AN: Alright y'all. Pt. 4 of Ink Master Kara is here. For this one I decided to combine the attention to detail flash challenge with the American Traditional elimination. The color is going to be with a different elimination challenge. Those of you who wanted the Star Wars themed tattoo set, that will come, just when the contestants are down to the same number of people as were in the show. That one's coming soon so don't worry about that. Those of you who wanted Kara to win one, here you go.

Enjoy:) ~Immortalshark

*Kara's POV*

Shana and I walked into the loft being greeted with not surprised faces. Then Bill came through and people were shocked.

"The judges said that this is not the time to relax." Bill said.

"Damn, three down already." Joshua said.

I headed out to the balcony and called Alex to tell her that I made it to the next round.

"Hey Kar." Alex said.

"Hey, Lex, I made it. I made it to the next round." I said.

"That's great Kar. I know you'll kick some serious ass over there." Alex said.

I chuckled, "How's the shop?" I asked.

"It's doing well. In fact, some of your clients have found out that you are on the show and have been supporting you through the whole thing." Alex said.

I smiled, "That's great. It's getting late over here and we need to be ready for next week."

"Alright sis. Love you." Alex said.

"Love you too." I told her and hung up.

From the balcony, I saw a wonderful view of a sunset, I had to draw it. So I did. I brought out my sketchpad and drew the sunset with the water and everything. I ignored all the others and put in my earbuds to listen to music.

*Tommy's POV*

I saw Kara sitting out on the balcony drawing away in her sketchbook. I knew I had my work cut out for me with her. Next week, we had no idea what we were doing. Now that Al was gone, Bill was trying to create some havoc. The others were arguing and so I decided to go see what Kara was doing. She pops up in a conversation every now and then, but she lets others think what they think of her and she just continues on what she's doing. Its obvious that the others are gunning for me, Shana, and Kara.

I had a cup of peppermint tea in my hand as I stepped out onto the balcony to join Kara.

"Hey," I said.

She started slightly, "Oh, hi Tommy. What'cha doing?" she asked.

"I came to see what you were up to." I said.

She hummed, "I was just watching the sunset, enjoying the colors it made, and drawing it in my sketchbook."

"Can I see it?" I asked. I was curious as to how well done her sketches are considering the type of work she's done.

She smiled and showed it to me. I smiled at her and then looked at the drawing. I had to physically restrain myself from not dropping my jaw in shock. I could even see the little boat on the waters in the drawing.

"Damn now that is impressive." I said.

"Thanks, but it's not my best." she said.

"That's not your best? Then what is?" I asked.

"You'll have to wait for the end to see that." she said with a smirk.

I almost protested before realizing that she had a point. Don't give away too much to competitors.

"What do you think is the next challenge?" she asked.

"I have no idea. But based on what they were picking on, is something to do with the details and the attention to those details." I said.

"Yeah. Well, everyone's gotta step up their game now. With less people means harsher critiques. Probably down to the very smudge of a tattoo. " Kara said.

"Most of them are gunning for you." I said.

Kara had a smirk on her face, "I know. I'm letting them think what they want. They try to screw me over but they get screwed over instead."

A week later and all of us were off to the next flash challenge. We were in the middle of the woods and it was hot. I stood next to Kara since she was nicer than the others. When we got to where we were supposed to go, it was a shooting range. Specifically for skeet shooting.

"Pull!" David said.

We watched as someone fired their shotgun at a skeet, destroying it.

"Eleven of you remain but only one of you will walk away with a hundred grand, a feature in Ink Magazine, and the title of Ink Master. As always, we kick things off with a flash challenge. This week, we're testing your attention to detail. Specifically using deliberate lines, shading and proportion to finish small details in your design that take it from being great to being a masterpiece." David said. "Approximately 80 million Americans own guns, and half use them for hunting. For today's Flash challenge you've been randomly assigned a client. You'll have three hours to carve an intricate, detailed design into the stock of their gun. Let's meet your canvases."

And eleven men and women come out of the shack with a twelve gauge shotgun in their hand.

"Few things come between a man and his gun. This is not a canvas that you want to screw up. Time starts...Pull!" David said.

As soon as the shot went off, we were off to start. I got a scary looking dude.

"Alright what'cha looking for?" I asked.

"An eagle." he said.

"Alright cool." I said as I sketched out what I would be putting into this man's gun.

He was watching me do it, "Dang, that is nice."

I smiled and got the dremel set to go. Thank god I do some woodworking on the side. I started with the thin head and just carved the lines in. I made the eagle pop out on this one and the background with the grain of the stock. When I was done, I sanded the parts that needed to be sanded. Once I did that, I put one layer of stain on it and then a clear varnish.

I showed it to the man and he whistled low.

"Damn that is a nice design. I wasn't too sure when I saw ya drawin it out, but when it was done all that went away." he said.

"Thank you. It's a pleasure to do this." I said.

He nodded and I put the stock back on the gun. Time was called and the judges came around. Joshua's was just not there. The detail in it was rough and the outlining was just horrid. Shelia's was at the bottom and so was Jack's. Lisa's was okay, but not the best. Kara's was amazing with the wolf and Shana did a deer.

It was obvious that Joshua's just didn't pull off the detail.

"In this flash challenge, we were testing your attention to detail. There can only be one winner, and the judges have decided, Kara." David said.

Sweet, Kara won a flash challenge. She definitely deserved it cause that wolf eye...hoo boy was that thing nice. We made it back into the loft where we were meeting up with the judges.

"Congratulations guys, you all are one step closer to winning a hundred grand, a feature in Ink Magazine and the title of Ink Master. This week, we're testing your attention to detail. You will be judged by Oliver, Chris, and I, but today we have a very special guest judge. He's been known for doing big tattoos in one sitting. And he also happens to be Oliver's mentor. Richard Stone."

Hoo boy, he is a freaking legend in the tattooing community and he'll be judging our tattoos?

"That brings us to this week's elimination tattoo...American traditional. American traditional tattoos are known for their bold, solid outlines and limited palette. Your tattoo may include any elements you like. However, it must include an eagle or a flag. Let's meet your canvases. All of the canvases this week are military veterans." David said, "Kara. Since you won the flash challenge, you get first pick of the canvases."

*Kara's POV*

Yes...I finally won a flash challenge. I went down the line left to right.

"What would you like?" I asked.

"American soldier holding an M4." he said.

"Alright, next." I said.

"I want to get a horseshoe and a hand grenade." he said.

"In American traditional style?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Absolutely." he said with a smirk.

"Props to you." I said and moved along.

"An American eagle portrayed as a soldier." he said.

"That so?" I said.

"Affirmative." he said.

"Alright what do you want?" I asked.

"I want to get a fifty cal round that says 'one shot can change the world' on it." he said.

I moved down the line to the older guy, "What would you like?"

"I would like you to ink your artistic version of the United States Marine Corps emblem on my upper left arm." he said.

"You would like me to do it?" I asked.

"I said that." he said.

I smiled at him and popped off a salute, "Yes sir. I'll do that for you."

He nodded and smirked as he saluted back, "Very good."

"You guys have the rest of the evening to consult with your human canvases. Tomorrow, six hours to complete your American traditional tattoo. Based on your work, one of you will be going home. Good luck." David said.

I took the guy into my little shop and sat him down.

"Alright sir, what were you thinking of?" I asked.

"Well, actually, I have a friend of mine who was visiting and he told me about you. He had been wanting a tattoo for the longest time of a Springfield M14 with his division name on it. He came to your shop and got it from you. When I heard that you were on here, I signed up hoping to get ya. And so here I am. I have seen the tattoo you did for my friend and it was outstanding." he said.

I was a little bit stunned that this guy knew who I was. I smiled at him.

"That's wonderful. You said you wanted the Marine Corps emblem on your upper left arm correct?" I said just to confirm it.

"Yes ma'am that's correct." he said.

"Perfect." I said.

I did my thing and did a rough sketch of what I wanted it to be. I was going to have the Marine Corps emblem be on the flag as the background. I pulled off the outside bits of the Marine Corps emblem and the rest of it. Then I drew in the Flag behind it. It was going to look like it was blowing in a light breeze too. It would be in a sepia tone with the soft black shading of the flag. I showed it to him.

"See, now that's why I wanted you. This is absolutely amazing." he said.

*Kara's Canvas' POV (Since his name is not mentioned in the show)*

Man, this kid has talent. She even popped off a salute correctly. I saw her work before from my friend who just so happened across her shop. Best decision ever I believe since we found this outstanding young lady.

"Sir, would you like to make it personal? Like adding in your squad name or rank and years?" she asked.

I considered it, "That'd be nice."

She nodded, "Would you like a drink? I'm sure you're looking for something." she asked.

I nodded, "That's sweet of you, but no thanks."

She smiled and carried on with her work. I watched as she drew the design out and it was outstanding. It really came together on the paper with a nice bold black ring with the gold separating the black ring from the red. The center of the emblem was marvelous and the rope that made up the circle around the emblem was really well done. The flag looked epic.

"That is truly well done. I believe you'll win this competition." I said.

"Thank you sir. I believe I'll be able to get this done in the six hours allotted to me and the other competitors. The competition is to see who can do the fundamentals of a great tattoo. We are competing for the title of Ink Master and the challenges deal with a lot of the fundamentals and if we can do the fundamentals well. If we can't do the fundamentals or do what the judges are looking for then we get sent home." she said.

I debated on whether or not telling her that this would be my first tattoo, so I did, "This will be my first tattoo."

Her eyebrows rose in some surprise, "Really?"

"Yes." I said.

"Hmm...well then that changes some things. Not a lot, just the methods I use to ease someone into a first tattoo. I do a different method for people who are just getting a tattoo than with people who are used to it." she said.

"Alright then. Do what you must." I said.

She nodded and the time she had to spend with me was up. I said goodbye and got ready for tomorrow.

*Kara's POV*

Well, my canvas is really nice. I worked on the design until at least midnight. I just ignored the rest of the contestants cause some were complaining that American Traditional wasn't their style. Some were just going to look at a reference and try to mimic it. And others were completely winging it.

For me, American Traditional isn't one I do often, but often enough for me to have a handle on it. I knew I had to keep it simple and that was the challenge. Not to simple that it loses detail, but not too complicated that the detail is too much in the color. The color scheme is limited to a few colors.

I sent a text to Alex just to say hi before heading to bed. I woke up ready to go, I had a decent meal and the design I have looks amazing.

"Good morning everyone. Today, you'll have six hours to complete your tattoo. Remember, we will be judging you based on your attention to detail. American Traditional is detailed enough to see and recognize it from a distance, simple but not too simple and complex but not too complex." David said, "Time starts...now."

And we were off. I showed my client the design and he was impressed.

"Now that is what I was looking for." he said.

I smiled as I put it onto the transfer paper and put it on his arm. I sterilized my needles and then set to work.

"Alright if you need a little break tell me. I can stop for a few minutes to let you move." I told him.

"I will." he said.

I started with my normal thin outline. I was confident in the lines and I did the lines that make up the circles in one go. The rope was fun to do as was the little details in the middle. I also outlined the letters just so that I didn't accidentally cover them up. The lines of the flag were also fun to do since they were straight crisp lines. When the outline was done and I was changing needles, I had my client get up and move a little so that he didn't get sore from sitting in one place for too long. Then I started in on the red, then the black, then the flag. I plugged away at the tattoo and after all the shading, coloring, and touching up a few places, I had my client breath. Then I went back through and outlined the design.

As I was touching up the outline, I heard Oliver come in with Richard.

"What do we have here?" I heard Oliver say.

"Well, he wanted me to do my own take on the Marine Corps emblem. So I decided to incorporate the flag as a background and have his rank and years he served. The flag I decided to do a darker shaded background, almost as if it was done in sepia tones, just the color is nicer." I told him as I focused on doing my lines.

I found that I had a steady hand whenever I did a line when I breathed out. It also helped me to control my body so that I don't jerk around by accident.

"I like how you made the emblem stand out. Well done." Richard said.

"Thank you sir." I said.

At the five minute mark I was pretty much done with the tattoo.

"Would you like some water?" I asked.

He nodded, "Thank you."

I went to get it and came back. While he was taking his drink, I pulled out my salve and rubbed it over the tattoo.

"Five...four...three...two...one and TIME. Machines down, no more tattooing!" David shouted.

My client looked at his tattoo and he was very impressed.

"Thank you young lady. This is wonderful. No wonder my friend gave such high praises. This is outstanding work." he said.

"Thank you sir for letting me do this." I said.

I shook his hand and he was off on his merry way. I cleaned up my space and then headed up to the loft where the others were already complaining. I grabbed some food and headed out to the balcony to enjoy the peace and quiet. I ate while enjoying the bustling city below me. I finished and headed back inside, thankfully before we had to go down to the shop for the critiques. I was last as we headed down and entered the shop.

"Kara, since you won the flash challenge, you're up first." David said.

I moved to the center and waited. My tattoo was up on the viewer.

"So Kara, tell us what you did here." Chris said.

"As you know, my client picked me. He wanted my artistic style of the US Marine Corps Emblem on his upper left arm. I chose to do a flag and have it seem like it has a bit of a sepia tone. Not too much to take away from the red, white, and blue but enough to give it some character. I did a small outline so I knew where my lines were, colored, then when the color was done, I went back over my lines to bolden them up." I told them.

"I'm loving how you did the rope, it looks like it's really popping out of the tattoo. The sepia tone isn't a favorite of mine, but it makes the flag look nice." Chris said.

"Thank you." I said.

"The flag pulls this whole tattoo together. The way you made the emblem pop really draws your eye to the subject of the tattoo. Now this is a great example of an American traditional. Do you specialize in this area?" Oliver asked.

I shook my head, "No sir. I specialize in portraits and landscapes. I do enough of all the other styles to have a good understanding of the rest though."

Oliver's eyebrows raised in surprise before he smiled and looked at the rest.

"I like the heavy black in this. I'm all about the blacks and this looks real nice. I could have done without the shading of the flag, but otherwise it's great." David said.

I nodded and stepped back into the line. The rest went up one by one. Tommy's and Shana's looked the closest. Kelly's was great. Bill's was rough, like he tried to mimic the style but failed. Lisa's was decent but had flaws that was due to her not convincing her client to do something that was within her limits and the time frame we were all given. Joshua's looked cartoonish. It was obvious that he hasn't done this style in a while and it showed in the way his lines came to a rounded edge instead of a sharp clean end. Jackson and Jack's were decent enough. I had a feeling that Heather was goin home, her tattoo just...blah.

We got sent up to the loft while the judges made their decision. When we got there, I sat in a singular seat that was comfy. I sat there as the others went right to complaining. How they did a great tattoo and the lines were straight, or the blaming the client for messing it up for moving around a bit. Kelly had joined me and sat on the arm of the chair I was in.

"Hey there Kara." she said.

"Hi." I replied.

"What did you think of the critiques?" she asked.

"Well, the judges know what they are looking for and for some they didn't hit the mark. I know that those on the bottom are trying to gun for me, but they keep shooting themselves in the foot. All I'm doing is tattooing as if it's the last tattoo I got here on this show. It's not my fault they keep botching their tattoos, nor is it the clients fault. As an ink master, you have to accommodate the client and you have to have the skill to do what they ask. Are you going to tweak it just a little bit? Sure, to fit into your comfort zone but sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone. It's also not my fault that I did some research before coming. I knew that they weren't going to be giving us the complex tattoos to show that you're a pro with the machine, its can you do the very fundamentals of tattooing and do them well. I believe there's a reason why all of us have years of tattooing under our belts. All of us have experience in taking the fundamentals and expanding them into the tattoos we do. This competition is taking us back to those fundamentals and testing them in ways and other paths that fundamental skill could lead too. Take the flash challenge and the elimination tattoo for today. The flash challenge was paying attention to detail and in the elimination tattoo it was paying attention to the details in the American Traditional style. For all we knew, the attention to detail could have been applied to portraits, a pinup, Japanese, or something else." I said.

*Oliver's POV*

I was still amazed by what Kara can do. I could tell that the others were trying to get her to mess up, but she just keeps doing well. She's got some real artistic talents. I can't wait till we do portraits or animals cause I want to see what Kara does.

"So what do you think?" David asked.

"Well, Kara's was outstanding. It's obvious she's doing something right if her clients aren't moving for her or arguing. I don't think I've heard one argument from any of her clients." I said.

"I agree, her's was the closest I've seen to the American Traditional style that I've seen all day. Quite honestly, I want to see her do a portrait type tattoo now. If all these tattoos that she's done so far, aren't in her wheelhouse, and they've come out this good? What does her specialty look like?" Chris said.

"Alright, Kara's got the best one of the day. Who's at the bottom?" David said.

"Heather. I've been watching her and all she's done is complain. She's not that flexible with changing things up that she's drawn. Plus she has said that putting a time constraint on these types of tattoos is a little unfair, but I disagree. It's how well do you do under pressure because these tattoos can't last more than a day. Heck, I've seen Kara pull off a good size tattoo in just the six hours. I myself have done these in this amount of time." I said.

"Yes. I'm not one to be picking on people, but Heather's is one of the worst. She couldn't go with the contour of the car and picked one of the easiest spots to do, her lines were sloppy, and her shading was not that great. " Chris said.

"We've got our decisions?" David asked and both Chris and I nodded, "Alright. Oliver, you wanna go get them."

I got of the seat and made my way up to the loft. When I got to the door, I could hear Kara talking and damn, that girl hit the nail on the head. She's got the headspace for this whole thing. Plus she's right with the flash challenges. I can tell that she's going to go far in her career. I opened the door and stepped in.

"Alright, the judges want to see Kara, Kelly, Bill, and Heather. See you all down in the shop." I said.

About a minute after I sat down in my chair, the four came down..

*Kara's POV*

I headed down with the other four. When we got there, we got some final critiques on our work. Kelly and I were in the top and I had finally won a challenge. Then it got turned to Bill and they commented on where he could have done better. He tried to argue but was shot down by Chris. Finally, the judges moved onto Heather. They had disappointed looks on their faces. They told her where she went wrong and where she could improve. They were giving her constructive criticism to make her a better artist.

"One of you will be going home." David said. "The judges have decided...Heather. You do not have what it takes to be an Ink Master. Please pack up your machine, and head home."

Heather was teary eyed and I'm sure she was pissed off but the judges gave her some solid pointers on what she could do better, that way she can improve. Then the judges turned to us.

"We've got a message for all of you. Including those upstairs." David said.

"I don't want to see any more badly composed tattoos." Chris said.

"There's not a competitor that should have any confidence right now. The real fight is coming." Oliver said.

"With less and less people, the harsher the critiques are going to be." David said.

With that the three of us headed back up to the loft to deliver the news to the rest of them.

AN: And that's a wrap. Anyone expect one of the canvases to recognize Kara? I figured that since Kara is a great tattoo artist and she has clients coming into her shop, one of them has talked to their friends about her. I decided to do a little bit of a mix with Joshua's personality. He's going to be a mix of Josh from season 1 and Jesse from season 2.

Updates will be a little slower now that I'll be back in school after Rodeo Break and that Track is six days a week. Though their will be more to come. Any ideas for a nice Maggie/Kara sisterly moment cause I do like their relationship. Btw, Mon-el is one of my least favorite characters, so no Karamel. Their relationship was almost as if Kara was taking care of a child who couldn't take no for an answer. So if Mon-el is going to be in one of the one-shots then he won't be in a good light. Lena's relationship with Kara is much better as they have a mutual understanding of one another. I was also thinking of doing a Kara helping Cat/Lena with signing paperwork and stuff for CatCo/L-Corp respectively.