"Delete it, father. He's not the Prince."
Now it was la's turn to be astonished. "He's not?"
"I am Warp, an alien Glamor."
"So that's why you have the nerve to come here! You're an impostor."
"So it seems," Warp agreed, unruffled.
"Then why are you here?"
Warp explained about the threat from the machines. "So you can obtain no lasting benefit from keeping the Princess prisoner," he concluded. "All you can do is ensure the doom of the entire Ammonoid culture."
"I don't believe it," the Wizard flashed.
"It's the truth, father," Naughty flashed. "He showed me his mind. We have to give the Princess back."
"Never! I won't let you take that ikon. I'm going to marry the Princess and assume control of the kingdom."
"I told you he was mad," Naughty flashed to Warp.
"Take the ikon, Naughty," Warp flashed. "Carry it back to the King's castle."
Naughty went to pick up the ikon.
"So you are betraying me?" the Wizard demanded.
"I don't think so, father. I think you should bargain to gain some advantage. Better a lesser title than the destruction of the whole planet."
"I think not. I think I can have the whole planet, and the Princess as my love."
"Then I have to take the ikon from your control," Warp said. "So that the Princess regains her magic powers. Then you won't be able to force her into anything."
"I think not. I will prevent you. My daughter won't act without my leave, and you can't touch the ikon yourself."
Warp glanced at Naughty. She wiggled a tentacle helplessly. She would not go directly against her father.
So it would come down to tentacle to tentacle combat. The Wizard evidently thought he could prevail physically.
However, Warp was the son of a martial artist, and he had learned from Havoc. He had a natural talent with weapons.
"I can't touch the Ikon. But I can touch you," Warp flashed.
"And I can confound you with magic," the Sorcerer flashed.
"Negation. You have to keep the ikon out of magic, to prevent the Princess from escaping. This chamber is magic free."
The Wizard nodded. "So we must settle this the old fashioned way, by personal combat." He was aware that he would have to deal with Warp his way, rather than try further tricks.
"Terms," Warp said. "I win, you give up Princes, Ikon, and claim to the throne."
"I win, you and your female get off the planet and leave me to my devices unchallenged."
"I don't like this," Naughty said. "The machines will destroy us all."
"So he says," the Wizard said contemptuously.
"You win, father, I still want to get off the planet," she flashed.
"He wins, I'll take you and any other volunteers to space," Warp agreed. "I win, I'll still take you."
"How are you at gauntlets?" the Wizard asked confidently.
Warp did a quick clairvoyant review. "I can handle them."
"There are two sets in the drawer." He flicked a tentacle toward it.
They donned the gauntlets. These were metallic sleeves that fit over the ten tentacles, with interior grips and knifelike outer edges. These could cut off tentacles.
"Winner is the last one with a tentacle left?" Warp asked.
"Correct. We are fighting for the planet, not for our lives."
Warp saw that the Wizard meant it. He was in his fashion an honorable creature. "Agreement."
They moved toward each other. The Wizard was obviously well experienced in this kind of combat, but Warp was a Glamor. It was a fair fight.
Naught struck rapidly with three tentacles, aiming for three of Warp's. But Warp was reading the near future paths, and while he wasn't apt with them beyond the first few minutes, he was quite competent the first minute. He saw the cuts coming, and moved only those three tentacles clear, so that the blade-like gauntlets swished by harmlessly. Then he countered by striking at one of the Wizard's tentacles, while feinting at three others.
Naught blocked the strike and ignored the feints. Evidently he could tell the difference, and did not waste effort on the ones that didn't count. He did know how to fight.
The Wizard struck again, this time simultaneously high and low. Warp saw it coming, and blocked both thrusts while aiming two at the center. Naught readily blocked both. "So you do have some expertise," he remarked.
"I have what I need," Warp flashed. "Are you sure you want to continue? I can injure you at any time."
"Oh? How?"
Warp spied the key path. "This way." He swung a gauntlet at a central tentacle, and a second at a place where there was nothing. Naught blocked the first, in the process moving his tentacle into the path of Warp's second. The blade cut through, and the severed tentacle fell writing to the floor, oozing ichor.
"Nice combination," the Wizard said, and struck with five other gauntlets, a formidable barrage.
Warp avoided three, countered two, and angled a blade in to sever one of the countered ones. A second tentacle fell.
"Naught, cease!" Princess la flashed, moving forward to come between them. "You can't beat him!"
"Two wounds does not finish a fight," the Wizard flashed. "I have other strategies. Clear the way."
Obviously he was no coward, and not one to be daunted by pain or incapacity. Warp stepped back, letting the Wizard handle the Princess.
"He's a Glamor!" she flashed. "He can see alternate tracks before they occur. I thought he was bluffing, as not all Glamors can do this. I can't. You have no chance. Yield, before he destroys you."
This was interesting. It was almost as if she didn't want to be rescued.
Naught looked at Warp. "True? You can see my moves before I make them?"
"True."
"So my choice is to yield now, or after I lose all my limbs."
"True."
"And forfeit my ambitions, and let the Princess be taken back to marry the Prince."
"True."
"I prefer to finish the fight." The Wizard floated around the Princess, ready to face Warp again.
"No!" Ia flashed. "I will never marry the Prince! You are the one I love." She caught the stub of one of his several tentacles and put her jet to it, cleaning it. Then she put salve on it, stopping the welling.
Surprised, Warp glanced at Naughty. She seemed similarly confused.
Even Naught was taken aback. "But you resisted my advances."
"A girl doesn't yield on the first date. I thought you wanted me for my position." She attended to the other tentacle.
"I do."
"And is that all?"
"No. I love you. You are lovely and spirited. But this is a business matter."
"Then get the business done. Propose to me."
Naught looked somewhat helplessly at his daughter. "Does this make sense to you?"
"It could, father, if she has thought it through." She looked at la. "Have you?"
"My suitor is the Prince, who is a decent male but lacks the gumption to do the necessary. The male I marry must have the intelligence and nerve to govern aptly. I am beautiful but not smart; I know my limitation. I need a husband who possesses the traits I lack, so he can guide me in governing well. Naught is that male."
"You never gave a hint of your feeling," Naught flashed. "I thought I would have to rape you, after a forced ceremony, to consummate the marriage."
"I didn't know my feeling, until I saw you hurting." She twined several of his tentacles in hers. "And you couldn't rape me."
"Because you would recover the use of your ikon, and have your full Glamor powers?" he flashed.
"No. Because I long for your embrace. Let's get married soon."
Now the Wizard looked at Warp. "You have won the fight, but it seems not the Princess. Will you let me have her?"
What could he do? "If the King agrees. Will you swear fealty to the King, and serve his interests loyally?"
"For the love if la I will do even that."