[A/N: Hello! Please read this before continuing to the story. It's quite important.

This story is intended to appear in my KOALA series down the road, but I wanted to post it here sooner but with the original canon characters from W.I.T.C.H. The reason I wanted to do this is that a lot of people are put-off by stories filled with O/C's, which I admit I am guilty of. Therefore, people can read some of my episodes without having to learn new characters.

But, because this is ripped from my KOALA story, some of the characters are acting OOC. For the purpose of this story, Will and Irma are on probation, and Hay-lin and Taranee are a lot more 'bad-girl' than they are in the canon series.

Because the episode - KOALA and not - is still a work in progress, the beginning is cut off. All you need to know is that Hay-lin and Irma borrowed a really expensive necklace from Principal Knickerbocker for a drama production, but told not to break it or lose it under pain of life detention. Well, the broke it. Badly. And now have to find a way to replace it. The story picks up with them trying to think of ways to replace the necklace quickly...]

"You know, there are other ways we can replace that necklace..." Irma slyly implied.

Taranee caught on first and smiled devilishly. "And ways to replace it easily and trouble free..."

Hay-lin's eyes bugged out. "You do realize what you are suggesting is illegal?"

"It would be a breeze," Irma assured.

Taranee added, "We could do it in Hartford so no authorities would recognize us."

Hay-lin countered, "If we got caught we'd get in so much trouble."

Irma countered the counter, "As much trouble as you'd get in with Principal Knickerbocker?"

"Life detention sentence," Taranee hinted, "For all of us. And all those hours we'd have to work to pay her off. And all the extra credit we'd have to gain back."

"What extra credit?"

"Okay, bad example for you lot," Taranee reconsidered. "But all of the other stuff...?"

Hay-lin hesitated. "What do you think Will?"

Will took a moment of careful consideration, leaving them on baited breath. Finally, she said, "It's not a good idea. I don't like it. However, I've done similar things before. If you are serious about going through with this, I can help you."

Irma basically jumped off the couch in excitement. "Yes! So when do we do it? Tomorrow?"

Will's tone was more measured than usual, calmer and surer. "No, we take our time. If we're lucky we'll evade Principal Knickerbocker until next week. First I'll see if I can find her necklace online. Perhaps we can buy our way out of this mess before resorting to criminal affairs."

The next day after school Will met the three at the restaurant. Business-like, she was already seated with her laptop out in front of her.

"Okay," she exhaled deeply once they'd all joined her. "How much money do you all have?"

Hay-lin spoke first, "Not much. $22 at a push."

Taranee brought all the loose change out of her pocket and offered, "$4 and thirty-five cents."

"$11 if you spot me a burger," Irma stated.

Will's face sank at this realization. "With my $40," she began, slowly. "That makes around $75," she swivelled her laptop screen to show them all. "Not even half of what we're looking at."

Taranee sank her head into her palms. "$200?"

"This is the only one exactly like Principal Knickerbocker's I could find," Will explained. "No chance we could maybe get a loan from-?"

"No," Hay-lin cut in, sharply. "Not happening."

Irma raised an eyebrow. "You'd rather commit a felony than get a loan from a friend?"

Dryly, Hay-lin replied, "I'd rather face the wrath of Principal Knickerbocker than borrow money from a friend."

Will swivelled the laptop back to face her. "The best location for us is the Jeweltique in Hartford mall. It's only a half an hour bus ride, so we can case the joint first, starting tomorrow."

Taranee shook with anticipation. "I feel like I'm Robert Di Nero!"

Happy Cheese - the burger joint only vegetarians and weirdo's can resist. Another perk - aside from the delicious blue cheese ranch burger - was that it was on the balcony opposite Jeweltique, making it an ideal spotting location.

With the silence and patience of a meditation master, Will sat staring down the shop front of Jeweltique with a careful, calculating gaze. She hadn't touched her meal, and after fifteen minutes, it started to get a little creepy.

"You've been staring at that same spot since we got here," Hay-lin commented.

Taranee nodded, hinting, "At least blink once in a while. All the cool kids do."

"We'll need a distraction to keep the guard occupied," Will finally declared, still unmoving.

"Like what?"

Will paused again. "A little way to the left is a blank wall, a fair distance from the shop but close enough to be in the guard's immediate perimeter."

Irma caught on to what she was implying. "I could tag the wall while you guys snatch the necklace."

"The guard will head after you, giving us some distance to work with," Taranee pieced together. "But won't, like, the alarms go off and all?"

Will sighed, finally moving to take a slurp of a drink and slumping down on the table. "The catch. The flaw to any good robbery. An alarm system we don't have the capability to hack into. Worse, we can't enlist the aid of anyone that does."

Hay-lin lost hope. "So, we can't do it?"

"We could," Will considered, "But it would be risky. First off, we'd have to run fast. The alarms will trigger the second we step a hairs length out of that store front. Mall security is low but they'll be on us like dogs. The police will be called, and if we make it out of the mall without getting caught, we'd have to hide somewhere until it's safe to get the train back. Everything would have to run like clockwork. We have to know when the train is so we can get on at the last second."

"Perhaps some form of disguises," Taranee offered. "Like, a change of clothes to help with the blending in."

"And we'd split up into pairs," Hay-lin added, "Because they'd be looking for three or four girls, no doubt, depending on if they think you're with us Irma."

"You are assuming that we get out of the mall though," Will reminded, "That's just as tricky, if not even trickier, than making it back to Heatherfield. But we'll run the guards schedules down. If we plan everything out to the last detail there is a chance we might get away with this."

The robbery itself was planned for that Saturday. Details had been worked out during the week, for Will had come to the mall with one of the others every evening for reconnaissance. Saturday was game day.

Their return fares had been paid in advance and the train was set for departure at 2:20, giving them more than enough time to get in and out if all went according to plan.

Assuming they made it that far, three escape routes had been mapped out, but the one they were aiming for was the west exit. From there, they could duck behind the mall and pair off.

Hay-lin and Irma would head north through Bakers Street, changing into their hoodies, sunglasses and hats on the way, while Will and Taranee would head east through some back roads near Laburnums square.

Checkpoint Bravo was Lovell's bookshop inside the train station. It was defendable and easily escapable. Plus, it was inconspicuous because what self-respecting criminal robs a jewellery store and then lays low in a bookshop?

At the last second, the four were to make a discreet dash to their train, board, and then leave Hartford in their wake.

However, on the day itself, nerves made everything seem much less glamorous...