AN: Hey y'all. Sorry about the late update. School and sports have been keeping me busy. Anyway, for those of you who love the Ink Master Kara series, here you go. ~Immortalshark

*Tommy's POV*

The rest of us were waiting in the loft, for the others to come back in. Kara and Kelly came back in with Kara winning. Then Bill came in and the loft burst into noise. Kara and Kelly sat on the seats with Kara taking Heather's spot, and Bill took his spot back on the big couch.

"The judges got a message for the rest of us. They don't want to see any more badly composed tattoos. Those of us who haven't been doing our best need to step it up cause the real fight is coming." Bill said.

I could see it in the other's faces that they were nervous.

"You all specialize in something. That specialization comes from a good foundation in the fundamentals of tattooing. Each one of us should be able to complete the tasks given to us. Lines, all tattoos deal with lines. Color, most should know how to use color in a tattoo. Shading, is also used in any tattoo to give it dimension." Kara spoke up.

She had a point. Then Bill got all huffy.

"Yeah? Then why the **** are we even here? If they know that we're good in our specialties then what's the point? We mastered the fundamentals, that's why we specialize in something." Bill said.

Kara looked up. "If you've mastered the fundamentals, then why were you at the bottom of the pile? If you've mastered the fundamentals, then why were your clients so unhappy with what they got? Picky client or you just can't handle what they want. A master must be able to give the clients what they want. You complained about the 'picky' clients you've gotten, but have you put your foot down and said, that the tattoo they want is out of your wheelhouse for the amount of time given."

Well damn. She is firing shots out. With that she got up and left. I heard the balcony door slide open and shut, so I knew that Kara was out on the balcony again. Kelly headed out there this time.

"My clients were ******* strict on what they wanted. How the **** was I supposed to convince them that I couldn't do that?" Bill said.

I shook my head and just listened at how they all tried to find flaws in Kara's work.

*Kelly's POV*

I followed Kara out to the balcony to find her looking up at the stars. Kara was one of the top competitors in this competition. I knew that the others had tried to find an area where Kara was weakest in, but in the process, they botched themselves. I took Kara's approach on this competition. At first, my thoughts were that I would come in and try to take out the rest of the competition, but then I saw Kara's laid back outlook on this and then heard her take on what she was going to do.

She had followed through on what she said she was going to do. I watched as she took the entire thing seriously and did what she did best.

"Hey." I said.

"Hi." she said.

"So, what did you think of the challenge?" I asked.

She shrugged, "Well, it really wasn't that difficult. It was attention to detail and the fact that American Traditional tattoos aren't too simple to where they lose detail and they aren't too complicated to where it's unrecognizable from afar. Again, my thoughts on who an ink master really is, is someone who can do most styles of tattooing and do them well. Obviously they'll have their favorite style of tattooing but if you walk into their shop and ask for something, then he or she can do it with no problem."

Looks like I'll have to step up my game. The door opened and Tommy stepped out.

"Hi Tommy." Kara said.

"Hey," he said, "so what do you think the next challenge will be?"

I was interested because I wanted to guess.

"Something with color. They were picking on the attention to detail in the lines and the way the colors popped." Kara said.

"Hmm. Kara." I said.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking, would you like to make a bet?" I asked.

Kara looked interested, "I'll have to hear what it is before I decide."

"Okay. Well, if you win this whole thing, I'll come to your shop wherever it is to get a tattoo from you. If I win, then you do the same." I said.

Kara was interested, "Hmm. How big is your shop?"

"Not that big, it's just me." I said.

Kara was slightly shocked, "Hmm, well if you win, I'll come to get a tattoo from you. If I win, you have to come and work for me. Cause I've seen your work and it's nice. It's right there with what my sister does and you do a bit more styles than she does so you'd add some different character to the shop."

"I accept." I said.

Kara smiled and we shook hands. We headed back inside to hear the boys critiquing each other and how 'good' some were. Bill was complaining about his canvas, Lisa was complaining about the critiques she got, Joshua was complaining about how it wasn't his style, Sheila was picking on Shauna, and Tommy and Shana were joining in with the others.

*Kara's POV*

The next morning was interesting. We were going to *insert name here*. When we got there, David was shredding a white guitar. Just because I wanted to, I grabbed an acoustic guitar and started playing. After a few minutes we got down to business.

"Welcome guys." he said. "We are now down to ten competitors and the critiques just get harder. Today's flash challenge you'll be testing your skill in contrast. Musicians' instruments become known as much as the musicians themselves. Today, you'll be painting guitars, however; not just any guitar, you will be painting one of my personal guitars. I love pinups, dark, creepy, but most of all, I want to see what you guys can do. You'll have three hours to paint...time starts now."

And we were off. I decided to do a vampire pinup with her hands grabbing the dials and her teeth sinking into the pickups. Instead of blood surrounding the vampire, it was a seduction type spell and with blood only around the mouth. I looked up from my work to look at the others. Jack was doing this demon baby thing, Lisa's was a pinup, Joshua's was a cartoony skull, Kelly's was nice with a zombie look to the guitar, Tommy did a skull inside the guitar, Sheila was also doing a pinup, and Shauna I really don't know what she was doing. I added in a background for mine that wrapped around to the back.

*David's POV*

I was walking around looking at what the competitors were doing. Joshua's was okay, but not my thing. Sheila was on the fence. I liked Kelly's and Tommy's designs. Lisa was doing a pinup but I watched as she scrapped that and went for something else. Bill's, I don't know what he was going for, it was a skull with hair. I didn't want to see Kara's just yet. I knew that when it was done that hers would be my favorite. Based on her work so far, she's really good.

I'm honestly wanting her to win because I want to see what she does in her element. So far, she's done the best out of the competitors with the challenges. I haven't really seen her struggle with a canvas. I'm interested in how she talks with the people who come in to do this since each of her canvases have walked out of here with smiles and in awe of the tattoo they just got.

I glanced over to Chris, who had gone to see what Kara was doing, he was still looking at Kara's. Just from here, hers looks the best. It's obvious that the others are gunning for her and take her out, but they just keep messing up their own tattoo.

*Bill's POV*

I tried to focus on my own work, but I couldn't help but glance up every other minute to see what Kara was doing. I was talking to Lisa on how to get her out of this competition cause it's obvious she's the best. We just have to find a way to knock her off her high horse. No one comes into a competition just to see how they do up against others. They come to win.

I know I can do good tattoos, the judges just can't see it. I can shade, I can do dimension, and I can do clean lines. Just because I can't do something, doesn't mean that I'm not a master.

*Kara's POV*

I knew that I had a big target on my back with how well I've been doing. I kept three sketchbooks. One is for personal use and the other is for professional use and the last one is for tattoo ideas. Each page has my name on it in an ink that only shows with a black light. I kept on doing what I'm doing and the others could either better themselves or hinder themselves.

"You've got thirty seconds left." David said.

Chris had come over and looked at what I've done for close to ten minutes easily. He didn't say anything, just watched, so I ignored him and just kept painting. When it was done, I pulled the tape off and left what was behind well.

"Three...two...one...time! Brushes down, no more painting." David said.

I looked at what I have and I was proud of it. The judges came around and began picking on certain things about the paintings. David was critiquing and said that some just wasn't for him. Lisa had scrapped her idea, but it was a good one. It was obvious that he was saving mine for last to look at. As he made his way around, I looked at the others arts too. Kelly's was great, Tommy had a skull coming out of the guitar, and Shana had a pinup. I looked at Bill's and I could tell that he was trying to outdo me, cause he had a similar painting but he didn't do it right and it showed. His attempt at copying me with the intent of winning over me actually hurt him more than boosted his standing. They finally got to mine and David's reaction was priceless. He was absolutely stunned.

"Tell us what you did here." Oliver said.

"Since David liked dark and creepy as well as pinups, I combined the two. In some legends, vampires hunt by luring in people by looks. They weave a spell over those who get close to them by luring them in with attractive looks. Pinups exaggerate some features, so I exaggerated the features that would lure in the most people. I placed her hands by the dials as if she was controlling the output of the level of sound and her teeth sinking into the pickups as that's what transfers the sound to the speakers. It's basically her using the guitar to lure in people. From far away, she's pretty and makes you want to get closer, but when you get up close, you realize that there's blood around her mouth and her fingers end in claws. Then in the background I did a forest with a cabin." I said.

The judges nodded and then walked away to discuss the winner.

*Oliver's POV*

Damn, that kid has some talent. I could tell that Bill was trying to copy her but he failed.

"Alright….what do you think?" Chris said.

"I really like Kara's. Kid's good at taking what the client wants and somehow incorporating pieces from each aspect they want. I did want a dark and creepy or a pinup and their own creative spirit into it. She took that and spun it to what she does and ran with it." David said.

I nodded, "But, Kelly's was nice too. I do agree with you there David, but we gotta even it out a little." I said.

Chris nodded, "It's obvious who's at the top. Shall we tell them?"

We nodded and we turned to the competitors.

"The judges have decided, this week's winner of the flash challenge is….Kelly." David said. "Now for the rest of you. Do the work YOU have done, not try to copy other's styles. Head on back to the loft, get ready cause one of you is going home after this."

With that they left.

*Tommy's POV*

I had seen Kara's and holy crap, that kid has some serious talent. I knew I had to kick it up a notch if I had any chance of beating her. I can't even be mad since she's just here to test her skills. On the way back to the loft, the others were trash talking Kara. Well, by others I mean everyone that's not Kelly, Shana, or I. Joshua was complaining that his skull was good and that Kara's idea was crap and didn't follow the criteria. Lisa was quietly talking about how hers was a great idea and that if she had more time than she would have done better, that her idea was bad and she scrapped it for a new one, that Kara's was too complex to have finished in that amount of time. Shauna was complaining about how hers didn't turn out the way she planned and that Kara had to have copied the idea from somewhere.

Jackson was arguing with Jack and Bill on their pieces and comparing them to Kara's. Sheila was complaining that the time constraint was difficult with that style of artwork. When we got back to the loft, we went up to eat then we came back down to find out what the elimination challenge would be.

"Welcome to another elimination tattoo. This week, we're testing contrast. Today, we have a very special guest judge, he owns two of the most well known tattoo shops in the world, winning hundreds of awards for tattooing and art. He is also one of the leading Japanese tattooers in the industry. Mason Ruthsburg." David said.

Everyone greeted him when he came in.

"Thank you for being here with us." David said. "That brings us to this week's elimination tattoo - Japanese."

Ah crud. I am not happy.

*Kara's POV*

I was sitting there just waiting for everyone to get done complaining. When they were, the judges brought out our canvases. There were two Bellator fighters in the mix.

"Kelly, because you won the flash challenge, you have the ability to pick what you want. We have a twist for the others." David said.

Kelly got up and went down the line. One wanted a Koi Dragon, another wanted a traditional dragon, one of the fighters wanted a daruma doll, the other fighter was open to anything, and the female of the group wanted a floral design.

"I'll take the floral design." she said.

"Alright, the rest of the canvases, you will have a ten minute interview with each of the other contestants. When you have cycled through all of them, the canvases will pick who they want as their tattoo artist." David revealed.

Yes, and so the rest of us headed to our little shops to get ready. I got the Daruma Doll guy first.

"Alright, what would you like to do?" I asked.

"My father came home from Japan with this Daruma Doll. He taught me a bunch of life lessons with this doll, and I'd like to have something that represents that. I don't want to use a Japanese element just because its an element." he said.

"Okay. Obviously, you'd want the doll as the center of the tattoo, the subject. Any preferences on the backdrop?" I asked as I sketched out a rough sketch of what I had in mind.

"How about it in a Japanese setting?" he asked.

"Okay, I can work with that." I said.

I had a minute before time was called and I showed him the rough draft.

"Now, this is a rough draft of what I had in mind. Of course, afterwards, I'd detail it up, but right now It's more of the concept more than the details." I said.

He looked impressed. Then time was called, next was the other fighter. He was open to anything so I thought why not do the Japanese Tiger? I did the same style with the other canvases. Asked them what they wanted before throwing in any of my ideas. If I don't win but the client's happy with the tattoo, then that's better than me winning with a tattoo that my client didn't want. Soon the interviews were done and the canvases got to talk with each other, just so that no one picked the same person.

*Brian's POV* (basically the dude from S2:E9 who wanted the Daruma Doll and was Sarah's canvas)

I spoke with the other people who signed up for this. I really wanted the first lady, Kara. She made me feel as if she could do what I wanted and so I wanted to see what she could do. It was obvious that she cared about what the client wanted and could easily adapt to what the client wanted. No surprise that most of the others wanted her as well, but I managed to get away with it. The others settled for their second choice.

Soon it was time for us canvases to pick our artist and I picked Kara.

"Great," David said once all the canvases were done, "Artists, you have the rest of the afternoon to talk with your canvas. Tomorrow, you'll be in a six hour session. "

I headed over to Kara's station and sat in the chair she motioned at.

"Alright, let's do this." she said.

I told her what I wanted, "The Daruma Doll is what my dad focused on to teach me life lessons. They could be knocked over again and again, but they'd still get right back up. He told me that it was okay to be knocked down, learn from it and bounce right back stronger for it." I told her.

She nodded and as I was talking, I could see that she was drawing out the design.

"Are there any specific relics from your time in Japan that you'd like to incorporate? Of course, I'd have to see if it would fit and blend well. Yes it is a contest about contrast, but I don't want it clashing to be in contrast to the doll." she said.

I nodded a little unhappy but I told her I wanted something that represented strength. Not just physical strength but mental strength too.

"Is this tattoo in honor of your father?" she asked.

"Yes. He was the one who taught me everything I know. My mother had died early on in my life, so my dad has been the one to take care of me. I am who I am, because of him." I said.

"Do you have any photos on you of him?" she asked.

I nodded and showed her. I had a feeling she was going to do something with it and so I kept it out. She smiled and kept drawing.

"Hmm, where are you looking to get it?" she asked.

"My right thigh." I said.

She had a thinking look on her face, "Why the right thigh?"

"Then I'd see it." I said.

She thought, "Hmm, okay. I was thinking more of a back piece, considering that your father had your back and in getting it in a spot where you can't see, the concept that he's still there protecting you is in your mind. You know its there but you can't see it."

I thought about it and I liked the idea but I had it set for my thigh, I shook my head, "I'd like it on the thigh."

"Okay." she said.

She then finished up her drawing of the tattoo and then showed it to me. I was impressed. The Daruma Doll was in the center of the piece and there was a wind blowing through as leaves. Then I noticed the face of the doll, she had somehow weaved my father's face into the doll. So instead of the normal doll face, it was my dad's.

"The symbol on the front of the doll is the symbol for strength in the Japanese language." she said.

I looked at it. "This is beautiful."

She smiled, "Thank you. May I get a measurement for the area? I like to get a measurement so that I can scale the drawing to size."

I nodded and she did her thing.

"Alright. I will get to work on the design." she said.

I got up to leave and she walked with me to the front. She saw me off which was nice.

*Kara's POV*

Once he was gone, I took my tools and got ready for the next couple days. When I got up to the loft, the others were complaining. Joshua was complaining that he didn't do Japanese, Jackson was complaining that he didn't do dragons, Bill was complaining that he got another client that was stubborn. I think it isn't the client that was stubborn, it was him not wanting to veer from his style.

I ate and headed out to the balcony to work and then call up my sister. I talked with her and we talked about how it was going at the shop. I told Alex about the bet I made with one of the other competitors and she sighed.

"Kara," she said.

"What? She's one of the decent ones." I said.

I could practically see her smile in fondness, "Okay Kar. I gotta go. A client showed up."

We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I drew out my tattoo to scale and detailed it so that you could see everything. I went to sleep and the next morning, I was ready to go.

We got set up and our clients came in too. David reminded us about what we had to do and we were off. I showed Brian my drawing and he liked it. I got started and did my thing. Outlined in thin black before going over with color. I used the normal color for the Daruma doll. Then moved onto the face before moving towards the background. Four hours in and I was close to finishing. At five hours in with one to go, I made him move so that he could stand up and walk around a little before starting again. I went back over my lines with black and shaded areas so that the doll would pop out more.

*Brian's POV*

I saw the finished tattoo that she did and I actually really liked it. At first, I was a little hesitant to add in a background, but after seeing the way she pulled everything together, I liked it. She had the whole customer service thing down. The others were capable of doing a similar tattoo, but I could sense that some had tried to get me to do something else, something easier. One of them was just worried about the competition which wasn't the best way to go about it.

I know that the competition was huge and all, but what remains at the heart is the client's wants and needs in a tattoo. In my opinion, a master would be able to take what their client wants and make it so that the client is happy with it. She took what I wanted, different aspects of it, and created something beautiful with it.

She put a salve over the tattoo and it made everything pop. It was actually real nice as it didn't burn as some other kinds did. She smiled.

"There you go." she said.

I thanked her, got the picture done, and left.

*Tommy's POV*

I did my best with what I had. Japanese wasn't my style, but I would do it every now and then. I thought my design, a tiger, was good until I saw what Kara did. At this point, I'm not even mad if she ends up winning. The way the doll was the center with the background drawing your eye to it, damn. The rest of us need to step up our games.

The judges basically tore into everyone's tattoos. The people who are just here to win got chewed out and it showed in their tattoos. All of them were upset, bar a few of course, as we made our way to the loft so the judges could make a decision. The others were arguing again. Kara was sitting in the corner of the couch with her eyes closed.

*Chris' POV*

After that horrid round, the only good tattoo was Kara's. The rest were decent but not to the standard that they should have been. Kara's got some serious talent as she pulled off that amazing tattoo in just six hours, though just to give the other competitors a chance, we decided to give the round to someone else.

"Alright, who do you think did the best?" David asked.

"Kara's. " I said, "She's got talent. I liked the way the background drew your attention to the doll. Instead of the background drawing your eye away from the subject matter, she made it to draw people in. She somehow incorporated his father in the face of the doll with a symbol that means strength."

"That girl's got an eye for art." Mason said.

"And this isn't her specialty either. She said her specialty is in landscapes and portraits." Oliver said.

David just smiled, "So we agree on Kara's, but who would be second. Just to give the other competitors a chance."

"If I had to, it's between Tommy and Kelly on this one. Both did fairly well with the topic they got but could have done better in some areas." I said.

Oliver agreed as did Mason. Oliver went up to get the four competitors after we decided who the bottom two were. The four came out and it was Tommy and Kelly, then Heather and Bill. We told who was who. Bill got mad.

"You're freaking blind if you think that's a bad tattoo. My client was squirming all over the place and wouldn't sit still" he said.

I looked at him, "No, you are if you think that's good. Hell, at this point if your clients are giving you problems, then maybe it isn't them that's the problem."

I saw Tommy's eyes widen. Eventually, we finally got to the end of the day. Bill was sent home. He grumbled as he said goodbye to the others and left. Once he left though, we got serious.

"This is not the time to relax. Any one of you would have justifiably gotten sent home today. It just so happens that we know what you all are capable of. Get ready, cause the fights coming and fast. The critiques don't get easier as this goes on. We will be more strict as it gets down to the final competitors as they should know how to do something." David said.

They nodded and headed back up to the loft.

AN: And that's a wrap. What'd y'all think? Thoughts on one where James and Clark think they know everything about Kara but are sorely disappointed?