Today was odd. To you, the date was December 21st, 1996. To the rest of the world, it was October 2nd, 2017. When you walked into the office and worked on sorting the files, you got many weird looks from complete strangers. Where was Gerry? Mikey? Ms. Robinson? Eric? Emma?

These strangers confused you greatly. Apparently, they all worked here, and you weren't supposed to be working downstairs. Your old friend (and apparently husband? When did that happen?), Peter Lukas, took them all to the side to explain something. From the scraps you got, there was something about some 'Jonah Magnus' possessing you for twenty years. What nonsense.

Peter: "Don't tell him this conversation happened. He just needs normalcy for now. Is there any way someone could find Michael and convince him to pretend he still works here? It might help Elias feel less estranged."

Melanie: "Absolutely not. That monster deserves no comfort."

Peter: "No, no, the monster was Jonah. Elias is still mentally in 1996, so he's looking for his coworkers. The real Elias doesn't know any of you, but he does know Michael."

Jon: "I'll talk to him."

Hours later, Jon found Distortion!Michael and sighed. Talking to him was always nerve wracking.

Jon: "Hey, Michael. You remember Elias, right? Your old friend?"

Michael: "Elias Bouchard... El-i-as... hmm, yes, I do. Filing clerk when I last worked with the real him. Before Jonah stole him from us."

Jon: "Great. Well. I need you to pretend you still work at the Magnus Institute-" Michael seemed annoyed. He had to keep his interest quickly. "Please. It's for Elias. He's back and confused on why nobody he remembers is around anymore. I know you're not the real Michael Shelley anymore, but please. He needs you right now, before he gets reckless."

Michael: "...fine."

And with that, Michael popped in and faked being the anxiety-ridden fresh out of high school man Elias remembered.