[Eleonore Magilinon]

All right, I've posted this once on a forum where the discussion prooved to be dead, so I hope it's ok to use it here as a basis.
(offtopic: it's actually third time I try to write this post, it's miracle how I've lost this text twice while editing and before posting the reply...)

In ep.21 and partly ep.15 of R2 we're told by Charles and Marianne their story, explaining the origins of Ragnarok plan, Marianne's death and C.C. role in all this. As I tried to tie the ends in this story, I've found it quite hard. So here I'll go along the story told and form my questions on the way and then try to give my own explanations to some of them (but I'm not sure if I'm right).

So, we were told this. First, "half a century ago" we have V.V. recieving a Code (an interesting question is how did he get it, it could have told us more about Geass and Code owners, but we don't have anything but pure assumptions on this point) and promising they would never lie to each other.

Then many years later, Marianne, who if I'm not mistaken was once a Knight of Rounds, come to picture as an Emperor's new wife. She also got a Geass from C.C. and the two of them also join that vow.

(Question number one: Why should C.C. join that vow? What's the reason for her to do so?
If I get Ragnarok plan right (and I'm not sure if I do), part of it meant bringing dead back to life and creating a world with no such things as life and death, so that meant it kind of contradicted C.C.'s wish, as she only wanted to die (let's not question this part right now).
However, Charles promises to grant C.C.'s wish after they activate Ragnarok so maybe there's a way to die even after that. But it still doesn't explain why C.C. needed to take any part in this "project".)

Then V.V. becomes jealous of Marianne, thinking she's changing Charles and he's enjoying two of them just understanding each other, he feels left along and fears that Charles reconsiders their promise.

(Question two: Why did he think so? Didn't Marianne support the vow? She was rather a useful helper for their vow to be fulfilled rather than being a hindrance.
We have only his words to support the idea that she was changing him, and all her actions after appearing in the Sword of Akasha show she was with him all the way.)

So he kills her. Then he "sets it up". Rewatching it again, it seems it was just dragging Nanally under Marianne and reshooting everything again (everybody lies at the same place as in the original shooting).

(Question three: How he and his underlings did it?
She was small, but sane girl, how could he make it possible without rewriting her memories? And if he did, Charles would know that it was V.V. who kills Marianne, I mean, openly knew. And seems like he didn't, as V.V. felt somewhat safe after lying to him that he knew nothing about Marianne's death.)

Marianne transfers her mind into Anya with Geass and finds out she can talk with C.C., so she tells her everything and C.C. leaves. Now comes the real trouble for my brain.

(Important question four: Why did she leave? Knowing that Marianne's death didn't stop their plan with Emperor one bit and she was once with them. If you try to say it was because Marianne couldn't serve a Code-giving material any more, then it could be the Emperor, just as he tried later in the series.)

Following question four comes the question (I can be united) why didn't she return after being asked so, and why was it "Marianne couldn't convince her"?

Then Emperor rewrites Nanally's memory
(Question five: how and to what? she already had fake memories (that came from where? ref. question three) but they had to make sure that she won't ever come near to the truth.
Ok, assume that V.V. really was quite messy in simulating Marianne's death as I had pointed out before (although it's unprobable). Then why rewrite her memories? I mean, even if she understood what difference whould it make? I mean, ok, it would make a difference, but why danger? The only person this danger could come from was V.V, and he didn't know about rewritten memories. So he would continue to suspect them and probably would try to kill them anyway (as he tried with Lelouch).
Ok, version number two, more probable since Charles said "there needed to be evidence that she'll never get anywhere near the truth", it was for V.V. it was gone, on his eyes and to insure him the siblings will never find the truth. And how fooling should V.V. be to think after that (and I think Emperor would get access to the origianl memories to rewrite them and certainly get his doubts) that his brother doesn't know the truth? doesn't end up)

and Lelouch's memory too (it would seem) and then sends them away. (Somehow I'm able to buy Emperor's explanation of that. Ok, it would have been safer for them to be away. However, then he shouldn't have attacked Japan after sending them there. It was logic from the point of view that he only cared about Thought Elevators but not from the point of view he tried to explain. Remember how Marianne's expression changed when Lelouch demanded why they didn't stop the war? Seems like this part needs explaining too, it could be that she just never thought of it, but there might be also some hidden part behind this, make it question six.)

After that starts the real mess. I should have said that the next step is that after the idea Zero is connected with C.C. (let's remember what Clovis and Bradley did wasn't known to Charles or he would just take C.C. away - end of story) and then finding out it's Lelouch...
but there's one huge problem. Marianne talked with C.C during Black Rebellion. And even before. And it seemed that if Marianne was going as far as teasing her about being attached, she had a good idea it's Lelouch. So they should have known Lelouch is Zero and with just simple logic seaching Ashford should have been enough to capture C.C (even if they didn't know Lelouch's location, once they knew that he was alive next it's just a little investigation, and taking into account that the family who supported Lady Marianne had a school in Area 11)...
And even if we take it as they wanted something foolproof (and not scare C.C. away), then again, doing it while Lelouch and C.C. were in Ashford was way easier than later when C.C. never returned there).
But they decide to use Lelouch as bait to capture C.C. (really unrealistic, out of all possible ways using this with lots of difficulties and insecurities, although possible).
So I don't get their reasoning. And they're crazy, but certainly not idiots of this sort.

And finally, if she was so easily spotted by Anya when the time was right, why not before?


Now, for my own explanations in addition to what was already said as comments to the questions.
First, one should remember C.C.'s words to V.V. (I'm starting to really like C.C. as she seems to be a most mysterious character, if you pay attention to little details it changes your view dramaticly), she said it. V.V. was in love with Marianne. So what drove him to kill her might have been this. He intentionally mistaken his simple jealousy for Marianne standing it a way between him and Charles (which in this light was also partly true). This might answer question two.
Also I want to note that from his final act before death being repeating his vow to Charles, I think he really cared for Charles in his own a bit warped way. And we find out where this big brother(sister) complex in this family originates from.

That's facts. And now for assumptions. To answer question one and four we need to find a key for C.C. personality. It doesn't make sense for her to change her decisions like this unless... It was said once before. What if her real wish stayed the same from the time she got her Geass (and Geass answers person's wishes). What if although she didn't understand it herself, her wish was not just to die (we cannot say she does not wish to die) but also to gain happiness, to be loved before that?
That way it starts to make sense. She stayed with Charles, Marianne and V.V. because she felt like being part of a family of a sort (remember her telling Marianne that she was the only one to always tease her that way - why pay attention if she didn't actually enjoy it? and by the way, if she had watched Lelouch and Nanally from that time and actually became attached, it would explain why she was standing watching Lelouch and Suzaku in Japan as kids). And V.V.'s act actually destroyed that for her. She had seen their true form and didn't want to stay there any longer.
And then... we can see that through the series she became more and more reluctant to just play along. She had doubts when she almost had her Code taken by the Emperor. Consciously she thought that it was her wish, what else could there be to it, but unconsciously she felt like something wasn't right. Lelouch made her understand that. Marianne said that it was her (and not just accident) who sealed her own memories. maybe it was just after understanding what she wanted. After her memories being forced to return, she became reluctant again, wondering what was right to do, and then finally deciding (as she told Charles and Marianne she realized they were just doing it for themselves.)

This all is quite ground-breaking in the field of C.C. real personality, but it certainly fits. So I would appreciate hearing your opinions on this theory (and your own ideas as well).

And in the end, about question six, I still haven't found a conclusion to that, but it hints that Lelouch was truly right and they were actually putting all the blame on V.V. who was already dead and couldn't defend himself. I'm just too focused on thir (Charles and Marianne) theory now to see what actually is a solid fact and what is just their story and thus could be just fake. But remembering about V.V. being quite good "big brother" in a way, he might actually be bette than they try to make him be.
Also I feel that the worst one is really Charles, and Marianne does actually like her children like mother should as Lelouch's words made impact on her from time to time. But seems like she really did possess a childish personality as shown by her moves and she never really tought about what being a mother was truly about. She had her mind full of other things. But she might have made quite a good one if she did think about it and Charles & V.V.'s influence wasn't as high.

P.S. I'm still in the process of editing this so it's not the first post actually, but it does give the general idea.