better watch your back, dirt -"

"I hope we aren't getting into disagreements already, boys." Kirby, Mario and Bowser all turned, and saw Link walking toward them, a slight frown on his face. To Mario, Link seemed to be always frowning on default. He also, to Mario's surprise, had a slight limp - one that favored his right leg, it looked like. "It's only the newbie's first day."

"He's thinking about going right into Subspace, Link. You know what can happen in there... he could get taken." Link clenched his jaw, a blood vessel becoming more defined in his neck as he stopped in front of Bowser, pushing him slightly away from Mario.

"Says the one whose never set a toe inside, Bowser." Link drew himself up to full height (he was almost taller than Bowser as he did it, which was rather impressive, considering the fact Bowser was built like a tank), and pointed a finger into Bowser's face. "Let's just relax - I'm not an idiot, the newbie obviously can't go in... but you don't need to accent that with a threat."

"I wasn't threatening him. I was just... playing." Bowser smirked in Link's face, before slowly turning and walking away. There was a brief silence as he walked away, the only sounds the distant shouts of the rest of the Smashers. Mario could still feel that odd breeze from the gap behind him.

Link sighed, before smiling at Mario. Was it just him, or did all of the boys look... stressed? "Ignore the bloke, Mario. He's just stubborn kid, trying to act like the boss here -" Link sent a look at Bowser's retreating back before continuing. "-it's really Snake that made all the rules, and was here nearly two years before Bowser..." he sighed in an exasperated manner and rolled his eyes.

The Smashers inability to answer Mario's constant questions was starting to get on his nerves - Mario wanted to know what was going on, for god's sake.

"What is actually going on here? Why won't anyone tell me anything?" Mario said. His voice had started getting louder.

Link fixed him with a stony expression before responding. "You'll figure everything out as time goes on, newbie. For now, drop it." his voice was clipped with a sudden authority that Mario hadn't heard before. "Kirby," Link turned to the younger boy, who attentively looked up. "settle him into his hammock, show him the ropes. We're going to have a welcome bonfire tonight for you, Mario." Link nodded slightly. "I'll see you later tonight."

He walked away, leaving Kirby and Mario in a stiff silence, before Kirby began to walk back as well.

"C'mon, we gotta get you a spot for your hammock."

Mario nodded in response, turning one last time to look back at the dark passageway behind him, before following the younger boy.

The odd breeze coming from 'Subspace' seemed to pick up, whistling slightly louder than it had before.

He still wasn't remembering anything.

BIG first chapter. Can't really add much action now, but it'll definitely come in the next chapter (or two). Don't worry, many more characters will pop up in this story - don't fret if your fav isn't in this chapter! R&R ~ALBS

NOTE: -dirt is basically a Smasher's slang for poop. Yeah, they do use ~traditional~ swear words, but then again, you know. Little confusing, but I'm not completely copying slang from The Maze Runner then, lol :P