Ohai :D This is my entry for the "Strength to Go On" Contest on the Warriors Challenge forum. I Hope you like it~

Disclaimer- I don't own warriors and all that jazz.

For generations rogues, loners and even kittypets have been joining our Clans. I'm even the descendant of one such cat, a kittypet gone Clan cat that even managed to become my Clan's leader. Firestar was his name, and it's a commonplace to hear stories of the great leader in the ThunderClan camp, even though countless seasons have passed since he lived.

It's said he faced challenges when he first joined, ridicule and downright rejection from many. But he didn't let that stop him as he overcame it all and became of of the most remembered and admired Clan leaders in history.

Many cats have joined our Clans like Firestar did since then, though not all have become as great as him. And some have become much, much worse. Pinestar is a prime example of this. Born a rogue, he was accepted into ShadowClan and worked his way up to being leader. Barely a moon into his leadership he declared war on the other three Clans, and lead his cats into battle after pointless battle. Five moons later, he lost his last life in a battle with RiverClan and finally his curse was lifted from the forest.

But his reign left deep scars in our hearts, some more than others. At the next gathering Lilystar, leader of WindClan, declared that it was due to his rogue blood that Pinestar nearly destroyed us, and that cats with "impure" blood had no place among the Clans. She claimed it would be "better" for the four Clans as a whole.

RiverClan's leader, a dappled brown tom by the name of Mudstar, immediately agreed with her, and the two made a plan to eliminate all cats from their Clan without purely Clan blood. Ivystar, of ThunderClan and Sharpstar, new leader of ShadowClan, were more reluctant to join the alliance, because it was well known that ThunderClan had taken in many kittypets and loners in the past, and ShadowClan had rogues.

However, in both Clans, there were cats who agreed with Lilystar and Mudstar. They just turned on their Clan-mates, resulting in many warriors, apprentices, elders and even kits being slain without mercy.

Sharpstar agreed to join the other two leaders soon after this started to stop his Clan from completely tearing itself apart. Those days were all too full of bloodshed and fear.

When Ivystar finally joined not long after Sharpstar, that's when it got really bad. My leader felt she was doing the right thing for her remaining cats, but many of us were just disgusted that she gave in.

A group rose up then, lead by my father, whose name was Russetclaw. I'm proud to say I was a part of that group, as was my sister, Firebird. We consisted of both the remaining "impure cats," as they've come to be called, as well as cats from all the Clans who were just dead set against the new ways. We were quite the formidable group, totaling in well over thirty cats in all.

Russetclaw found us a safe camp half a day's journey from the lake, and we stayed there for a half moon, recovering from the mental and physical wounds of what had happened.

I remember the day my sister came to me and confided that she was expecting kits. I became angry at how terrified she was. Having kits should be a happy time, but she was right to be scared I suppose. No kit should be born into a world so full of hate and fighting.

On the night of the full moon Russetclaw lead a patrol of a little over twenty warriors back to the lake, leaving the oldest cats, queens and younger apprentices with a few strong warriors to look after them, behind.

Our instructions were clear, go to the island while the gathering was going on and try and reason with the leaders to take back what they'd said, allow us to come back where we belonged.

How I wish it actually happened like that.

Before we could even say our peace, the leaders ordered an attack, and every warrior present did indeed attack us, aiming to kill.

A bloody battle ensued, resulting in the death of Clan and "Impure" alike. I was lucky to get out with my life.

It was toward the end of the battle that my father's yowl sounded above the screeches and screams of the fighting. "Remember my friends, we are Clan cats in our hearts, no matter what they may say. As long as we have our faith, and as long as you believe, you will have the strength to go on and beat this!"

"Silence!" Lilystar's furious caterwaul made the fighting cats pause and all turned to look at her as she leaped forward and slashed her claws against Russetclaw's throat, killing him in an instant.

I was horrified as I watched my much beloved father slump to the ground, dead. But I knew I had to get our cats out of there before they were all killed.

"Everyone fall back, retreat!" My yowl was all it took to snap them out of it, and the eleven of us who were still alive shoved our way through the Clan cats and back across the tree bridge.

No cat pursued us as fled, but their cries of triumph echoed in my ears all the way back to our makeshift camp.

It was then that I knew, we had to win. As long as I had breath in my body, I'd fight for these cats to get the life they deserved. I'd fight for Firebird and her unborn kits. I'd fight for my father, and all the other cats who'd lost their lives in this pointless war against us.

Really, it was all I could do. But I'd gladly give my life if it would bring this to an end...

I hoped you like it, though I'm not overly fond of this. Next chapter will be better, promise~

Please review with your thoughts.

~Berry-Chan~