Coil had mentioned Zhas' name in the message he'd sent because he'd dared to hope that maybe someone out there would find the message and recognize the name. Maybe there were crews on some of those half-wrecked ships, and maybe Zhas was with them. He'd beaten Coil to the Fleet once before, so... it wasn't completely beyond the realm of possibility. He hadn't actually expected such an impossibility to be true, of course, but he could hope.

This hope had grown exponentially the moment that he'd heard a voice echoing down the halls. By the time he could actually make out the sound of footfalls rapidly heading in his direction, some part of his brain had suddenly and desperately latched onto the expectation that Zhas had found him.

So, when Carl appears at the intersection of the corridors instead, Coil is struck with both heart-rending disappointment and disorienting shock. Breath is caught tight in his chest as he stares because he's gutted and confused and relieved and--

Carl is crashing into him and squeezing that held breath right out of his lungs. He must have also been expecting this to be some sort of illusion or dream, because the realness of the arms around him startles him badly. It's a full-body flinch. And for the first second or two, Coil is tense and frozen because this isn't possible. It can't be Carl.

But, hearing his voice makes it real. Even if this is some sort of hallucination, the way that something in Coil's chest tugs at the sound of Carl's voice makes Coil not want to try dispelling it.

Now struck with the fear of suddenly having someone in front of him that he doesn't want to lose, Coil finally latches onto Carl just as tightly, mashing his face against the other boy's shoulder.