Jack doesn't notice Pitch leave, at first - he remains huddled on the ground, shaking the way any other being would in a gust of freezing wind. But even when that shock fades, it only leads to him being free to feel the equally icy force of Frisk's glare.

He looks up at them, and has just enough time to register that Pitch is gone before he hastily has to look away again. Jack opens his mouth, closes it, gulps, then tries again.

"...can I stay? Please? I...I want to help. Look," he adds hastily, and holds up a hand. Ice crystallizes above it, taking shape, spreading out, until it forms a shovel as well. "I can help you dig."