Undertale: Tales from the Dreemurr Family

Written in the Genes

(Frisk's POV)

I woke up this morning feeling like something must be done about my undiscerned gender. I mean, everyone—every human, at least—has 23 pairs of chromosomes, the last pair determining one's gender. Everyone has one X chromosome. The second is what determines gender. If a human has 2 X chromosomes, then they're a female. If they have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, then they're male. Sometimes, though, humans are born with an extra sex chromosome, and if that results in a gender type only known as XXY, then their gender is uncertain.

And, lucky me, I happen to be one of those humans. My gender is uncertain.

"Something wrong?" Chara asked.

I turned to the other human, who happened to be the only other one I knew whose gender was also undetermined. Still, I felt like a misfit sometimes, even though I didn't show it.

"Not much," I lied, smiling at Chara.

The other human wasn't convinced. "I've been a ghost following you around for 9 Pacifist Runs," they said. "I've looked into your thoughts. It's about the whole 'undetermined gender' thing, isn't it?"

I sighed. "You got me, Chara."

Chara smiled. "Like recognizes like," they said. "If only there was some way to solve our predicament."

"We should probably talk to Mom or Dad," I suggested. "Over breakfast, you know?"

Chara nodded. "Fine," they said. "Hope they can help."

(Asgore's POV)

Frisk and Chara told me about their situation regarding their ambiguous gender. To be honest, I always thought of Frisk as female and Chara as male. Then again, I just go by their voices, but, looking more closely, I noticed Frisk's physique was slightly, but not too noticeably, more feminine than Chara's.

"It must be hard, not knowing your gender due to your genetic makeup," Toriel said. "Hopefully there is something we could do to help."

"Maybe they could visit Alphys," Asriel suggested. "She'll know what to do."

"I was going to suggest that!" I laughed. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

Frisk's face lit up. "Really? Thanks!"

I nodded, saying, "I'll let Alphys know to expect you."

Toriel chuckled, adding, "But you're not going anywhere without finishing your breakfast!"

(Alphys's POV, her laboratory/home)

I knew from the moment Asgore texted me to prepare my equipment for Frisk and Chara. The idea of two humans being ambiguously gendered had always struck me as a little odd, but, then again, everything about human biology and genetic makeup had struck me as odd before I studied human biology a little further.

The knock on the door came just as soon as I finished setting up the side of my home that held my lab. I answered the door and saw Asgore, Frisk, and Chara.

"H-hello there," I said. "How are you? A-are you ready?"

Frisk nodded. Chara just shrugged and replied, "Anything so that I will no longer have to be referred to as 'they.'"

Asgore nodded at his children, saying, "Go on in. I promise, Alphys can help you guys out."

The two humans went in, and I explained to them what I would do.

"I'll need a DNA sample from you," I said as I took them to the exam room. "Hopefully you don't mind cotton swabs in your mouth."

"Not too much," Frisk responded. Chara just said nothing.

I took a pair of cotton swabs, rubbing the tip of one inside Frisk's mouth, the other's tip rubbed inside Chara's.

"Alright, let me just put them in their containers and I'll begin the analysis of your DNA—specifically, the sex chromosomes," I said, and did just that. I then took them to an analysis machine and waited for the results.

"How will that hunk of metal and wires help us?" Asked Chara.

"W-well," I explained, "Every human has one X chromosome that comes from the mother. The father either delivers another X chromosome, resulting in a baby girl, or a Y chromosome, resulting in a baby boy. For each of you two, I hypothesize that, between your second X chromosome or your Y chromosome, one of them will ultimately be dominant over the other. So your gender essentially is decided by the dominant two sex chromosomes."

The machine beeped and asked if I wanted to see the results. I pressed the "yes" button on the screen, and the results showed up.

"What does it say?" Frisk asked.

I took a deep breath. "Frisk, both of your X chromosome are dominant over the Y one, so you're female."

Frisk whooped for joy, and she (Finally, we don't have to use 'they' anymore!) pumped her fists.

"What about me?" Chara asked. Clearly they were anxious.

"As for you, Chara," I said, "you have one dominant X chromosome and one dominant Y chromosome. You're male."

Chara heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally, I know my gender! Goodbye, gender-neutral pronouns, hel-lo, masculine pronouns."

"It will take a bit more time than ususal, due to your extra sex chromosome," I explained, "but both of you will develop traits respective of your gender."

Frisk hugged me, saying, "Thanks, Alphys! You're the best!"

I returned the hug once I got over the shock, saying, "Y-you're welcome."

(Asriel's POV)

Frisk and Chara got home and explained to me and Aria about what happened at the lab.

"Finally," I said, "I don't have to use 'they' or 'them' when talking about you anymore—unless I'm talking about both of you at once, of course."

"Of course," Frisk said. She seemed happy to finally be able to identify as female.

"All that talk about chromosomes and genes and DNA testing?" Aria said. "It's kinda weirding me out."

I stroked Aria's head. "You'll learn more about human biology when you get older," I said.

"If I have to," she said. "It's still unnerving, though."

"At least you don't have to worry about bleeding to death," Chara said. He cracked a smile before adding, "Monsters don't have blood, after all!"

Frisk smacked his brother on the back of his head, saying, "Chara! That's not funny!"

"Of course it is," Chara said. "Of course, you're not a boy."

Aria and I burst out laughing. This would take some getting used to!

Hey guys, FluffyBoiAsriel here. Just had to put out a chapter where we (finally!) find out Frisk and Chara's gender. Of course, the reason for their undetermined gender, as was mentioned earlier, was due to this simple fact: Frisk and Chara both happened to have an extra sex chromosome, making their gender type XXY (2 X chromosomes, 1 Y chromosome). Since women have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y chromosome, the extra sex chromosome posed a bit of a problem.

Also, I can't guarantee how scientifically accurate this chapter is, I'm just going by my feelings and knowledge.

Anyway, Stay Determined. -FluffyBoiAsriel