The trio were making good progress back down the tunnel all this time; Ash did have to admit that the lack of wild Pokémon and the only sounds being the constant dripping of water were quite eerie.
"I think I've got a bad feeling, Guys," he said, after a moment.
"You, too?" Brock asked.
"Yeah…" He stopped in his tracks, looking around. "I feel like… something's gonna happen."
"What kind of something…?" Misty asked, her eyes going wide.
"I believe that's our cue!" came a familiar, sing-song voice.
"Oh no," Brock groaned. "Not now!"
Jessie and James now emerged from behind some stalagmites.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"There'll be plenty of trouble if you don't keep quiet!" Brock hissed at them, as loudly as he dared. "Can't you see we're trying to get out of here!?"
"Hmph, that sounds like a you problem," Jessie scoffed, summoning Arbok. "To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" James added, summoning Weezing.
"To denounce—"
"No, we're done here," Brock insisted, ushering Ash and Misty down the tunnel.
"Wha!?" Meowth squawked, coming out from behind the stalagmites. "I didn't even get ta' do my part!"
"Now that's just rude," James huffed.
"I'll say it is!" Jessie fumed, leading the others after the trio. "The least you can do is grant us a battle—you know how trainer etiquette works! You cross our line of vision, we battle, and that's how it's done!"
Brock continued to nudge Ash and Misty ahead, but he stopped, briefly, to turn around and face Team Rocket.
"We'll battle outside—you can battle us as long as you like, but we need to get out of here!" he snapped.
Jessie blinked in surprise, not used to seeing Brock like that.
"Wow, what got into you?"
"Yeah, you're even moodier than Jessie!" Meowth observed.
James winced, shaking his head slowly, and, sure enough, Jessie turned to focus her wrath on the cat—
"Are you insinuating that I'm moody!?" she demanded.
"No, not at all!" Meowth replied, backtracking. "I was just, uh—"
KABOOM!
The explosion, emanating from somewhere near the opposite end of the tunnel, had still been strong enough to knock everyone off of their feet—and chunks of rock began to rain down from the cavern ceiling.
"What have you done!?" Misty cried, trying to shield Togepi as she narrowly dodged a large slab of rock.
"That wasn't us! I swear it!" James screamed, terror filling his eyes. He let out a shriek as a stalagmite next to him collapsed through a hole forming in the cave floor.
"Run!" Brock ordered. "C'mon—GO!"
Ash, who had gotten to his feet first now helped Misty up as Pikachu desperately clung to his shoulder in fear. Brock was a few yards behind, and Ash moved to double back to him.
"Keep going! Don't look back!" Brock ordered, now taking off after them.
"He's right, let's run!" Jessie ordered.
She practically dragged James with her, pushing past Brock as Arbok and Weezing, and then Meowth, followed close behind.
More chunks of the floor were giving way now, as well as the ceiling, and it was one of these pieces of ceiling that landed on Weezing, sending him crashing to the floor—which gave way beneath him, creating a large chasm, which swallowed up him, Arbok, and Meowth.
"NO!" Jessie shrieked, as James screamed again.
Brock, who had been running too fast to stop in time, now tried desperately to jump across the new gap, but he was halfway across when he realized he wouldn't make it. Out of desperation, he removed his backpack and threw it across the gap to save his Pokémon from whatever fate awaited him.
Ash and Misty, who had looked back on account of the screaming, had looked in time to see Brock disappear into the chasm.
"BROCK!" Misty cried.
"PIKACHUUU!"
Ash had immediately launched into autopilot, acting on instinct—
"Charizard!" he yelled, tossing his Pokéball. "Save Brock!"
Charizard emerged with a roar, diving into the chasm just as Ash ran forward to grab Brock's backpack, waiting—and hoping—that Charizard would fly back out with Brock safely in his arms.
"Ash, the ceiling!" Misty cried.
Ash cried out as he stumbled back, narrowly missing a gigantic chunk of ceiling that would've squashed him flat. Even as he scrambled backwards, more of the ceiling caved in until a gigantic wall of rock and dirt now separated Ash, Misty, Pikachu, Jessie, and James from the missing friends.
And then, all went quiet, at least around them—elsewhere down the tunnel, there was more rock collapsing, but around them, the eerie silence had returned.
Jessie and James were clutching at each other, their eyes wide as they shook from pure fear. Misty was cradling Togepi close, trying to comfort the little fairy-type as he cried.
And Ash's knees gave out from under him as Pikachu, still on his shoulder, trembled with emotion.
"Pikapika… Pikachuuu…" He trailed off, his little voice cracking.
And Ash, kneeling before the wall of rubble in front of him, could only place his hand on it and hope, against all odds, that Brock and Charizard would be okay.
Outside the other end of the tunnel, Proton waited for the explosive charge he had set to go off.
It went off right on the nose; Proton stood there, expressionless, as rock slides and collapses shook the cavern.
And then, all went quiet.
He knew that the chances of anyone getting out of there now were incredibly slim, and if they did? Power to them, then—Proton would seize a different opportunity to rid himself of them.
Satisfied, Proton turned and walked away, not looking back, and not the least bit remorseful.