A/N: This chapter was a collaboration with Oneonetwo. I hadn't originally planned on doing Ted-Ed's Green Eye puzzle, but Oneonetwo was a big help, and we did it!
Blue Eyes
It was a sad day on Yoshi's Island. Bowser Jr. managed to take over the entire island by storm, capturing all of the Yoshis and holding them hostage.
"Yes! I finally rule this island!" he screamed in jubilation. "All of the Yoshis must bow down to me!" Hordes of Shy Guys, Goombas, and other assorted baddies began to round up all of the docile dinos, preparing to lock them in prison.
Being the young, pampered Koopa prince he was, Bowser Jr. wanted to play a sort of game with the Yoshis, so he made a strange rule.
"The Yoshis are allowed to approach the guards at night and ask to leave." Bowser Jr. said at a council with his generals. "If they have blue eyes, then they'll be released."
All of the leaders muttered and grumbled furiously, until the Koopa prince continued. "If they don't have blue eyes, they will be thrown into the Crumble Rock Rumble area of that giant volcano up there!"
"But sir," Tap-Tap the Golden, a giant golden spiky ball and general of the Spiny division, interrupted, "What if they really do have blue eyes? We'll be losing the prisoners we worked so hard to capture."
"Not to worry!" Bowser Jr. answered, grinning with pride. "Blue-eyed Yoshis are super rare! I doubt any of our prisoners have blue eyes!"
Salvo the Slime, another one of Bowser Jr.'s generals rolled forward. "Uh, Sir? Every single Yoshi on this island has blue eyes!"
"They don't know that!" Bowser Jr. pointed out, leaning back in his throne. "Our one hundred prisoners are still very young. They haven't learned their eye color yet, and there's no one else to tell them! Especially those annoying Smashers."
"They can find out!" Tap-Tap said. "Yoshis are pretty smart."
"Oh yeah…" The prince considered the situation for a moment. He wanted to make his father proud, but he couldn't do that if all the prisoners escaped. Then, his twisted brain conjured up an idea. "We need to find a way to make it so they can't see their reflections."
Kamek placed his hands on the table they were gathered around. "I have it! Here's what we'll do. Make sure there are no reflective surfaces in the prison. All food and water will be provided in opaque containers so the Yoshis can't glimpse their own eye color."
Bowser Jr. grinned. "I like that idea! Make it happen!"
The generals locked silent gazes, then nodded.
"Kamek," Bowser Jr. turned to the Magikoopa wizard. "I need you to cast a spell on the Yoshis to make sure they won't tell each other about their eye colors in any way."
Kamek raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But Your Grouchiness, that's a pretty specific spell. Would it not be easier to eliminate all forms of communication?" "
Bowser Jr.'s grin broadened. "Nope! I want the Yoshis to be able to say what a great ruler I'll be!"
Some of the generals shifted uncomfortably. "Things will be pretty quiet around here then," Kamek muttered.
Bowser Jr. glared at him and clenched his fists. "What was that?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Uh- I mean- As you wish, Your Harshness," Kamek hastily bowed, and, with a twirl of his wand, disappeared into thin air.
For weeks, all the Yoshis lived with hope that they could leave, but feared that they would meet a fiery end if they attempted it. They wouldn't try until they were absolutely sure they could.
Over time, the Smashers started to suspect something was amiss, and a few gathered outside the newly constructed island fortress.
"Bowser Junior, release those innocent Yoshis from tyranny!" Link shouted from outside the gate.
"Yeah! They don't deserve to live under your rule!" Zelda hollered, her voice amplified by a special magic.
Mr. Game & Watch screamed at the top of his lungs, but all that came out of his 2D mouth were a few shrill beeping noises.
Bowser Jr. heard the yelling and groaned. "They're going to stay out there until I do something, aren't they?" he asked begrudgingly.
Kamek nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"I have an idea." Bowser Jr. turned on his loudspeaker to communicate outside of the stronghold. "One of you may come in, but the rest have to stay out there."
Link, Zelda, and Mr. Game & Watch traded worried glances.
"Who's gonna go in?" Link asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Mr. Game & Watch shrugged and pointed at himself.
"I don't think that would be a good idea, considering you only talk in beeps."
The 2D man jumped up and down as if he were screaming and emitted a collection of shrill beeps, glaring in Link's direction.
"Woah, whoa, no need to say that!" Link turned to Zelda. "How about you do it, Princess?"
"Why can't you? Aren't you the Hero of Time?" Zelda scoffed, shoving the green-clad Hylian in the chest.
"Well, excuuuuuuse me, Princess!" Link shouted.
Bowser Jr. laughed, enjoying the entertainment on his doorstep. "They're wasting so much time arguing, they won't even remember why they've come!"
Unfortunately, the three Smashers overheard this as the Koopa prince hadn't turned off his loudspeaker.
"What are we doing?" Link asked, snapping back to business. "Zelda, you're the smartest. You should visit with the Yoshis."
Zelda nodded. Mr. Game & Watch was hesitant at first, but agreed as well.
"I'm coming in, Bowser Jr.!" Zelda declared.
Kamek sighed with exasperation and glared behind Bowser Jr.'s back. "Good job, Your Loudness," he muttered behind his hands, and used his magic to warp Zelda into the room.
A moment later, Zelda appeared in a flash of gold light, stunned at the sudden teleportation. "I could have used Farore's Wind to get here." she muttered.
"Hello, Princess of Hyrule. So, you want to talk to the Yoshis?"
Zelda wanted to blast Bowser's son with Din's Fire, but his adviser and generals were still in the room, so she played the part of an innocent princess. "Yes," Zelda answered calmly, though she couldn't mask the power in her voice.
"Ugh, fine! But, you can only make one statement, and you can't tell them any new information, or I'll throw you into the volcano, too. " Zelda nodded. "You have five minutes to think about what you will say to them."
Zelda took a deep breath and paced the secluded room, the generals eyeing her with suspicion. If she couldn't break either of those rules, how was she supposed to break the Yoshis out of this prison? What could she say without incurring Bowser Jr.'s wrath?
It wasn't fair. One statement to decide the fate of one hundred Yoshis. Zelda clenched a fist and pursed her lips. She had to get this just right so the Yoshis had the confidence to ask the guards to leave.
"Looks like the princess is having trouble," Salvo the Slime taunted.
Zelda's scowl deepened. Although she desperately wanted to retort, she held her silence. Retaliating against Bowser Jr. and the generals might result in an unwanted dip in the lava. Besides, she didn't want them to know she had a plan to ensure the Yoshis' escape.
"Are you ready yet?" Bowser Jr. asked, tapping his fingers together impatiently.
Zelda stepped towards him, and he led her to where the Yoshis were being held. She stepped out onto the overhead of the prison and looked down.
The Yoshis gazed up at the princess, their blue eyes blank and expressionless.
Zelda's heart ached for all the Yoshis that were trapped in Bowser Jr.'s tyrannical grasp. She hoped her voice would be the voice of deliverance they were waiting for.
For a moment, she stared defiantly into Bowser Jr.'s face, then, she took a deep breath and spoke into the microphone, her voice resonating with all the power of Din, the wisdom of Farore, and the love of Nayru.
"At least one of you has blue eyes."
The Yoshis looked at each other, and Zelda was sure she saw their eyes twinkle, though they hid it well from the ruler of the island.
At first, Bowser Jr. was angry. "You broke the rules! How dare you?! I should throw you into the volcano for this!"
Zelda rushed back into the room high above the prison and calmly explained herself. "But if all of them have blue eyes," she started, "Then they can clearly see each other and confirm that at least one of them has blue eyes."
Bowser Jr. wanted to protest, but found Zelda's logic held up. He pouted. "Fine!" He turned to Kamek. Just get her out of here," he grumbled.
Kamek nodded and waved his wand once again.
Meanwhile, Link and Mr. Game & Watch were playing a round of rock-paper-scissors to pass the time.
Link grinned smugly, anticipating victory, but Mr. Game & Watch beamed and said some things in his language of beeps.
"Ugh, how does paper beat rock? That makes no sense," Link complained.
Suddenly, Zelda appeared in front of them.
"Princess!" Link shouted, "I heard what you said. How is that going to let the Yoshis escape?"
Zelda beamed. "I'm sure you'll see in approximately one hundred days." she said. "Now let's go before Bowser's son changes his mind about throwing us in the volcano."
Not wanting to argue with that logic, the three Smashers left the island.
Back in the council room, Kamek worried. "Are you sure the Yoshis won't escape?" he asked.
"I'm super confident in it." Bowser Jr. beamed.
After one hundred days passed, however, Bowser Jr. woke up to find the prison deserted, all of the Yoshis having asked to leave the night before.
"Curse you Zelda!" he screamed, throwing one of his infamous temper tantrums and trashing everything in sight.
"Told you," Tap-Tap the Golden said, sighing to himself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the three Smashers had heard news of the Yoshis' escape.
"You were right, Zelda!" Link exclaimed in disbelief.
Zelda smiled at her hero. "It just requires a little logic. Basically, since they knew at least one of them had blue eyes, and they could see everyone else had blue eyes, if no one had tried to escape after one hundred days had passed, they realized that they themselves had blue eyes."
"Oh, and then?"
Zelda shrugged. "Then they all asked to leave at once."
"Oh! So each of them learned their own eye color by watching the ninety-nine others!" Link exclaimed triumphantly. "And when the ninety-nine others didn't leave, each Yoshi guessed that they themselves were being watched, too, and were able to figure out that they had blue eyes!"
"Right."
"Zelda, that's genius!" Link said, hugging the princess.
"Link," Zelda giggled, "This isn't Breath of the Wild!"
Link nodded and let go. He was silent for a moment, then placed his finger to his chin in thought. "Couldn't you have told them that at least ninety-nine of them had blue eyes?" he asked. "It would have saved them ninety-nine days…"
Zelda smiled at her friend's smarts. "Yes, but I find that when it comes to evil dictators, it's better to get a good head-start."
A/N: So, here's the chapter! What do you think?
