First let me apologize for taking so long to update. I only hope the wait was worth it.

Now let me say Thank-you to all who left a review for the previous chapter: CajunBear73, Mr. Wizard, , Invader Johnny, jkrust78, The Enduring Man-Child, Shrike176, screaming phoenix, and Kim's 1 fan… As always, y'all Rock!

Disclaimer: No characters were harmed in the writing of this fic, and I do not gain any monetary compensation or any other legal-type gains from them either…

Chapter 2

Both Kim and Ron slowly moved backwards with their hands searching for the door, of which it was Kim who found the handle first. She immediately tried yanking the door open, but to no avail. Ron joined in and started pulling as well, but the door just wouldn't budge, leaving them surrounded by a half-circle of what appeared to be demonized version of their friends.

"What do we do Kim?" Ron almost yelled to his friend and shoved Junior backwards as he was the first to reach the two of them.

Kim was starting to feel a bit panicked as she tried to look into the eyes of her fellow classmates in an attempt to discern if any of their individual personalities were still there. The black soulless eyes told her the grim reality that her ten friends were definitely not themselves.

Kim noticed that for some odd reason, the ten students approaching them were ordered as boy, girl, boy, girl. To her right there was Josh, Monique, Felix, Bonnie, and Vinny. To her left from the opposite direction was Jessica, Ron Reager, Marcella, Junior (from Detention), and Liz. Aside from the black soulless eyes, their faces didn't show any kind of emotion.

Ron Reager was the next to reach Ron, who quickly shoved him backwards making him step only a couple steps back, only to return back in line.

"Who, or what are you!" Ron yelled at Devil/Tara, sounding first as if fear and his emotions were starting to get the best of him, and then his voice dropped an octave, sounding almost… accusatory. "Who could be so evil to turn our friends against us? I honestly don't think that you are Lucifer himself." Kim shot her friend an almost horrified look, wondering what in the world he was doing taunting this Evil. Ron then paused for a second to swat away the reaching hands of another of his friends as they reached for him. "I think you might be one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell instead. Which are you? Belial?"

"Belial?" Devil/Tara said with a chuckle and raised eyebrow. "My poor Jewish friend… You think I am only Wicked and Worthless? You think I am one of the men of Gibeah? I do NOT drop myself to the carnal and base urges of that which you call… Human. I AM EVIL ITSELF!" The entire room seemed to shake by just the sound of the voice.

Kim almost didn't notice what Ron had done as it took her a few seconds, but while Ron had Devil/Tara ranting, she noticed that the minions had stopped their advance. She decided to play along.

"Heh… I'm starting to wonder that myself. I think you could be nothing but Beelzebub!" The fire that flared from Devil/Tara's eyes brought Kim's hands to her hips as she realized that this was definitely striking a nerve.

"You insolent little whelps! You dare try to confuse me by using names from both Christianity and the Jewish faith? Like I have said before… I am Lucifer! I am the King of Darkness! I will rip out your souls!" A low growl emanated from Devil/Tara's throat at the end of her latest rant.

"Then why are you using these… things…" Ron indicated the ten students that were now standing still, "To do your dirty work? Do you not think you can take us on yourself? Or is it because… you are being… shackled? Held back… like a dog on a leash?"

Another growl, even lower than before, came from the once blonde girl's throat. "How dare you… The two of you need to learn respect for The Prince of Darkness."

"And what about Tara?" Kim said, adding to the argument. "Do you enjoy being a girl? Why have you taken a form that conveys… weakness?" Even though Kim never once felt that girls were considered the weaker sex, she knew that this argument kept Devil/Tara occupied so that she couldn't control her disciples. "In fact, I think it's a façade! You aren't really controlling our poor innocent friend! You're just… playing dress-up."

With the last dig, Kim could have sworn she felt the temperature of the room rise by at least 20 degrees. Stealing a glance at Monique, Kim saw the eyes of her friend turn back to their normal state, and then she dropped to the floor, unconscious. The other nine all followed suit, as Devil/Tara pulled her control and power, back into her self.

The Beast took a step towards Kim, and this time the voice sounded like pure unadulterated... evil. There wasn't a hint of Tara's voice "Innocence… as you say… is the reason I have taken the form of your friend." This statement served to temporarily shut both Kim and Ron up. This was something they hadn't expected.

"For me, the soul of an innocent tastes as sweet as honey… and the soul of your friend Tara here, is so… very… sweet. As her mind falls further into the abyss, I savor the flavor as I slowly and methodically lick away that innocence." Devil/Tara's tongue flipped across her lips on the last word, and the horror on Kim and Ron's faces brought a delighted smile to the Beast.

"S… so this is all j… just to get Tara's… soul?" Kim stammered out.

Again that fang-filled smile filled Devil/Tara's face. "That's most of it. The rest, is knowing that I will defeat both of you… the two that have been thwarting my drive to return this world back to Darkness… with the one thing that seems so harmless… You're sweet innocent little friend Tara King."

There was a pause in the Beasts dialogue as Devil/Tara had been slowly walking towards the two young heroes. He/She/It was now standing only a few feet in front of them and said, "I will have her soul, and you can do nothing about it. But yet for some reason I am feeling generous today, so I will give you one chance. You will get to meet the real Tara, and me as her, for 1 minute, and no longer. If either of you can distinguish which Tara is which, only then will you have saved both her innocence, and her soul."

Without another word, Devil/Tara's body began to shimmer with a red pulsing light, and then it was as if Kim and Ron were seeing double, like an image layered over itself. Then they separated, and two Tara King's were now standing in front of Kim and Ron, each dressed alike in the cheerleader outfit of the Middleton Mad Dogs, and each with her original long blonde hair.

"Now how do we know that one of you is truly Tara, and the other is truly the Devil?" Ron's question was answered with silence.

Then both Tara's spoke at the same time. The one in front of Kim spoke to her, and the one in front of Ron spoke to him. "Kim/Ron! I'm the real Tara! Please help me! I'm frightened! I can feel myself… slipping away!" To top it off, a tear was now falling down the left cheek of both versions of the blonde girl, and both Kim and Ron could only look at each other in bewilderment.

Suddenly one of Ron's eyebrows ticked up as he had an idea. He pulled Kim a few steps away from the pair of Tara's and spoke to her in whisper. ""Kim… I've got an idea. But first I need to ask you, do you trust me?"

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in Kim's answer. "Ron, I not only trust you with my life, but Tara's soul as well. What's you plan?"

Without giving his girlfriend an answer, Ron suddenly turned on his heel, walked up to the closest Tara, and planted a kiss directly on her lips! Tara's blue eyes went wide at first in surprise, but she then relaxed and looked like she was enjoying the kiss.

While separating his lips from Tara's, Ron gently caressed the girls chin and gave her a smile, which was warmly returned. He then walked over to the other Tara and did the exact same thing, but with a slight difference in response. This Tara was expecting the kiss, so she wasn't surprised, but she seemed to be enjoying the kiss just as much as the other Tara.

"You are truly the Trickster Himself." Ron said with a crooked smile as he walked back to Kim's side and turned around. "Neither of you are the real Tara." Kim's jaw dropped, and each blonde girl stomped a foot in frustration at being discovered.

Both girls closed their eyes as if concentrating, and then both opened their teal eyes and again looked at Kim and Ron individually. Then both turned and pointed at the other and yelled at the exact same time "She's the Devil!"

"OK… Now if I remember the stories correctly Kim…" Ron said while tapping his chin with a finger, "Now that the trick has been discovered, this time, it's for real."

Again Ron approached the first Tara, and placed his lips on hers. However the reaction of the blonde this time, was different. This time Tara wrapped both of her arms, and a leg around Ron while deepening the kiss. It was as if she was trying to literally meld into his body. After almost a full five seconds of kissing, they finally broke apart, and Ron noticed that Kim was now starting to doubt his plan, as her arms were crossed, and it looked like the red head was ready to chew nails.

"Please Kim…" Ron said almost pleadingly. "I know this is gonna work. Like I said… Trust me." His smile caused Kim to relax a little, but she still seemed a little upset over what her boyfriend was doing.

Ron then walked in front of the other Tara, and placed kiss on her as well. Again, the reaction was different than before. This time, Tara brought both of her hands up to Ron's face and cupped his cheeks. The kiss returned was almost gentle, yet filled with the promise of pleasure and desire.

After pulling out of the second kiss, Ron then walked up to Kim and said, "I know which is the real Tara."

To be concluded…

Yeah I know it's a short chapter, but I really wanted to stop at this point…