"What do you know, Uncle Rory?" Xander asked.
Rory took a deep breath and than slowly let it out.
"You're related to Stacy and Michael Osbourne in Oxnard?" He asked Oz, looking for confirmation.
"Yes, my Uncle and Aunt. My dad's stepbrother. He died a few months ago."
"And your mom died when you were a kid."
"Yes, I'm wondering why you know about my family."
"I know your Uncle and Aunt." He glanced at Xander.
"We told him about Wesen and Grimms, Cordy woged, we were hoping it would help him and us understand what's going on, but he doesn't recognize any of it and thought he was sleep walking."
"He wasn't. Mike said you were over last weekend and babysat Jordy, their kid. Anything happen while you were watching him?" Rory asked.
"I tickled him and he bit me."
"That would do it. Jordy's got a condition, one that hasn't been recorded among the Blutbad for a good century, in fact they thought it had been eliminated."
"What kind of condition?" Oz asked.
"Lycanthropia. Lycanthropia is the result of a rare genetic mutation in Blutbaden. They're the basis for the werewolf myth. Lycanthropes are driven temporarily insane during the three nights of and around the full moon each month and are like a Blutbad on steroids. There's not a lot of research that has been done on Lycanthropia, but it is known that it is a recessive trait that is transmitted to Blutbaden offspring. It was originally caused by a viral infection and there is no known cure."
"So," Giles said thoughtfully, "at some point a Blutbad contracted a viral infection of some sort that caused a genetic mutation. That mutation passed down, but as a recessive trait, meaning both parents must be carriers for the offspring to manifest it. And because it was caused originally by a viral infection, the Blutbads have no immune response to the virus and are carriers of it as well. A bite or a scratch or possibly even a sneeze, could transmit it."
"Exactly and because it wasn't well understood, not to mention the Blutbad in question could be extremely dangerous during the three nights of temporary insanity, killing the afflicted person was the preferred method of dealing with anyone who manifested the condition. It wasn't until recently that anyone even understood it's genetic among the Blutbaden."
"The virus and the mutation must be linked to each other in the Blutbad, that's the only way the condition could be transmitted as well. Otherwise Oz would have just gotten sick, not transformed. So he must now be locked up during this full moon cycle to avoid harming others." Giles concluded.
"Not necessarily." Rory answered. "It causes temporary insanity in Blutbaden, normal humans react a little differently. Insanity can result from an inability to accept the condition, but it isn't part of the condition in normal humans. And unlike a Blutbad, they can learn to control the transformation and change whenever they like. It takes a good deal of emotional control because emotional spikes can cause involuntary transformations, but once a normal human accepts, control becomes second nature."
"So Blutbaden tried to suppress the information and you didn't tell me about it because you thought it had been eliminated." Xander decided. "It's probably recorded in one of our family journals just in case, but you didn't see any need for me to know unless it became necessary."
"Mike's helped me out a few times dealing with dangerous Wesen, I figured it's a Blutbad problem and one that hopefully didn't exist anymore. That it turned up in his and his wife's own kid was a huge shock for them. They've been trying to deal with it since they found out. They came clean when I asked about it. They're sorry you got caught up in it, Oz."
"They didn't tell me about any if it. Did my parents know?"
"Your dad did from what Mike told me, but they were never sure how to tell you about it and than your dad died. Don't worry, both them and we will help you deal with this."
"You didn't hurt Jordy, did you?"
"No, we don't go after kids and I hope to God there's never a need to. Traditionally, Blutbaden dealt with it themselves and Grimms didn't need to be involved anyway. Only if the family chose not to do something about it and the Blutbad in question killed people."
"Oz, do you have anywhere you can contain yourself while learning to control your transformations so no one gets hurt?" Xander asked.
"I live alone, I inherited my dad's house when he died and I'm eighteen and a Senior. I've got a trust fund, I can have renovations done to the house, like in the basement. That should give me a place I can practice and at the same time lock myself up until I get control."
"That should work." Rory agreed.
"Is he subject to the same full moon cycle as a Blutbad would be?" Giles asked.
"No, it's just a coincidence that his first transformations occured during this time. It took a few days for the virus to replicate enough to begin effecting him." Rory answered. "But until he gets those renovations done he will need to be locked up elsewhere."
"Than I'll offer you the use of the book cage." Giles told Oz. "Until other arrangements have been made. Please report here after school before nightfall."
"I will, thanks, I guess. This is going to take some getting used to."
"You're not alone." Xander assured him, stepping closer to the smaller boy. Oz glanced up and froze.
"What's up with your eyes, man?"
"Do you see something in my eyes?" Xander asked curiously.
"Yeah, something like a dog faced me."
"Huh, that's different." Xander said thoughtfully. "I mean I can see the demon in a vampire, but they see no reflection of themselves in my eyes and I see the other form of a Wesen and they see how what I see makes me feel in my eyes. But this is the first time a human has seen a reflection of themselves in my eyes."
"You said he was Wesen adjacent earlier." Cordelia pointed out. "It seems you're right. He's something in-between a Wesen and a normal human now, enough for you both to see something."
"As far as I know, no Grimm has ever gotten close enough to a human affected by Lycanthropia to find that out." Rory grinned. "Something new for you to record in the family archives."
"Vampires?" Oz asked.
"That's a whole different discussion."