Hm...
I'm remembering this one time I was talking to someone about Kliff (I think we were discussing favorite NSR characters), and they said something to the effect of wanting them to have a redemption arc. (Well, it wasn't that *they* wanted it, it's more like they were insinuating that it's what *I* would have wanted because I like him.)
And, I think that just completely misses the point.
I don't think Kliff can be redeemed in any meaningful way because he represents what Mayday would have become had she not realized her mistakes. It doesn't make sense to redeem him if Mayday has completed that arc lest we re-tread old ground. The only place where it makes sense for him to be redeemed is if there's a greater evil to compare him to or if there's a different lesson that he has to learn.
For what it's worth, I realize that DSYNC B-side can read like a Kliff redemption arc, but that's not the point. For the most part, B-Side is supposed to be about Kerinting healing from the trauma he suffered as a 1010, but the root of the problem is NJ (or rather the system he's created as a result of his own trauma). Compared to being overworked, bullied, and ignored, being indebted to a guy that's willing to treat him with the bare minimum of human decency was an upgrade for Kerinting.
But Kliff is not supposed to be particularly kind in this AU. From what I can tell from the original game, Kliff specifically has a negative reaction to "abandonment". He considers the feeling of being "ditched" by Tatiana to be "pure and utter hopelessness," and he only lashes out at B2J when they firmly cut ties with him.
The main logic for him sympathizing with Kerinting is that he can't bring himself to "inflict" abandonment on someone else, especially after witnessing it happen, with the bonus that having a super robot that might contain some of NSR's secrets could be beneficial in other ways. His motivation is not "kindness." As corny as it sounds, it's a trauma response.
As with most people, Kliff sees Kerinting as something he can benefit from, so he keeps him around out of convenience. I never really got to it, but Kliff does impart some toxic ideals onto Kerinting that they both have to unlearn. It's only after a significant amount of time together, and after Kerinting almost "dies," that Kliff even recognizes Kerinting's value as a "life" that has intrinsic value.
I would consider that a small character arc, but I'd hardly call that a redemption arc because I think these traits are present in the original material.
