hi, can someone help me with this?

Code:
  if ($nick != %fighter1) || ($nick != %fighter2) {
    /msg %chan_duel $nick $+ , a duel between %fighter1 and %fighter2 is already underway. please wait until it finishes.
    /halt
  }


this looks pretty strange i'm sure, let me tell you what it is suppose to be doing:

i'm trying to make an rpg script where people can fighter each other, gain levels, etc. that snippet is suppose to stop a different person than the 2 already fighting from sending commands. for some reason it also stops the two that are ALREADY fighting. i have no idea why frown

if you think pasting the whole script will help let me know.
thanks