The Legend of Ben 10: Book 1, Sentience.

Chapter 8: Brothers and Enemies (Part 1)

"You really intend to fight Aang don't you?" 

Ben froze halfway up the steps back into the Rust Bucket.  He looked back down at Katara and raised an eyebrow. "Problem with that plan?"

"I mean, I'm with you, I really am.. " said Katara. "And I want him saved more than anyone, but the both of us might be forced to make some very tough choices if things don't go according to how we'd like."

"What are you saying?" Ben asked. 

It had been 2 days since Ben had awoken. Plans had been made, various tents that weren't in the war camp before were now erected, with various reinforcements in a mixture of Fire nation styled Japanese-like armor and Earth nation Chinese armor, now populating this area of forest. 

"He's been welded into a machine Ben. His body.." Katara bit her lower lip as she shuddered. "What if we need to put him down?"

Ben's gaze dimmed a little. "I already tried to put down a friend once, I won't try to do that again, not when there's even the slightest possibility."

"And Gwen!?" Katara snapped suddenly, tears welling in her eyes. "What do you want to do about her?!"

There was a silence.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for." Katara whispered. 

"No, it's fine, look, this is the love of your life we're talking about, it can't be that simple for you." said Ben.  "Gwen's.. dead. Lei Lei is all that's left.  But Aang is still alive in there, I can feel it! I felt it in that world. His spirit's wandering the Spirit World, waiting for his body to be revived! He's the reason I was able to come back!"

"And how do you plan to fix any of this?" Katara asked quietly. "Do you even have a plan once they get us in there? Ben I have to know. I need to keep my expectations- m-moderated."

"There's one alien I can try. One that might be able to undo all of the damage." said Ben. "But I need to get close enough to touch Aang's robot body. 

"Wha?" Katara muttered. 

"It's called Upgrade." Ben said. "I can... merge with technology. I've been doing the calculations as Grey Matter, and I think it might just work."

"Grey Matter's the smart frog dude right?! Or is it the smart crab?!" Sokka called out as he walked past carrying a large stack of crates. "Or the Smart Devil?! Or.. wait how many smart ones do you have? Oh is it the Smart Koffing!?"

"What's a Koffing?" Katara muttered.

"That's why you gotta watch more Youtube Katara!" said Sokka as he slammed the crates down next to another massive pile where various soldiers were making notes and checking supplies. "Ben's culture is like.. the worst, but it's also the best! It's a great mixture!"

"It's the smart frog." said Ben. "Anyways, yeah, Its possible"

"How possible?" Katara asked. 

Ben frowned. "Uhhh.."

"Ben..?" Katara narrowed her eyes. "How.. Possible?"

"L-like.. 47 percent? Which is actually a huge chunk of the pie!" said Ben. 

"Oh Spirits.. and if you fail nothing's gonna happen to you right?" Katara muttered.

"Uhhhhhhh.." 

"Ben for the love of-"

"OKAY OKAY! Like a 35 percent chance that if I fail my nanomachine cells.. like the stuff Upgrade's body is made of.. get melted and fried into death juice!" said Ben with a shrug, going slightly pink as he held up his hands in surrender. "Still, I think it's worth-."

"Ben, listen to me." said Katara, jabbing a finger into Ben's chest. "I.. already lost Aang, if I lose you too, it WILL break me, you hear me? I don't think I can come back from that. Sokka may be my brother by blood.. but you.. you're still my family too."