Bubbling Under

**Bubbling Under** is the tenth episode of *The Challenge: The Duel*.

## Story

 Following the eventful elimination, the fourteen remaining players returned to the mansion. Cameron and Ezra celebrated Ezra’s win in private. Cameron said he was really nervous when Owen and Shona seemed to have finished. Ezra said he couldn’t believe Owen managed to screw up as greatly as he did. They mock how the shuttle ride to the airport must’ve been between Owen and Shona. They discuss next targets and Cameron expresses that he’d like to see Frasier and Neisha leave next as Neisha is after his partner Kaliegh, and by extension him. Ezra said he felt like that was definitely achievable and that they just needed to win the next challenge. Cleo, Jake, and Tye discussed plans and even the potential final and what it could entail. Tye said he was worried about his and Boherty’s odds after their lackluster performance up until now. Jake said it’s too soon to count anyone out and the fact that they’re still here means they have worked hard up until now. Cleo agrees and says she envisions the finale with them, Ezra and Maria, and Cameron and Kaliegh. Jake and Tye both agree.

 Lenny and Neisha discussed the future weeks and Neisha again expressed concern about Kaliegh. She confided in Lenny about all of the drama and about how Kaliegh sees her as a traitor to the international players. Lenny promises Neisha that she has her back and to put her mind at ease. They agree if they have any say, Kaliegh and Cameron will go into the next duel. Kaliegh and Boherty were doing each other’s hair in the room over. Boherty complained about still not having a competition win. Kaliegh talked to her about how Neisha had to be their next target. Boherty went a long with it because she didn’t really care who of the others left. Neisha knocked and asked if her and Kaliegh could chat one-on-one. Reluctantly, Kaliegh accepted. The two sat by the chess board and talked. Neisha again tried to explain why she worked with Lenny and not the international players. Kaliegh reiterated that she felt betrayed by Neisha and that she was only sabotaging her chances of winning by sabotaging the internationals. They continued to disagree and the conversation slowly escalated. Kaliegh started yelling Neisha and accused her of being the reason Aura left when Aura was down to work with Neisha. Neisha yelled at Kaliegh to let her make her own friends, and claimed they hardly even talked before the season. Neisha stormed off and Kaliegh yelled at her as she headed to her room and slammed the door. Kaliegh screamed “traitor” at the door and told her never to speak to her after the show is over. Melvin, Nori, and Troy were in the room over and listened in. Nori mouthed to them that this was chaos. They tried not to laugh. Troy told both of them that this daily challenge was going to truly be a battle.

 The players met TJ the next day for the daily challenge. He explained the rules of “Against the Current”. Teams have to paddle upstream in a kayak until the current pushes them out of the zone, after which teams have to paddle the opposite direction to the finish line. If one player falls out of a kayak, that team has 30 seconds to push the kayak past the finish line in order to avoid disqualification. The team with the lowest time differential of paddling upstream and subsequent paddling in the reverse direction to the finish line wins. Each team participates in the challenge one-by-one and then meet TJ at the end to compare times. TJ announced that the two runner-up teams were Ezra & Maria and Frasier & Neisha. He then revealed that the team with the best overall time differential was actually Boherty & Tye. All of the teams were shocked. Tye jumped up and down cheering, Boherty hugged him and he picked her up. TJ congratulated them on their big win and reminded everyone to meet him later for the safety chain.

 After the challenge, both sides of the house convened as a group to discuss their plans. Boherty and Tye’s side congratulated them on their big win and Jake baked them each surprise cupcakes. They got to business and discussed how to manage the safety chain. They agreed that their targets were Frasier and Neisha. Since Lenny and Melvin would likely save them, they agreed Nori and Troy should be picked before them in the chain. Cleo asked Cameron and Kaliegh if they were worried that Neisha and Frasier would challenge them. Kaliegh shrugged and said she wasn’t scared of Neisha. On the other end of the house, the players were scrambling. Frasier and Neisha had essentially accepted that they were going into the elimination. Neisha apologized to Frasier for him being dragged into this mess but he tells her not to be sorry as it isn’t her fault. Troy asked if they were challenging Cameron and Kaliegh, and both of them nodded immediately.

 The teams meet TJ outside for the safety chain ceremony. He called Boherty and Tye to the front to make their first pick. Boherty cheerfully reveals that they’re first saving Cleo and Jake. The pair headed to the front and revealed that they were saving Ezra and Maria. Ezra and Maria thanked them before taking the floor and surprising nobody by saving Cameron and Kaliegh. Cameron and Kaliegh headed up to the front and revealed that they were actually saving Nori and Troy, which left Melvin a bit surprised. As Nori and Troy moved to the front, TJ reminded them that whoever they didn’t pick would be sent into the elimination and get to drag a team with them. They then thought it over before revealing they’d be saving Lenny and Melvin. With that, it was Frasier and Neisha who were left over. Frasier and Neisha both moved to the front and TJ asked them to reveal who they’re challenging. Frasier smiled to Neisha and gave her the floor. Neisha says a speech about how she came to meet new friends from across the globe, regardless of where their from and that she has achieved that and maybe had the player she’s challenging done that, she wouldn’t of done so poorly. With that, she asked Cameron and Kaliegh to join her. Kaliegh clapped back and said she’s not surprised that Neisha’s dumb but correct her that United States doesn’t make up the entire globe. She accuses her of clout chasing and only aligning with them to get more fans. Neisha scoffs at the concept and calls Kaliegh delusional. As much as he was loving the drama, TJ asks the teams to go back to prepare for the elimination and invites the others to watch in the bleachers.

 The competitors gather at the bleachers. Cleo gasps and points out how few people there are, with only 10 of them waiting for the elimination to begin. Just then, smoke appears from the arena as the two teams walk in from opposite ends. TJ explains the rules of the duel titled “Blast Off”. Players are attached to their partners, matched up two-on-two in football helmets and shoulder pads against their opponents in a circle, and have to tackle their opponent out of the circle. The first team to tackle their opponent out of the circle wins. The challenge would be decided by best of three rounds. The first round began and Frasier and Neisha immediately had a weight advantage and got the other two onto the ground. Frasier lifted Cameron while Kaliegh and Neisha hit and pushed each other. Eventually, Frasier and Neisha made enough progress, forcing the others out. TJ blew his horn and awarded the first round to Frasier and Neisha, with them only needing one more to win. The next round began and they went fighting at it again. Cameron and Kaliegh made a new strategy to aim low to trip Frasier and Neisha. Neisha however took advantage of this and grabbed Kaliegh by her hair when they went down and pushed them both away. With some time to attack, Frasier and Neisha then worked on shoving them out of the circle as they tried to recover. Before they could get back to their feet, they were out of the circle. TJ blew his horn and declared Frasier and Neisha as the winners of the duel. Kaliegh crouched down and her face was riddled with disappointment. Cameron rubbed her back and comforted her but was very upset himself. He got up and kicked the ground out of frustration. TJ congratulated Frasier and Neisha, welcoming them back to the bleachers. He then turned to Cameron and Kaliegh. He congratulated them on making it through ten rounds of the game but informed them that they’d been eliminated and it was time to leave. Everyone clapped for them, even Neisha. They walked out with a lot of disappointment but didn’t make a huge scene.

## Safety Chain

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7