C.C.

"Without death, all we have are random events, accumulation, you can’t call that life! If you have a reason for living, then you have to kill me."

- C.C.

C.C. (シー・ツー), is the tritagonist of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Her seiyuu 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 viewers cannot hear it.

In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, she was awarded 3rd place. She was chosen as the most popular female character of 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix.

Appearance
C.C. is a girl with long, almost waist-length light green hair and golden eyes. She is of average height, being slightly shorter than Kallen. She has a scar under her left breast that resembles a Geass sigil.

C.C.'s outfits are both plentiful and varied. She is seen wearing a wide assortment of different clothes, often dependent on the situation or the time period. She often wears Lelouch's own clothes, including his Zero costume whenever Lelouch required a decoy.

In the first season, C.C. primarily wears the outfit she initially appears in - a white straitjacket used to restrain her during her time as a test subject for the Britannian Empire, prior to the beginning of the series. These suits contain many means of restraint, including various straps and zippers, and a high collar capable of gagging the wearer. Not set to fully bind the wearer, the suits have rather long sleeves that flare outwards closer to the cuffs. A number of these straitjackets are seen in the Geass research laboratories. According to the Audio Drama, the reason for C.C.'s common use of the suit is because she feels she is not free. She is seen wearing it through most of the first season and the end of the second season.

C.C.'s predominant outfit in the second season is her Black Knights uniform, which is wildly different from those of the other Black Knights. Rather than the usual Black Knights jacket, C.C. wears a sleeveless black uniform with a high collar, gold trim, and a silver Black Knights symbol on the chest. The lower end of the uniform splits off into four long pieces that nearly extend to the floor. A long, adorned red sash is also worn around the waist. C.C. also wears long black gloves with gold trim kept on with red bands on the upper arms as well as long white and gold high-heeled boots. Underneath her uniform C.C. wears a cropped sleeveless white turtle-neck and white boyshorts. She is often seen wearing only these undergarments.

She has on some episodes worn the Ashford Academy uniform and has her hair tied in twin-tails. This is done to slightly blend in with the student body so she can move around more freely, to pass messages to Lelouch or just to simply find more pizza.

Personality
C.C. expresses little affection throughout most of each season and behaves apathetically towards most. However, she does express some emotions later in the first season and at several points in the second when in the presence of Lelouch. She can be very secretive as par as Lelouch,albeit much less coordinated than the latter. When she locks her memories away, she regresses to how she was hundreds of years ago, fearful and open. However, when she regains her memories, her personality reverts back.

Kallen suspects that C.C. is in love with Lelouch, which made C.C. unusually flustered. Backing this up is that C.C. never made Lelouch take her immortality per their contract and worries she altered his fate.

Character Outline
C.C. is immortal, healing from any kind of wound (implied to include beheading) with enough time. She also doesn't age. Apart from her immortality, C.C. 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. A Geass sigil appears on her forehead whenever she manifests this power, and she has a similar scar on her left breast. Her powers caught the interest of Britannia, who imprisoned her for experimentation purposes.

In the first season finale, C.C. triggers a trap set by V.V., causing herself and Lelouch to be submerged in a shock image sequence similar to the one she used on Suzaku. Through this, Lelouch sees memories of her past, including repeated "deaths". One shows C.C., who was a nurse at that time, attempting to escape from a World War I-esque battlefield, only to be shot in the forehead. Further memories show her being persecuted as a witch and suffering various forms of torture and/or execution throughout history and various time periods, including burning at the stake, guillotining, and the iron maiden. This would suggest a minimum lifespan of at least five centuries. In a special feature included in the series' fifth DVD, she and Lelouch discuss Washington's Rebellion, a failed version of the American Revolution, during which she speaks of participants such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin as if she had been close friends with both. In the past, she appears to have observed Suzaku and Lelouch when they were both children, having even interacted with Lelouch at one point, though he doesn't remember their meeting.

Her individual experiences have led C.C. to become a detached and lonely individual, with little care for even those she has entered into contracts with. 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 partners. If you are a witch, then I am a demon." Lelouch is possibly the first person that has ever truly cared for her and it appears that she reciprocates at least some of these feelings, as she unexpectedly kisses him after their memories are shared. This is also seen in the second season, as she kindly teases him more often. However, she claims that she has been selfish, keeping Lelouch alive just so that she could be able to die. In episode 23 of the second season, Suzaku asks her to be Lelouch's shield, defending him from his enemies while Suzaku strikes down those enemies as Lelouch's sword.

C.C. is willful almost to a fault, usually doing whatever she wants regardless of whether or not it inconveniences others, particularly with Lelouch. In episode 5, she purposely makes use of her contract to make it sound like it was an engagement in front of Nunnally and in one Sound Episode, she said to Nunnally that both she and Lelouch are 'busy' making Nunnally misunderstand.

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.

C.C. also has a somewhat obsessive penchant for pizza, especially Pizza Hut's Cheese-kun (which sponsors Code Geass in Japan); she constantly orders pizzas to Lelouch's house using his credit card, much to his chagrin. This is often used for comedic effect. Her love for pizza is so strong that she is willing to risk herself being captured, twice nearly exposing herself 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 her as "Pizza Girl". In addition to this, she is an avid collector of Cheese-kun related merchandise and is often seen hugging a Cheese-kun plush doll.

First Season
C.C. makes her first appearance at the beginning of the first episode of the series, watching a ten-year-old Lelouch and a ten-year-old Suzaku observing the Britannian Military as they enter Japan.

C.C. is introduced when Nagata opens the capsule that supposedly contains poison. Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face, but to their surprise, a restrained green-haired woman, C.C., emerges out of the capsule. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors come and tell him not to question his briefing, and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. Lelouch and C.C. take the opportunity to escape. Just as they seem to have evaded detection, Lelouch's phone rings, giving him away. As they're about to kill him, C.C. jumps in front and is shot in the forehead. A desperate Lelouch now thinks of his impending death. He is grabbed by the hand by C.C., who proposes a contract that would allow him to live and endow him with Geass, the power of kings. She then supposedly dies.

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.

Unknown to Lelouch, Cornelia sets a trap for Zero at the Saitama Ghetto by simulating the conditions in Shinjuku Ghetto. Despite C.C.'s warnings, Lelouch takes the bait and goes to the aid of the Saitama resistance. In order to save Lelouch, C.C. dons his Zero costume and distracts the Britannian Army, allowing him to escape. Lelouch blames his defeat on the undisciplined rebels and tells her that he will resolve to build something far better than a mere resistance unit, first an army, then "people," and finally a nation.

C.C. was called to Clovisland by Mao, at first she was stopped by Lelouch. She tells him that she will go back to Mao. Lelouch asks if she is betraying him, which C.C. responds that she was never his friend, just a collaborator. He continues saying that she knows about him too much. He commands C.C. to stay by his side and not leave by using his Geass power but it fails due to C.C.'s immortality and code. She promises him that she will not reveal anything about his identity and tells Lelouch that when she's gone, all his obstacles will disappear too.

Not wanting to let her leave, Lelouch goes to Clovisland and uses a recording to distract and make Mao fired up when he hears that C.C. is Lelouch's partner. Lelouch uses his Geass power on the police to shoot Mao, allowing Lelouch to rescue her. After she is out of harm's way he then makes a contract with C.C., promising he will grant both his own and C.C.'s wishes to fulfill the contract that Mao failed to. C.C. gladly accepts this through a handshake.

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. However, her willful attitude and lack of an official posting annoy some veteran members and cause confusion as to her role within the Black Knights. At one point, Tamaki goes so far as to falsely accuse her of being Zero's mistress. 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 then kisses Lelouch to his surprise before bringing him to safety. After Lelouch is out of harm's way, she is seen dragging both Jeremiah 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 managed to come to the surface; it is stated that it was too gruesome to show on TV.

Second Season
At the start of the second season, C.C. appears to be commanding the Black Knights. She along with Kallen, Urabe, and the remaining 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 through an unexpected kiss. She takes up her old position following this.

She is revealed to have formerly led the Geass Directorate, a secret organization that studies and produces Geass users. V.V. succeeded C.C. as the leader and relocated the headquarters to somewhere in the Chinese Federation. Lelouch leaves her to find its exact location down while he returns to Japan. After pinpointing the location of the Geass Directorate, Lelouch orders C.C. to lead the attack against it. She also reluctantly kills V.V.'s direct subordinates when they attempt to escape by bullet train in order to bury the existence of Geass.

Her past is revealed to Lelouch after he is transported to the Sword of Akasha to face the Emperor. She also reveals that he would have become immortal had he been able to take her code, rendering her mortal and thus granting her wish, which is to die and spares him by offering her life to the Emperor. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and rescues her, telling his father that he would not let him take her away from him. As a result of this, she loses her memories of Geass and reverts to her personality as it was before she came under the contract that ultimately bestowed immortality upon her. Later, it is revealed by Marianne that this was a result of C.C. sealing away her own Code rather than giving it to Charles zi Britannia.

Following her memory loss, C.C. remains in Lelouch's quarters, believing him to be her master. When Lelouch's identity is revealed to the Black Knights and Rolo is forced to take him to safety, leaving C.C. behind. Marianne, possessing Anya Alstreim's body, locates C.C. and awakens 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 reveals that Suzaku and herself are similar, as both have a death wish they cannot fulfill. Suzaku denies this and has C.C. take them to the Sword of Akasha, allowing the Emperor to begin Ragnarok. When Lelouch turns the tables and the collective unconsciousness of the human race destroys Charles and Marianne, C.C. is spared because she had long turned against their plan.

She is aware of Lelouch's plan after becoming the Emperor and is shocked to learn that Nunnally is alive. C.C. later comforts Lelouch when he is troubled about what to do about Nunnally. Later she is seen rendezvous with Lelouch, but their conversation is soon interrupted by Kallen. Kallen attacks the Avalon with the Guren almost successfully killing Lelouch before C.C. intervenes in her Lancelot. She engages in battle against Kallen who asks her if she loves Lelouch; she responds by saying that she does not know before Kallen quickly defeats her. She 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 with Cheese-kun and the origami she and Nunnally made. She talks about how the Geass is supposed to bring loneliness, yet Lelouch proved this wrong. Knowing that Lelouch did not hate her for giving him the Geass, she is now able to show her true feelings, and with the realization of "Zero Requiem", her time with Lelouch, who was able to forgive and accept her, came to an end, but the memories created with him has, without doubt, saved her from eternal loneliness. The final shot is one of a pink paper crane, representing the wish for a gentle world, Zero Requiem, offering comfort to C.C.

During the remade epilogue from 2009 C.C. directly addresses the viewer, saying that she mourns Lelouch's death but that knowing he died with a smile because he achieved his goals with the Zero Requiem comforts her.

Code of Immortality
C.C. is an immortal "witch", neither suffering from age nor capable of being killed by conventional means. She has been shot fatally a number of times, been crushed by water pressure, burned at the stake, subjected to the guillotine, placed in an iron maiden, and stabbed by spears all of which she recovered from.

C.C. 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. The Geass sigil glows on her forehead whenever she manifests this power, and she has a similar scar on her left breast. This scar correlates with the wound she received when she was attacked by the nun that gave her the Code.

Her Code allows her to detect people who are connected to Geass and people who are important to them. It allows her to detect the location of her own contractors, even at a distance, and confirm who possesses a Geass power and who does not, regardless of whom granted it to them. She could detect that Nunnally was on Kamine Island because she is the center of Lelouch's life.

When in close proximity to another person, C.C can afflict them with a hallucinatory experience of chaotic and ominous images, pertaining in part to the memories of the target involved; the content varies with the afflicted. Physical contact, either directly 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. In another instance, Anya is shown images of Lelouch's childhood, causing her to freeze in wonder until contact was severed. 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 consciousness'.

Telepathy
C.C. can telepathically communicate with Marianne vi Britannia. Whether this is an ability resulting from C.C.'s Code, Marianne's Geass, or Marianne's state of un-death (and, as a result, being "near" the Collective Unconscious) is unknown.

Geass (Formerly)
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 around her love her. She originally started with a Geass symbol in her left eye, but as she matured, she eventually developed another in her right, implying that she became unable to control it, causing everyone to love her. After C.C. had become bored by the tranced society around her, the nun who had bound the Geass contract to her revealed she had tricked C.C., severely injuring her. C.C.'s only option to survive was to accept the nun's Code and its immortality. Losing the Code, the nun became mortal again, allowing her to commit suicide, and, as part of the exchange, C.C. became immune to the effects of Geass while losing her own Geass. Her Geass sigil/mark is located on her forehead, glowing red when activated.

Other 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 co-pilot the Gawain with Lelouch.

Dash
Her feelings for Dash are quite hostile and may almost relate to Lelouch, but it is still unknown as Dash only looks like Lelouch and he knows a lot about her. But they do share some bits of respect for each other and rather strained and sympathetic feelings for each other.

Lelouch
C.C. is Lelouch's second in command and his 'Accomplice'. The two develop a strong connection, with CC allowing Lelouch to drop his masks around her, as well as being a constant ally he can confide in, while Lelouch is one of the few to show her kindness and that she is not alone, which helps her rediscover her will to live.

Quotes

 * (To Lelouch vi Britannia) "If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal—in exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living in a world of humans, you will live unlike any other: a different providence, a different time, a different life. The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"
 * (To Lelouch vi Britannia) "I said that Geass was the Power of the King which would condemn you to a life of solitude. Heh. I think maybe that's not quite correct. Right, Lelouch?"
 * (To Lelouch vi Britannia) "Lelouch, do you know why snow is white? Snow is white because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be."
 * (To herself) "False tears bring pain to those around you. A false smile brings pain to oneself."
 * (To Lelouch vi Britannia) "My wish is to die."
 * (To Leila Malcal) "Do you want to live? If you had power, you could live? I'll make a deal with you. Accept this contract, and while you live in the world of humans, you will live, unlike any other human. A different providence, A different time, The power of king will isolate you. If you are prepared for it, then use that power. But you are still a child. I will give you time until you reach adulthood to make your choice. Once you use it, there's no turning back. But if you do not, it will cease to exist."
 * "From the entire beginning, I should have warned you. That the power of the king would isolate you. You will lose your friends, become different from your childhood friend, and you will be betrayed by your subordinates. Your parents will vanish from your sight, your siblings will disappear like dew. Yes, it's terribly burdensome. And pitiful. Now, your sole companion is solitude. There is nobody who will embrace you, who has been smeared in blood. Rocks have been pelted at you by many, and as retribution, you trampled over them. At that time, nobody noticed that the shriek that was secretly welling up inside your heart. Yes, it's pitiful. Seeing that visage, my wounds often throbbed. Now, I think you to be dear because you are miserable. As the pain kept stabbing your tender heart, why does this feeling of solitude gradually heal? The whole world is pelting rocks at you, showering you with insults. That is something the I have experienced from this world. Without realizing, you have shared me in my solitude. Without knowing, you shouldered my sins. It's as if you are poisonous amaryllis blooming from the ground. Only I know of its elegance." - Character Poem
 * "A young man dies. He had the power to change the world, to create a new order. The world feared him, hated him. But, I know he died with a smile on his face. Only those who have realized their dream will truly understand that feeling of utter contentment. So, this is not a tragedy. And whenever I feel sad or cry at night, I sing a song. A song of man's making. Zero Requiem!"  - C.C. during the remade epilogue from 2009
 * "There are times in life when you have to distance yourself from those you love, because you love them."
 * "In this world, evil can arise from the best of intentions. And there is good which can come from evil intentions."
 * "In their heart, everyone has faith that their victory exists. However, in the face of time and destiny, the act of faith is fruitless and fleeting at best."

Trivia

 * Amber from Darker Than Black resembles C.C. as both are mysterious girls who have an unknown connection to the main character (Hei and Lelouch).
 * In R2, C.C. added two horns on her Ashford Student disguise, which make her resemble Chachamaru Karakuri from Mahousensei Negima series.
 * C.C's English Voice Actor Kate Higgins did other female leads Sakura Haruno from Naruto and Saber from Fate Stay Night.
 * C.C.'s portrayal as Cheshire Cat in Nunnally in Wonderland is likely to create an acronym pun on her name.