59

59 is the slash ship between 5 and 9 from the 9 fandom.

9 (Short 2005)
The short starts with 9 holding the talisman, reminiscing about the time when 5 was still alive. He then has a flashback of just the two of them together, with 5 chiding 9 for being careless. The Cat Beast is then alerted to their hiding spot, taking 5's soul with the talisman. Full of grief, 9 kills the Cat Beast and takes the talisman. Back in the present, 9 realizes what must be done and prepares a funeral for the fallen eight ones that came before him. Before his soul dissipates, 5 gives 9 a smile and a small nod.

9 (Movie 2009)
In the movie, 5 first sees 9 after the latter fought the Cat Beast, which had captured 2. 5 is immediately concerned when he sees 9 clutch his damaged arm and collapse, disobeying 1's rule to never go outside to rescue him. He patches 9's arm up while he's sleeping, but when 9 wakes up he assumes that the eyepatched doll holding a knife up to him is threatening him, but 5 quickly explains that he was just trying to help. When 5 mentions that 2 would've done a better job fixing 9, 9 gets excited, telling him that he has met 2. However, 5 is devastated learning that 2 had been captured by the Cat Beast, with 1 and 8 showing up uninvited to remind 5 of 1's philosophy of never going outside because it's dangerous. 5 was risking a lot by rescuing 9, with 1 explaining that since the Great World War, the stitchpunks made a pact to always stick together: Anyone who goes missing outside is automatically dead to 1. However, 9 hears how 2 was the one who helped 5 when he lost one of his eyes, making 9 realize how deeply 5 cares about 2.

Meeting on 5's tower, where he used his telescope to spot 9 the first time, they talk about 1 and why 5 bothers to listen to him. He recognizes the factory as the place where the Cat Beast went with 2 in its clutches, and reminds 5 that 2 is one of his closest friends and someone has to save him. 5 at first refuses, but when 9 suggest himself venturing out alone, he is convinced to accompany him. They travel to the factory on foot and find 2's light bulb hat. To make traversing the factory easier, 9 creates a light bulb staff out of pieces of the hat and some nearby scrap, with 5 praising 9 and telling him that 2 would be proud. They find 2 in the factory, but the happy reunion between 2 and 5 is interrupted by the Cat Beast, who had previously tried to put 9's talisman into an outlet. The three of them are saved by the timely arrival of 7, who decapitates the Cat Beast, causing the group to briefly celebrate. However, 9's curiosity gets the better of him and he puts the talisman into the outlet, 2 then frantically tries to remove it again. However, a green light emits from the talisman, sucking the lifeforce out of 2 and only leaving his lifeless body behind.

5, 7 and 9 then run as the Machine awakens, managing to escape the factory before it could claim their souls as well. Outside, 5 is furious at 9, violently shaking his shoulders and asking him why reawakened the Machine. 9 calms him down, telling him that he didn't know what was going to happen. When 9 questions what the Machine is, 7 is determined to give them answers, taking 5 and 9 to an abandoned library. There they meet the twins, 3 and 4, whom 5 is very happy to see as he previously thought they were dead. 7 tells the twins to explain the Machine's origins, with 9 learning that the Fabrication Machine was designed by the Scientist as an inventive tool creating new things from scrap, but was then forcefully repurposed as a war machine creating weapons, hating its new purpose so much that it turned against humanity. 5 tells 9 that all organic life was wiped out by the Machine using toxic gases, but 9 mentions the talisman having strange symbols on it, which reminds 5 of the symbols 6 always draws.

Against 7's wishes, 5 and 9 return to 1's church, hoping to get answers out of 6's drawings, but they get captured by 8 who takes them back to 1. 1 is unwilling to listen to them, being far more concerned about 9 reawakening the Fabrication Machine and getting 2 killed. As punishment, he tells 8 to subjugate them. However, 1's ramblings are interrupted by the arrival of the Machine's latest creation, the Winged Beast. It attacks 1, leading to 7 coming back to save everyone and working with the rest of the stitchpunks to destroy it. However, during the fight, the church catches fire, leading to the group having to find a new hiding place.

While they plan on how they should attack the Machine, 8 gets captured by another creation of it, the Seamstress. Soon, 1 and 5 also fall victim to it using 2's lifeless body as a flickering lightsource, causing any stitchpunk who looks at it to become completely motionless. 9 tries to avert 5's gaze from it, but 7 rushes in to fight the Seamstress. Though 9 manages to rescue 1, 7 gets captured instead. The remaining ones then give 2 a proper funeral before chasing after it, with even 1 abandoning his philosophy as 8 had also been captured. Outside the factory, 9 insists to 5 that he's going solo, telling him that he needs 5 outside to set a trap for the Machine. Inside the factory, 9 fails to save 8, but manages to retrieve 7 and they try to escape the factory trough one of the oil tunnels. 5 and 1 meanwhile prepare the trap, setting an oil barrel on fire to enact a chain explosion, surely destroying the factory and the Machine inside. However, 5 gets cold feet when he sees 7 and 9 running their way, with 1 insisting that they should set the trap anyway. Luckily, 7 and 9 manage to escape unharmed, the factory being destroyed just as planned.

Celebrating their survival, the remaining ones listen to "Over the Rainbow" and generally fool around. However, when 5 is chasing another vinyl record towards the factory, he notices a red light and mechanical arms in the fog. He quickly realizes that the Machine survived the explosion and is now mobile without the factory, running to the others to warn them. However, they only notice the Machine when it is already in the process of sucking out 5's soul, with 9 panicking about being unable to do anything.

Before getting his own soul sucked out, 6 realizes that the souls of their fallen are trapped within the machine, telling 9 so before they destroy it. 9 is then adamant about regaining the talisman through non-destructive methods, but 1 and 7 shoot down any reasoning that the Machine shouldn't be destroyed. Going back to the source, like 6 told him before he died, 9 finds a message the Scientist left behind for him, telling him that 9 and all of his friends are fragments of his soul and the only thing capable of stopping the Machine. He also shows 9 how to properly use the talisman, with 9 managing to convince 7 of it while she's preparing an attack with 1, 3 and 4.

Finally getting 1 to listen to him, 9 intends to sacrifice himself as payment for getting the others killed, allowing for 7, 3, 4 or 1 to take the talisman. However, 1 shoves 9 out of the way, sacrificing himself instead and 9 finally takes the talisman, sucking the souls of his friends back out of the Machine.

The story ends again with 9 giving the five fallen ones a funeral, with 7, 3 and 4 attending. The souls of them are released from the talisman, 5's soul specifically looks back at 9, awaiting permission to also pass on like the rest. 9 nods, and then basks at the rain allowing for nature to be restored with 7, 3 and 4.

Fanon
59 is the second-most popular ship for 9 (the character), but only one of many 5 ships in the fandom. It is considered the biggest rival for 79, largely due to their close bond with many claiming that 9 had better chemistry with 5 than with 7.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION