Title comes from the song Haunting by Halsey

Another AU from the swrrequests blog. PROMPT: AU where every member of the Ghost crew is actually a ghost.

Enjoy!

"So," Ezra says, staring at Kanan incredulously. "Not only are you going to teach me how to be a ghost, but how to be a Jedi? Is that even going to work?"

Kanan gives a loose shrug of his shoulders, stretches his legs out in front of him. "We're going to find out," he says. "Think about it kind of like Force theory. I'll teach you some history, how to meditate, a few basic katas, but I don't know how much training we'll actually get to do." Ezra purses his lips and nods, a little disappointed. Kanan pats his arm sympathetically. "Sorry, kid. What do you want to learn about first? Force Theory or How to Be a Ghost 101?"

Ezra ponders this seriously for a moment, forehead wrinkles in concentration. Kanan watches, amused.

"Take your time, we have all of eternity," he says sarcastically, and Ezra rolls his eyes.

"Ghost," Ezra says decisively. He nods a few times. "You gotta teach me how to actually pick stuff up first."

Kanan nods, settles further onto his mat. He opens his mouth, prepared to speak, but Ezra cuts him off with a shriek and a hand grabbing his wrist.

"Wait! I wanna be a Jedi first instead! I just have a few questions about ghosts I want answered first."

Kanan raises an eyebrow and gives Ezra a look that already screams he's having second thoughts about this whole teaching thing.

"How many questions is 'a few'?" Kanan asks, narrowing his eyes, and Ezra shrugs his shoulders. Kanan sighs, waves for him to continue.

Ezra remains undaunted. "Why are we ghosts? Why didn't we move on?" He realizes he's still holding on to Kanan and gives him a sheepish grin, finally letting go.

Kanan purses his lips, rubs his wrist absently. "We don't really know why we're ghosts," he says slowly. "Each of us has a different theory on why we didn't move on, so to say. Unfinished business, I think. The Force isn't done with us yet. I can sense it, and I can feel it in you as well."

"But what about the others?"

"Zeb thinks it's a calling, of sorts. To further continue the job he had while alive. Watch over his people in life and death. Sabine thinks she just wasn't born to exist in a perfect, peaceful afterlife; Mandalorians love the fight too much. And Twi'leks have many different takes on the afterlife. Hera thinks it's just one way to go."

"So... basically you're saying you don't know."

"... Yeah."

"I thought you were supposed to have all the answers, Master," Ezra says, and his grin is teasing.

Kanan rolls his eyes, not taking the bait. "Next question."

"How long have you been a ghost?"

Kanan blinks. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"About thirteen years, then. I'm the next youngest, apparently."

"Wait," Ezra says, holding up a finger, furrowing his brow, "so you were around with the fall of the Jedi!"

"Yeah," Kanan says, amused as Ezra's eyes light up in curiosity. "That's how I died." Ezra listens, horrified, as Kanan tells his story of surviving the betrayal of Order 66, of watching his Master die in front of him, watching those he considered friends to be behind the trigger. He tells of living on the streets for months before getting captured by the same clones who killed his master, and then shot too. "For a while," Kanan says, eyes fixed in the distance far away, "I haunted this smuggler named Kasmir, simply because I had nothing better to do. That's where I learned the tricks of the trade."

"But you're an adult," Ezra says, confused. "I thought Padawans were kids?"

"Yeah," Kanan says. "I was about your age when I died." He looks at Ezra like he's not tracking.

"But... you're an adult!" Ezra says, cocking his head to the side.

"One perk of being a ghost is that you can gradually change your appearance to suit your preference," Kanan says. "Sabine changes her hair color every so often. I aged myself up. So does Hera, a little bit. This is how old I'd be if I hadn't died."

Ezra's face is a strange mix of revulsion and fascination. "Let me see!"

Kanan cocks an eyebrow and closes his eyes, frowning a little in concentration. Ezra watches, fascinated, as the blue glow surrounding Kanan shines bright enough he has to cover his eyes. When he lowers his hand, blinking, a boy not too much older than himself grins at him.

"Well?" Kanan says. Ezra crinkles his nose.

"It's weird," Ezra says, but he can't take his eyes off of Kanan. Kanan pulls a funny face at him, and Ezra shakes his head, fascinated. "Change back."

Kanan's grin grows, and he runs a hand through his short hair. "This is my default. I have to concentrate to keep up the other facade." But, he does as Ezra asks, and it only takes a moment before Kanan's more familiar form is sitting across from him again. He pulls the same funny face as before, and Ezra shakes his head, amazed.

"What about the others?" Ezra asks. "Can they do this? What are their stories?"

Kanan leans back a little, shifts in his seat. "Well," he says. "Sabine is first; at least, we think. She and Zeb really don't know who's older. Mandalorians and the Lasat kept two totally different records of time. We think Sabine is, though, which is a fact that she likes to rub in everyone's face." Kanan rolls his eyes. "Sabine says she was in battle - against the Jedi of the Old Republic, actually - and that the Mandalorians were losing. Apparently, when she was alive, she was a big explosives expert, and she had some new project she was working on. In a last ditch attempt to change the tide of the battle, she triggered it. She doesn't know whether she was killed by enemy fire, or if her own explosives malfunctioned."

"Well, did they win the battle?" Ezra asks.

The corners of Kanan's mouth twitch up. "She claims they did. All because of her."

Ezra grins back. "Sounds like Sabine. What about Zeb?"

"Zeb's story is a little different. He died of old age. In life, he was captain of the Lasat honor guard, and when he died, he wanted to continue being a guardian of his people. He claims, and I quote, he wasn't going to let a stupid thing like 'being dead' stop him."

Ezra grins at that, too. "So he makes himself look younger?"

"Actually, no. He looks young because that's how he felt, how he saw himself in his prime, when he was most able to do his job." Kanan shrugs. "Again, we don't really know how this works."

"But why is he with you then, if that's his job?"

Kanan's eyes grow sad, and he sighs. "When the Empire took over, the Lasat were massacred as an example of what would happen if you didn't surrender. There aren't any of his people left to watch."

"That's terrible," Ezra says, chilled to the bone. "Did that happen to Hera, then?"

"Hera's always been a pilot, and a damn good one, too. She died in a ship crash in space." Ezra opens his mouth, and Kanan holds up a hand. "Not her fault, she says, but there was a tanker, and the pilots were drunk, and there was nothing she could do. She says she drifted, unaware, until she came across an astromech droid, equally lost."

"Chopper!" Ezra says, and Kanan nods.

"Chopper's a clone wars veteran; his pilot crashed in one of the battles, and he got separated. It was a big surprise to Hera to see that this droid could actually see her, and eventually, they managed to rig together something that was barely a ship, but enough to transport them to somewhere more interesting than the interstellar void." Kanan's tone is dry, and he grins fondly. "Naming it The Ghost was just a snarky idea Hera had."

Ezra snickers. "How did you two meet then? You know, in the 'interstellar void' and all that."

Kanan looks a little sheepish. "After I stopped haunting Kasmir, I ended up just drifting from beautiful woman to woman. Hera was the first one who could actually see me."

Ezra's eyes grow wide, and he throws his head back and laughs.

"Wait, so you're telling me that-"

"I think that's enough questions for today," Kanan hurries to butt in. Ezra's sure that Kanan's cheeks would be bright red, if, you know, ghosts could blush.

"Oh, come on, Kanan!" Ezra whines. "This is fun!"

"Look, do you want to learn anything today or not?" Ezra's eyes sparkle, and he opens his mouth to speak. Kanan closes his eyes, holds up a finger. "Don't answer that."

Ezra grins, unabashed. "I don't mind learning if it's about how Hera feels about all this."

"Get out of here, kid," Kanan says, rolling his eyes and waving him off. Ezra scampers up and out the door with that same smug grin on his face. Kanan swipes a hand down his face and looks up when Zeb and Sabine half pop through the wall.

"You used to haunt girls?" Sabine asks, crinkling up her nose. "Alright, Kanan!" She and Zeb giggle and high five one another, and Kanan groans, burying his head in his hands.

What has he gotten in to?

This is a part 2 of a new series of one-shots I'm doing. Part 1, where Ezra actually meets the crew, is coming soon. This is everyone's background (except Ezra's - you'll get his in the next installment) and history, sort of setting up more of the world.

R&R.