Hello, again. As many of you know, this story has been rewrote once before; it was my sad attempt to save it, only to finally notice that I was making one huge mistake. So, I finally gave up, and decided to split the fic in two, starting all over. I'm so sorry for all those who were following the previous version, I truly am because I know what it feels like when a story that you liked gets cancelled. But I wasn't happy with it anymore, neither felt happy writing it… In fact, it kind of became a burden, because I didn't want to leave it in hiatus.

I'm, though, saving some chapters from that story into this one. The chapters from Out in the Open that took place on Cybertron will now be part of a completely different fic titled Hunters and Preys. These two stories will interconnect from time to time ―mostly in the forms of calls from Rodimus or other characters, asking for help―, however it isn't a need to read both at the same time, since their plots are completely different. If I'm lucky, someday I may united them in a third story. If not… Uh… At least I hope to give you two stories you may enjoy.

Again, so sorry about this.

Warning: English isn't my mother language, so there might be some grammar mistakes here.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers franchise, nor its characters. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro.

PROLOGUE

Three years ago, he was still lying on a bunk at Iacon's prison, musing on all the wrong turns he took along his life; becoming a Decepticon just to have a slight chance of revenge against an Autobot traitor that, supposedly, terminated his sparkmate was, by far, the worst. Back then, he was resigned to accept whatever happened to him, because he didn't see a way out of the hole he dug for himself… Until Bumblebee vouched for him, reason why he ended on parole.

It was the craziest adventure ever… Ending back on Earth, next to all the Autobots that once were Team Prime; somehow getting mingled in Starscream's and Shockwave's 'grand return', which was fortunately stopped on time; befriending the human charges of those who once were his enemies, plus obtaining a charge of his own; befriending the Autobots, including the three fearsome veterans Ironhide, Chromia and Elita-One; witnessing Optimus' return; finding and rescuing his sparkmate, Sunscorch, who wasn't terminated but a prisoner …

Finding out that his own sister, Solar Flare, was responsible for it… That hurt the most. Especially when she vanished after the final battle against the cyclops' combiners. Deep inside, he wanted to believe that the kind femme from his memories was still there somewhere; he needed to believe that he could still save her. But, in these two years, they hadn't been able to locate her. It was as if she was swallowed by the ground.

For the time being, all Knock Out could do was keep his hopes up, and help the Autobots, even though he wasn't one of them. Not that they didn't ask him to join; he simply rejected the offering, not really wanting to switch one army for another. Making his mind, the Velocitronian chose to remain Neutral, as he once was, back when the war for Cybertron was young.

The others accepted this, and welcomed him to their team.

From then on, things kept changing for the best; such as his bonding ceremony with Sunscorch a year ago, which had unexpected results: an offspring. He was never more joyful… Or scared for that matter… Not to mention that, despite being a surgeon, he couldn't attend to his own family due to medical controversies and protocol. Thanks to this, both parents went to Ratchet, who soon found himself asking for an incubation pod, which was delivered to them right on time. Now, the hatchling, who reached the critical size ―meaning that it had no more room inside its carrier's body―, was finishing its gestation contently, under the older medic's constant surveillance. Although it usually ended in a loud bickering between the two doctors, since Knock Out, despite of being able to actually perform any procedure, insisted in being present whenever Ratchet checked on the little one.

"It won't go anywhere anytime soon, you know…" The old, white and orange bot snarled, rolling his optics.

The former Decepticon was, again, staring at the capsule's window. It was shedding the soft blue light of the rarified Energon that filled the pod; within said liquid, there was a tiny figure moving from time to time. The hatchling… His hatchling. Speaking of nerve-wrecking thoughts…

"Have you-…?" Knock Out asked, turning around while pointing at the hatch.

"Everything's normal." Ratchet interrupted with a tired sigh, while leaning onto the keyboard of the sick bay's mainframe. He had forgotten how exasperating new creators could be. "Body mass, weight, level of activity; everything's within the expected parameters for this stage of development."

"Did you run a second scan?"

"There's no point on doing so." Ratchet interrupted, remarking every word, trying to see if that way the message would finally reach the other mech.

"No aberrations? No spikes of any type?" The Velocitronian kept pushing.

"No… Just a happy and healthy sparkling, just waiting to hatch."

"But, maybe-…"

"Knock Out!" The older medic snapped, massaging the bridge between his optics and tensing his shoulders. "I've run all the tests for this cycle! Next one is within a week, as stated by standard medical procedure! You, out of all mechs, should know that!" He informed, turning to look at the other bot, crossing his arms and frowning.

The surgeon mimicked the scowl, tensing up his shoulders too.

"Hey, watch the tone! I'm the sire here!" The red bot retorted.

As a result, he soon found himself kissing the floor in order to prevent a wrench to the head. The tool hit the wall behind the Velocitronian, and fell on the counter, next to a plate containing surgery equipment. Only then, the younger doctor got up and stomped toward his companion, barking for having being used as target practice, and demanding an apology…

The only thing he got was a kick that pushed him out of the med bay. Knock Out stood there, glaring at the glass door that closed on his face; then, from inside, Ratchet activated a mechanism that tinted the crystal, making impossible to see the interior. They both agreed in adding this function, considering that nobody else at the base needed to know the details whenever they had to repair a bot; it gave them and their patients some welcomed privacy. It also meant that whoever dared to open that door would end up facing a very angered old medic, something that not even Ironhide dared to do ―having passed two years in the 'Bots company, the former Decepticon was informed of all the stories concerning 'Ratchet the Hatchet'. There was no question that he wouldn't be back inside that room until next morning.

"Unbelievable!" He finally roared, making his way toward the control room, where he found Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Elita-One. "I'm its sire, not him!" He kept ranting, gesturing toward the medical bay.

"Let me guess: Ratch kicked you out?" The yellow bot, who was now a lieutenant, asked with a smirk and an arched eyebrow. He was leaning against the humans' platform, where his charge was finishing some project.

"Again?" The Wrecker chuckled, not even bothering to hide his grin, thanks to which he earned a growl from the red bot. "What did you do now?"

"Just concern for my offspring's welfare! What's wrong with that?!"

"Knock Out…" Elita finally called with a sigh. So far she preferred to remain aside the bickering, but, truth be tell, this situation was getting old… "Ratchet is a world-class medic, and he's more than equipped to attend to your child." She assured, turning to look at him and offer the fritting mech a warm smile.

Finally, the Velocitronian calmed down with a deep vent, and offered his thanks and an appreciation nod to the femme. She returned the gesture and went back to her duties, keeping all the systems on check; her mind, however, wondering about Optimus' state, since he hasn't reported yet.

When the red and blue mech came back from the Well, the Matrix returned with him, only to choose a new Prime: a young Elite Guard called Hot Rod ―now Rodimus Prime―, a friend of Smokescreen. It took everyone by surprise, even Optimus who was unaware of the relic being within his renewed body; nonetheless, he welcomed to be relieved of such weight. As the rest of the team, given the attitude of the new Council, the leader preferred to remain on Earth for a bit longer and enjoy the company of the children for as long as he was able. However, he had been forced to go back to Cybertron from time to time, whenever Rodimus called, saying he was having issues in keeping the Council in check… Like a week ago…

Leaving Elita in charge during his absence, the Prime returned to their home planet to assist his young successor; and that was the last thing they knew of him so far. Elita's spark was uneasy. Closing her optics, she took a little vent to calm her nerves. There was no point in overthinking the matter; after all, he was billions of light years away, of course that their sparks would feel uncomfortable with the distance in between. "I hope you're alright, Orion…" She silently wished.

None of them knew it back then, but they were going to be in dire need of Prime… As he would need them…

Hope you liked it. Please let me know.

See ya.