Way of the Departed

Way of the Departed is a non-canon novel written by Tommy Andreasen on Twitter. It takes place after Season 7.

Chapter 1
Cole dreams of being cold and freezing in an ice labyrinth. All the Ninja look at the walls and discuss what they mean. Jay is hiding something. On Cole's forehead is a small green scar, which starts to glow, and Cole is blinded by light as he stares into an abyss. Faces float by in a constantly twisting maelstrom of green. Some are familiar to Cole, and he hears a voice that he has not heard in a long time. Then the scar on his Cole's reflection's forehead starts to convulse; first just a bit but then more violently. And then his entire head splits open. The headless body falls to the ground, but the scar remains floating in mid-air. Everything goes green.

This is when Cole wake up; it always is. He has had this dream a hundred times, but has never told anyone about it. Cole is in his room in the Ninjas' old home, the Temple of Airjitzu. Cole suspects that Jay and Nya know something about it, for they have been really close lately, sometimes playful and clearly in love, but other times they seem bewildered, talking in hushed voices. Cole knows something about the Temple of Airiitzu as well: it is still haunted. He could tell the others, but it would freak out Jay, so he's kept it to himself. When he wakes up this time it is different; his room is bathed in a bright green light; the color that Lloyd's eyes have started changing after Master Wu went missing. After a few seconds of trying to find the source of the green light, Cole realizes the source is the scar on his forehead. And that's not the only thing which is different. By the window the ghost of Master Yang floats in mid-air. There is an expression of sadness on his face which Cole hasn't seen since that night on top of the temple. The night he intended to curse Cole, but ended up saving him. After an uncomfortable silence Cole asks him about his glowing scar. Yang's voice quivers as he speaks, and the answer cuts Cole like a knife. "My dear Cole. That's not a scar it's a rift. And it will open soon. . . ."

Trivia

 * Seliel the "Phantom Ninja" appears in this novel.
 * The novel is too dark to take it to the series.
 * Tommy Andreasen said he has not planned to make a novel about Christmas, but he does not rule it out.
 * The name of the novel is similar to the name of the first episode pilot of the series "Way of the Ninja."