Fate Testarossa

"She has such beautiful, kind eyes... Yet, for some reason, she really looks... incredibly sad."

- Nanoha to Fate

Fate Testarossa is a heroine from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. She is voiced by Nana Mizuki. In the first season, Fate is a mage from the Garden of Time, who is sent to collect Jewel Seeds, which puts her at odds with her rival, Nanoha Takamachi. She is aided on her quest by an animal familiar, a mature dog-woman named Arf.

Name
Fate's original surname refers to Ferrari Testarossa. She changes her name to Fate Testarossa Harlaown (commonly shortened to "Fate T. Harlaown") afer being adopted into the Harlaown family by the end of A's.

Personality
Fate is a very serious and strong-willed person. At first, she was rather cold to Nanoha, but starts to show her kind and protective side after realizing how much Nanoha has reached out to her. Learning of her own origins has led her to question herself, and at times wonder about her own worth, but after seeing Alicia in the Book Of Darkness, she has come to see herself as her own person. She is especially driven to solve incidents similar to the one that happened with her mother, and ensure that other children do not have to suffer like she did. Fate tends to worry about others fairly often, especially Nanoha in wake of the incident in which she was nearly crippled, and her children, Erio, Caro and Vivio. As a result, she is more permissive and protective as a parent than Nanoha, running over to Vivio when she trips rather than having her come to her. Despite her toughness, she is shown to be very shy at times, often blushing several times in the anime.

In Nanoha
Fate first appears in episode 4 with her familiar Arf and her Intelligent Device Bardiche, materializing in the Uminari City in search of Jewel Seeds. It is soon apparent that not even Fate knows why she is looking for these specimens of Lost Logia, but she does not care, stating, "I must get them, because my mother wants them". Fate is not impressed by her young, naive rival, Nanoha, and tells her that her quest is worthless, but Nanoha's steadfast dedication to reforming Fate gets to her heart, and she begins to wane. However, this does not impress Fate's mother, Precia Testarossa, who tortures the girl for not getting all the Jewel Seeds. Fate remains loyal despite Arf's protests; she remembers a time when Precia was kind and stable, and thinks that the Jewel Seeds will cure her mother's insanity.

Fate teleports to her home from the top of an office building with complicated coordinates and magic. Her home is in a gloomy hideout in the Garden of Time with her mother and Arf, sharing a room with the latter. She appears in the city whenever she senses a Jewel Seed, as she has no school and nothing else to do. This is also the reason why she spends much of this season in her transformed state.

Late in the series, Arf strikes out at Precia, and is thrown out as "useless" who ends up with Nanoha's friend Alisa Bannings. Fate finally starts to question her mother's motives, as Arf has always been there for her, but still refuses to join Nanoha and fully accepts her challenge to a winner-takes-all battle for the Jewel Seeds. When Fate loses, Precia appears and steals the Jewel Seeds. Fate tentatively joins up with the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and it is revealed that her memories of the past were copied, and that she is a clone of Precia's biological daughter, Alicia Testarossa. Fate does not take this news too well and collapses after Precia shows that she truly hates her. She attempts to convince Precia to give up by, saying that she is still her daughter because she created her; the madwoman however laughs in her face, and states that the Jewel Seed collection was an attempt to reach the legendary Al-Hazard and resurrect Alicia, and tells her that ever since Fate's creation, Precia has despised her.

Fate collapses after hearing this and upon coming to, realizes that she has caused Arf a considerable amount of pain by not listening to her, and that Nanoha has always tried to reach out to her, before going into the Garden of Time to help them. Fate, still very hurt, attempts to save Precia, but is rejected by her as Precia who chooses to be with the preserved body of Alicia falls into a dimensional rift. Fate later then accepts Nanoha as a partner and a friend, and even though she is arrested for what she did for Precia, promises to come back as she will probably be acquitted of all charges, seeing as she only did this for her mother and not for selfish reasons.

After the main events of the series, in the third Sound Stage, Fate stays aboard the Asura, having moved from her cell in the brig to her own room. She keeps in touch with Nanoha via video letters, and is not bothered by being unable to contact her in real time. She learns that Lindy Harlaown is considering adopting her, but is unable to give an answer until she comes to terms with how she feels about Precia. She trains alongside Chrono, whom she comes to see as an older brother, and eventually reaches AAA-rank.

In A's
In A's, Fate and Arf join the Time-Space Administration Bureau, as a temporary mage, and go back to Earth to team up with Nanoha again. She arrives barely in time to save Nanoha who had just been beaten by Vita, Fate manages to hold her back until Signum arrives, where she is beaten as well, even having Bardiche cut in half, though Fate managed to use her recovery ability to fix Bardiche. After Nanoha breaks the barrier and has her Linker Core stolen in the process, the Wolkenritter withdraw, and Nanoha and Fate's injuries are treated. Nanoha regrets that their reunion had to happen this way, but tells Fate she is happy to see her. Fate has a post-trial interview with Admiral Gil Graham, accompanied by Chrono and Nanoha.

Nanoha introduces Fate to her friends, Arisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura, as a transfer student (though they had already met via Nanoha and Fate's video messages), and Fate has to get used to civilian life on Earth, due to the situation, as the Asura was being repaired and the crew was living on Earth for the time being. She also has a new mother figure in Lindy Harlaown (who later adopts Fate). Early on in the season, Bardiche is upgraded, along with Nanoha's Raising Heart, to be able to compete with the Wolkenritter's Belka type Armed Devices, and is renamed "Bardiche Assault" which also now uses the cartridge system similar to that of the Wolkenritter's weapons. Nanoha and Fate later in the season, meet a sickly girl, Hayate Yagami, after being introduced by Suzuka, who is actually the master of the Book of Darkness. Later by accident, when visiting Hayate who was being hospitalised during the time, Fate and Nanoha meet the Wolkenritter, and finds out that Hayate is the master of the Book of Darkness, and the reason why the Wolkenritter are collecting pages for the book. After Fate and Nanoha face of against the Wolkenritter, who do not wish for them to escape knowing their master's identity. However the match is interrupted by the two masked men (later revealed to be the Liese twins), who trap Fate and Nanoha in magical binds and a barrier and impersonating them, to make Hayate think that it was Fate and Nanoha who killed the Wolkenritter (as the masked men used their Linker Cores to fill the last pages of the Book of Darkness). Then Fate along with Nanoha are forced to fight Hayate, as the Book of Darkness, however during the fight Suzuka and Alisa discover Nanoha and Fate's true identity when trying to protect them from Hayates attack. Fate is later then captured by the Book of Darkness and thrown into a dream from which she will never want to wake; with a happy life with older sister Alicia and a sane, kind Precia. However, Fate remembers that her friends need her, and says a sad goodbye to the life she always wanted in favour of the life she has now. With the help of the Wolkenritter and Hayate herself, they cure both Hayate and the Book of Darkness, which transforms into Reinforce, Hayate's partner and weapon.

In the third sound stage, Fate, having come to terms with herself due to her experience meeting Alicia, tells Lindy that she would like to be adopted, and starts calling her "Mom."

In an epilogue taking place six years later, Fate is older, has been adopted by Lindy Harlaown, and working for the TSAB along with Nanoha and Hayate who are now junior high schoolers. She has now changed her name to Fate T. Harlaown, with the T an abbreviation for Testarossa.

In the manga
Two official manga series expand on what happens to the characters between the second season A's and the sequel of A's, StrikerS.

In the epilogue issue of the A's manga series, stated as being five months after the conclusion of the A's anime, Fate is depicted as having enrolled as a cadet officer the TSAB and has now been officially adopted by Lindy Harlaown.

The ongoing StrikerS manga series begins six years after the events of A's which shows the introduction to the Gadget Drones, before jumping ahead four more years to a timeframe just prior to the events of the StrikerS anime series. In it, Fate is in her third year of junior high school. She has now achieved the rank of Enforcer and acts as an investigator for the Interdimensional Navy of the TSAB, though she had to take her officer's exam three times before she passed (a fact which Signum continues to tease her about) because she was too worried about Nanoha's condition at the time, where Nanoha's body was severely damaged due to the fact that she put to much stress on her body by training too much. She has also assumed guardianship for Erio Mondial, a six-year-old boy who had been rescued by Fate during an unspecified incident involving a Lost Logia, though officially Lindy is Erio's adoptive parent due to Fate's age at the time and is technically his older sister.

In StrikerS
Fate is now a 19-year-old commissioned officer of the TSAB, who has matured a lot since A's and is kinder to people, especially children. She lives on Earth in Uminari City with Lindy, who has retired from her position as Admiral, having had, as she says, too much excitement and is now currently seeking a desk job. Fate who went to school with Nanoha, Hayate, Suzuka, and Alisa. She later abandoned her battle uniform for a TSAB suit, the completed anime showed her in her Barrier Jacket, which appears to have grown to continue to fit her as with Nanoha's barrier jacket. She also seems to have gained a white cape, according to two promotional pictures; what the cape is for is to tell which squad she's in. In the manga, both the TSAB uniform and the Barrier Jacket are used with the Barrier Jacket overlaying or replacing the uniform when activated for combat situations. She is now the head of the Lightning Squad and is a captain of the Riot Force 6 at Mid-Childa along with Nanoha, and is a S+ mage without limiters, which is the second highest mage rank possible, and she is a AA mage with the limiters, 3 ranks down than she would be. She shows very great concern for her squad, particularly Erio, as she is his guardian and Caro Ru Lushe, a small child that she took in when no one else would, Fate takes her position as leader very seriously.

Fate is usually busy with investigating the Lost Logia incidents and sometimes helps Nanoha and Vita in training the new forwards of Riot Force 6, Subaru, Teana and her two fellow squad members Erio and Caro, usually Erio and Caro though. She is also the one who found out that the Gadget Drones were powered by small fragments of the Jewel Seeds, and also that the Jail Scaglietti was the one behind the Relic incidents. Later Fate becomes Vivio's godmother and looks after her with Nanoha (who becomes Vivio's guardian and later adopts her). During the second Sound Stage, Fate believes that Erio and Caro are hiding their problems from her, but Lindy reassures her that they are at an age when they want to become independent, and they show a desire to get stronger when they talk to her. Fate confronts two of the Numbers- Tre and Sette- during the attack on the Ground Forces' HQ. She manages to fight them off, but they eventually leave, warning her that she will not be able to defeat them next time.

Near the end of the season Fate heads down to Scaglietti's base in order to capture him, with aided by Sister Schach, who along with Verossa Acous, found the base using Verossa's ability Infinite Hunt, whilst the rest of Riot Force 6 go to stop the Saint's Cradle from reaching orbit. There, she is forced to fight another two Numbers, but the fight is interrupted with the entrance of Scaglietti and trapping Fate with a bind, while he reveals to Fate that he was the one who first created Project Fate and that her mother only perfected it. He also states that she is like her mother, who only took in Erio and Caro so that they won't deny her and obey her, causing Fate to doubt herself, but Caro and Erio tell her that they chose their own paths and tell Fate that they are wrong and not to listen to what Scaglietti says. This instantly makes Fate realise the truth, and she then proceeds to escape the bind and defeats the two Numbers, using her Riot Zamber and her new form, Sonic Drive, and then quickly captures Scaglietti. After Scaglietti is captured, the base begins to collapse and almost caves in on Fate and is saved by Erio. Later in the epilogue of StrikerS, Fate returns to duty in the Interstellar Navigation Bureau, along with Shario Finieno and Teana who is working to become an agent as Fates second aide.

In ViVid
Fate is still working as an Enforcer and along with Nanoha they are raising Vivio together as the Takamachi Family. She spends her mission-free time in the residence they share in Mid Childa. At the end of the first chapter, she is quite shocked to see Vivio in Sankt Kaiser mode, as Nanoha had neglected to tell her that Vivio was able to transform at will. In chapter 8, she takes a week off to organize a trip to Carnaaji for Vivio and her friends with Nanoha. On Carnaaji, she meets up with Erio and Caro, much to her delight, and participates in an intense magical workout with Nanoha, Subaru, Teana, Erio, and Caro. In chapter 10, she, Nanoha, Subaru, Teana, Caro, and Erio participate in a spectacular mock battle.

In the upcoming team battle on the second training day, Fate takes the Guard Wing position of the Red Team, opposing Erio. She is ultimately unable to defeat him despite going all out, and realizes that he has become quite strong. She spends some time as a family with Erio and Caro after the other two training matches of the day.

In Force
By the time of Force, Fate and Teana have split up. However, the two of them meet up again during chapter 1 as they have both been assigned to work on the same case. In her other appearances, Fate has been seen looking into and investigating the incidents that Touma and Lily have been a part of, as the two seem to have obtained items that Fate and the others are looking for.

In chapter 7, Fate is transferred to Ruwella to assist Signum, who has been engaging Cypha of Hückebein in battle.

In chapter 9, Fate appeared as the main-front of the battle with the Mage Slayers, the "Hückebein." Nanoha then stated, that Fate has become prototype user of the "5th Generation Device" (the upgraded Bardiche Assault), as opposed to Nanoha, Subaru and Vita who are the prototype users of the AEC Armament. She fights against Cypha until the Divide Zero Eclipse activates and she falls unconscious.

Following Thoma's escape, a brief truce is negotiated between the Bureau and Hückebein. The Hückebein eject their incapacitated mages from Esquad and Fate is escorting the latter to the Wolfram's opening hatch. When Deville of Hückebein uses his Short Jump ability to launch a surprise attack on Nanoha, Fate is able to intercept him, parry his Divider, and even inflict some minor injuries upon him. In the clash that follows, Fate's super-speed is more than matched by Deville's reacted mode and teleportation.

Movie
Fate appears in both The MOVIE 1st and The MOVIE 2nd A's, as well as in the MOVIE 1st manga.

Portable
Fate appears in both Battle of Aces and Gears of Destiny.

INNOCENT
Fate Testarossa is the second daughter of the Testarossa family. She is a Duelist at the beginning of the story, referred by her elder sister Alicia Testarossa as the "ace of Hobby Shop T&H."

Powers
Fate's magical abilities developed at an astonishing rate, according to Linith. Thanks to her lightning-type Mana Conversion Affinity, she learned electricity-based attacks faster than other magical types, something that her mother Presea also specialized in. At the age of seven, she had already mastered several abilities to the point of not requiring the incantations. Behind her tutor Linith's back, she also studied how to create and handle familiars. Her command phrase for her shooting abilities is "Fire!"

Fate specializes in mid-range and melee attacks, preferring speed to power and endurance. This was a result of the training that her mother demanded, which sacrificed the flexibility of a wide range of abilities for raw speed.[1] Fate is widely considered to be the fastest character in the Nanoha universe and is able to keep up with anyone without any speed-enhancing spells (which would make her even faster). After the events in Nanoha, she trains with Chrono to address the gaps in her initial training. Fate is an expert in aerial combat, on par with (if not better than) Nanoha herself.

Fate's personal incantation for the set-up of Bardiche is "Arcus Cultus Aegeas". Generally she uses this to concentrate her energies, especially before unleashing a powerful attack.

Barrier Jacket
Fate's Barrier Jacket is mostly black, resembling a swimsuit with an attached pink skirt and a number of maroon belts. It includes a pair of gloves, thick ribbons which hold her hair in pigtails, and laced shoes worn over long stockings. She has a gold jewel resembling Bardiche's Standby Form on her chest and each of her gloves, and can store Bardiche in one of them when not in use. Her Jacket also includes a high-collared navy cloak with maroon lining, though she does not wear it while out of combat. After Bardiche is upgraded to Bardiche Assault in A's, her Barrier Jacket gains two new forms: In StrikerS, Fate develops two more forms: In The MOVIE 1st, Fate's Barrier Jacket is close to its original appearance, but with brown belts. It has the jewels of Lightning Form and similar stockings, as well as a forked cloak. In The MOVIE 2nd A's Fate's upgrades her device Bardiche Assault, her Barrier Jacket upgrades as well, though she only obtains one new form:
 * Lightning Form is similar to her original Barrier Jacket which it replaces, with more protective power and some armor plates on her shoes and left glove. The Bardiche-like jewels become rectangular plates, and the top of her stockings change shape.
 * Sonic Form is a lighter variation of Lightning Form. Her cloak, skirt and stockings disappear, the main body of her Barrier Jacket extends to include a pair of shorts (causing her outfit to resemble athletic gear), and the wings of Sonic Sail appear on Fate's boots and arms, greatly increasing her movement speed. However, the defense of the Barrier Jacket is weakened, so it might be fatal if she is hit by powerful spells.
 * Impulse Form is Fate's new standard Barrier Jacket. It sports a completely new design that holds little resemblance with any of the other variations seen until then, incorporating a coat and a white cloak.
 * Sonic Drive, first seen in StrikerS ep.24, is the completed version of the old Sonic Form. Its appearance is similar to the old one, but without Sonic Sail. Fate's speed and offensive powers greatly increase in this form. Incantation to activate this form is "Overdrive, Shin Sonic Form".
 * Lightning Form: Fate keeps her Lightning Form from A's the only difference is that the part of her Barrier Jacket that resembles a swimsuit has a newer design.
 * Sonic Form: She also keeps her Sonic Form not has much changed from the design from A's she gains another armor plate on her left.
 * Blaze Form: With her will to protect those she cares about, and her past memories. Her Barrier Jacket's cloak turns white. As she embraces the future in every form. She also gains a skirt within a skirt.

Trivia

 * Fate's appearance and role may be yet another reference to Gundam universe in the Nanoha franchise. Whereas Nanoha's Barrier Jacket has been styled after Amuro Ray's RX-78-2 Gundam, Fate falls into the "blond archrival" archetype from the Gundam metaseries, patterned after Char Aznable, Amuro's own archrival. Like Amuro and Char, Nanoha and Fate end up teaming up in the second season, but unlike them, their cooperation lasts.
 * Fate's Namco collaboration costume in Gears of Destiny is a Klonoa cosplay.
 * Rachel Alucard from BlazBlue bears a striking visual resemblance to Fate.