C.C. (Code Geass)

C.C. (シー・ツー) is a fictional character and the series Tritagonist in the Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion anime series by Sunrise. Her seiyū is Yukana while she is voiced by Kate Higgins in the English dub. C.C. is not her real name; she involuntarily reveals her real name to Lelouch in her sleep, but it is muted so the viewer cannot hear it. In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, she was awarded third place, then first place in the following two.

Character outline
C.C. is an immortal girl who outwardly appears to be little more than 16 years old. She becomes Lelouch Lamperouge's accomplice when he makes a Geass contract with her. She is willful almost to a fault, usually doing whatever she wants regardless of whether or not it inconveniences others, particularly with Lelouch. She also likes to withhold information, usually telling people just enough to leave them wondering. C.C. has a strong penchant for pizza, especially Pizza Hut's (which sponsors the show in Japan, though the logo is blurred out or digitally removed in the English dub); she constantly orders pizzas to Lelouch's house using his credit card. She also carries around a stuffed toy of "Cheese-kun", the company's mascot in Japan. Her love of pizza is often used for comedic effect, as she was twice willing to risk capture simply to get a piece of a giant pizza being made by the Student Council (which is ruined both times). Both Lelouch and Kallen sometimes refer to her as "Pizza Girl".

Her individual experiences have led C.C. to become a detached and lonely individual (though she usually tries to hide it, especially around those she does not know well), with little care for even those she has entered into contracts with, while in the past she was somewhat a spoiled and cheerful girl. She tells Lelouch that she has been alive so long that she can no longer remember who loves her and who hates her. Due to her nature and history, she has been lonely as long as she can remember. Lelouch replies, "You're not alone. We are each other's accomplice. If you are a Witch, then perhaps I should be a Demon." Lelouch is possibly the first person that has ever truly cared for her and it appears that she reciprocates at least some feelings, as she unexpectedly kisses him after their memories are shared. However she claims that she has only been using Lelouch so that she can die. But in episode 23 of the second season, Suzaku describes her as Lelouch's shield, protecting him from his enemies. Also, in episode 24 when she was fighting Kallen, Kallen stated that she has no will or ambition to fight, and she replies she has a promise prompting Kallen to ask if she loves Lelouch, C.C. replies with a glance down saying she doesn't know, referring to her relationship with Lelouch thus far. When left alone, she has sometimes spoken to a previously unknown person through means unknown, which, in episode 23, was revealed to be Marianne, Lelouch's deceased mother, although in episode 19 it appears that she is talking to V.V. as well. According to the DVD Magazine 02, she is talking to more than one person when she seems to be talking to herself. She gave Marianne the power of Geass and therefore had the same relationship with her as she now has with Lelouch.

Character history
Before she gained the power of Geass, C.C. was a ten-year-old orphaned slave. A nun gave C.C. the power of Geass that made everyone fall in love with her. She grew tired of the love without limits and focused more on the nun, the only one who was above C.C.'s power. However, when C.C.'s power evolved to its highest point, the nun revealed that she never cared for C.C. and was only using her so that she could escape her immortal life. A shock sequence in the first season finale shows memories of her past, including repeated "deaths" of different types spanning centuries. In a special feature included in the series' fifth DVD, she and Lelouch discuss Washington's Rebellion, during which she speaks of participants such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as if she had been close friends with both. She claims to have entered into contracts with hundreds of people over her lifetime, almost none of which could reach the point of taking on her immortality.

One of her previous contracts was with Marianne, Lelouch's mother. When she aided Marianne with helping Charles achieve his goal, C.C. was made head of the Geass Order, a secret organization that studies and produces Geass users. However, when news of Marianne's death came to her, C.C. left the order, leaving V.V. to take over the operations. It would only be later that C.C. was captured by a Britannian envoy under Clovis, who took an interest in the girl's immortality and intended to bring her to Pendragon. However, that led to a chain of events to occur in the ruins of Tokyo.

First season
C.C. is introduced in the first episode, where she emerges from a fake gas capsule seized by Japanese rebels. She saves Lelouch Lamperouge from the Britannian soldiers trying to recapture her, taking the shot intended for him, and grants him the power of Geass on the condition that he grant her greatest wish. Lelouch accepts and is granted the power to control people's actions. Since she appears to have died following this, he leaves her body behind.

She unexpectedly reappears in the fifth episode, casually folding origami with Nunnally. From this point on she passively oversees Lelouch's missions as Zero, wanting to keep him alive so he can fulfill his contract, often going as far as wearing his clothes and impersonating him when situations become life-threatening.

When C.C.'s existence is revealed to the Black Knights, she gains considerable unofficial standing, as she is seen by other members to be one of Zero's closest advisers, if not his top adviser. However, her willful attitude and lack of an official posting annoys some veteran members and causes confusion as to her role within the Black Knights. At one point, Tamaki goes so far as to accuse her of being a member only because she's Zero's lover, a claim which she coldly denies. When the Black Knights gain possession of the Knightmare Frame Gawain, she becomes its pilot while Lelouch operates the weapons.

In the season finale, she uses the Gawain to battle Jeremiah Gottwald's Siegfried so Lelouch can save his sister. She kisses Lelouch before she drags both the Siegfried and herself to the ocean floor to end the battle while narrating that the spark of Lelouch's actions was the core of human motivation: the desire for just a small amount of happiness. According to Yukana in a conference memo, C.C. was crushed by the water pressure, but being immortal, ultimately drifted to the surface and revived; it is stated that it was too gruesome to be shown.

Second season
At the start of the second season, C.C. appears to be commanding the Black Knights. She and the rest of the surviving Black Knights initiate an operation to unlock Zero's memory that was sealed away by the Emperor of Britannia. Despite the Intelligence Agency having followed Lelouch in anticipation of that exact outcome, she is successful in restoring his memories by the kiss. She takes up her old position following this.

After pinpointing the location of the Geass Order, Lelouch orders C.C. to lead the attack against it. She reluctantly kills V.V.'s direct subordinates when they attempt to escape by bullet train in order to bury the existence of Geass, apologizing for leaving them to their own devices. C.C. later reveals her wish to Lelouch after he is transported to the Sword of Akasha to face the Emperor, explaining that her greatest wish is to die and as Lelouch is not ready, she is offering it to Charles. Lelouch tells her she shouldn't die looking unhappy, promising he will make her smile while saving her. However, in the attempt, C.C.'s memories of everything past the day she acquired her Geass are lost, reverting her to a frightened slave girl. Believing himself to be responsible, Lelouch confines C.C. to his quarters and attempts to make her comfortable.

After Lelouch's identity is exposed to the Black Knights and he evacuated by Rolo, Marianne takes over Anya's body and uses it to locate C.C. and restore her memories. The two then leave for Kamine Island, rescuing Suzaku along the way. Marianne enters the Sword of Akasha, while C.C. stays behind to speak with Suzaku. She compares herself to him, as both have a death wish they cannot fulfill. Suzaku denies this and has C.C. take them to the Sword of Akasha. C.C.'s presence allows the Emperor to begin the Ragnarök Connection. When Lelouch turns the tables and the collective unconsciousness destroys Charles and Marianne, C.C. is spared their fate because she has turned against their plan.

Later on, after Lelouch seizes the Britannian throne, C.C. comforts him when he is troubled on what to do about Nunnally being aligned against him. Before heading into battle, C.C. asks Lelouch if he hates her for giving him Geass and changing his fate. Lelouch explains that he's grateful, both to Geass and her, for allowing him to move forward. She smiles and says this is the first time she's ever met a man like him. They are interrupted when Kallen attacks in the Guren, ready to kill Lelouch. C.C. intervenes in her Lancelot, buying Lelouch time to escape, telling him to come back so he can make her smile. She engages in battle against Kallen. During their battle, Kallen questions her lack of motivation, and asks if C.C. loves Lelouch. C.C. isn't sure about the latter, still wanting to put an end to her unending life. C.C. is easily defeated, but ejects to safety, surprised that she even cares about winning or losing. During Lelouch's planned assassination, she prays for him at a church, shedding a single tear while commenting on the price he's paying for using Geass on others.

During the epilogue, C.C. is seen traveling the countryside in the back of a cart. She talks about how the Geass is supposed to bring loneliness, yet Lelouch proved this wrong. With the knowledge that Lelouch did not hate her for giving him the Geass, she is now able to express her true feelings.

Abilities
C.C. has the power of the "Code", which renders her immortal, capable neither of aging nor of being killed by conventional means. She has been shot fatally a number of times, crushed by water pressure, burned at the stake, beheaded by a guillotine, and placed in an iron maiden, and each time she survived and eventually recovered. C.C. also has the ability to bestow people with the power of Geass, which manifests differently in each person but generally carries the ability to affect the minds of those it is used on in some way.

When touching another person, C.C. can afflict them with a hallucinatory experience (if need be) of chaotic and ominous images, pertaining in part to the memories of the target involved; the content varies with the afflicted. Physical contact, either direct or via a Knightmare Frame, may facilitate the process. Suzaku is shown images of his father (whom he murdered) as well as parts of C.C.'s memories, driving him into a panic. It tends to activate involuntarily at various points, such as when Lelouch's Geass becomes permanently active. This effect is described as 'a merging of consciousnesses'. The Geass sigil glows on her forehead whenever she manifests this power, and she has a similar scar just under her left breast.

Apart from psionic abilities, C.C. is a capable leader, able to rescue Lelouch from Britannian traps, handle firearms with some proficiency, and seems to be a skilled unarmed fighter as well. She is also an accomplished Knightmare pilot, able to pilot both standard Knightmare Frames as well as copilot the Gawain with Lelouch. In the Picture Dramas, during a discussion with Kallen, she states that she has the ability to do almost anything but chooses to let others do it.

Geass
Before becoming immortal, C.C.'s Geass, as contracted with a nun during apparently medieval times, granted her the power "to be loved," which allowed her to make anyone love her unconditionally. She originally started with a Geass symbol in her left eye, but as the power matured, she eventually developed another in her right eye, and became unable to control it, causing everyone to love her except the nun. After she became bored by the entranced society around her, the nun who had bound the Geass contract to her forced her "Code" into C.C., as signified by the Geass sigil on her forehead and similar scar under her left breast. The nun, freed of the "Code", dies, and C.C. takes up the "Code" and everything that goes with it: the loss of her original Geass, immortality, immunity to other Geass, and the ability to bestow Geass on others.

Nightmare of Nunnally
In the manga spin-off series, Nemo appeared in a capsule with on C.C. by its side and was picked up by Nunnally. When Nunnally was about to be killed, Nemo grants her a Geass ability that turns her body into Knightmare-like armor. And during the process, C.C. now sees Lelouch's plan to destroy Britannia with the newly formed Black Knights and acts as his double. In this continuity it is revealed that once, she known as the "Witch of Britannia" and was the rival and foe of Joan of Arc, known as the "Witch of Orleans", during the Hundred Years' War.

In Chapter 13, it is revealed that in this timeline, it was C.C. who killed Genbu Kururugi, not Suzaku; she did this to protect Lelouch and Nunnally, whom Genbu planned on killing.

Code Geass: The Manga
C.C. is present in the manga with only a few differences in her appearances. She was discovered in a plane crash and she appeared before Lelouch creates a plan to save Suzaku.

Suzaku of the Counterattack
Despite the plot differences, C.C.'s role is nearly identical to that of the anime. She is freed by Lelouch and Suzaku and gives Lelouch his Geass. Lelouch then takes C.C. back with him to Ashford Academy. Due to being grievously wounded shortly after freeing her, Suzaku does not recognize C.C.

Code Geass: Jet-Black Renya
Set in the Edo period, C.C. appeared in an armor that was said to resemble that of Portuguese Jesuits and witnessed the attack lead by Isshin Sumeragi on Renya's village. She later appeared before an injured Renya when he saw his friends being captured and threw his Shuriken at her. C.C. remained alive, however, which shocked Renya. She offered him a contract in exchange for the power to save his friends, which Renya accepted, and C.C. started the process. In the middle of it all, C.C. was surprised by a spark that appeared to be hurting Renya and by the appearance of an unknown long-haired figure bearing a resemblance to Lelouch. After that she asked Renya his name and revealed that he had somehow "failed".

Another Century's Episode: R
C.C. will make her appearance in the forth upcoming title, Another Century's Episode: R video game in her Knightmare Frame, Akatsuki Command Model C.C. Custom