Bakeene () [Rhett Butler ()]

History: The story of the inhuman creature known as Bakeene actually begins during the time of the Silver Millennium when he was a member of the Seven Great Youma of the Dark Kingdom, a heptet of monsters of unknown origin who were loyal to Queen Beryl and participated in her invasion and attempted conquest of the Moon Kingdom hundreds of years ago. Thanks to the power of Queen  
Serenity, however, he and his six compatriots were each imprisoned within seven separate shards of the Illusion Silver Crystal - fragments that eventually came to be known as the Rainbow Crystals due to the correspondance of their individual hues with one of the seven primary colors - and carried to Earth where they were reincarnated centuries later with no memories of their prior existences as Youmas. In this particular instance, Bakeene - who had been sealed within the violet Rainbow Crystal - was reborn in the latter half of the 20th century not as a human being like his compatriots but instead as a cat with the rather unusual given name of Rhett Butler.  
                Little is known about either the history or the personal life of Rhett Butler, save that he was the loyal and much beloved pet of an adorable young girl named An Ohara, the latter of whom found herself chasing the former more often than not whenever he decided to suddenly rush off on one of his adventures. It was on one such occasion that Rhett encountered the talking cat Luna - who had inadvertantly become involved in a feline turf war going on between Tokyo alleycats - and, after rescuing her from harm through sheer force of intimidation, became instantly smitten with her. The normally silent and expressionless tomcat demonstrated his affection by licking Luna's wounded tail and attempted to snuggle up to her, though he immediately desisted upon hearing the worried calls of his owner and returned to her without incident. As fate would have it, the two felines were soon reunited when Luna accompanied Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, and Makoto Kino to the Ohara residence after both they and Zoisite managed to track the final Rainbow Crystal to that location, though neither party was aware that it was Rhett - and not An - who had the gem in their possession. Sensing that his love interest was in danger once more, he immediately sped off and again managed to rescue her from a pack of alleycats, though he sustained an injury to his right foreleg and the two of them ended up trapped and unconscious in the vast sewer system beneath the city of Tokyo. 
                Upon regaining consciousness, the two cats attempted to make their way out of the sewers. It was during this time that Luna - much to her shock - discovered that Rhett had developed a crush on her after noticing his wound and asking if his motivation for rescuing her was because he had fallen, a question to which she received a fierce, silent blush from him as a response. Before they could pursue the matter further, however, they were interrupted by Zoisite, who had deduced the true identity of his target and managed to track him down with the Black Crystal when his attempt to acquire the Rainbow Crystal from An Ohara failed. Following a long, harrowing chase which ended in a canal and despite a temporary reprieve granted him due to the intervention of Sailor Mars, Rhett Butler was finally deprived of the violet Rainbow Crystal residing within his body, causing him to revert back into his original form of Bakeene. Though ordered by Zoisite to attack Sailor Mars, Bakeene paused momentarily after Luna attempted to stop him, and a combination of viewing the injury he had sustained previously - which had carried over into his monstrous new form - her appeal to him and promise to change him back to normal after he once again saved her when she lost her footing and fell, and perhaps even a faint remembrance of the feelings he held for her bought the newly arrived Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter enough to time to snatch Luna from him, after which Sailor Moon prompty used her "Moon Healing Escalation" to restore his feline form. Apparently no worse for the wear in spite of his nightmarish experience, Rhett Butler was returned to the waiting arms of his young owner, though it remains uncertain as of this writing whether or not he managed to come to terms with his feelings for Luna or if the two of them ever came to a mutual understanding.   
                Several months later, Rhett Butler once again found himself at the center of an evil plot when he and several of his fellow Rainbow Crystal carriers were abducted and imprisoned within the Black Crystal by Prince Endymion - then a brainwashed servant in the thrall of the Dark Kingdom - as part of an attempt to reunite the Seven Great Youma so that they would come together and unite to form a single, unimaginably powerful monster capable of eradicating the Sailor Soldiers once and for all. Thanks to some clever outmaneuvering on the part of Sailor Mercury, however, the Black Crystal was destroyed before this event came to pass and Rhett Butler and the others were freed from the Dark Kingdom's clutches, apparently suffering from no ill effects despite their ordeal. It is presumed that, following this last event, Rhett Butler's life - as well as those of his fellow Rainbow Crystal carriers and his loving owner An Ohara - has finally returned to a state of normalcy.      

Height: Estimated at 7'6'' (230 cm), never accurately measured (as Bakeene); estimated at 2'4'' (71 cm); never accurately measured (as Rhett Butler) 
Weight: Unknown (as both Bakeene and Rhett Butler)  
Eyes: Yellow (as both Bakeene and Rhett Butler)  
Fur: Light and dark blue (as Bakeene); light blue (as Rhett Butler)  

Abilities: In his feline form, Rhett Butler possessed no known supernatural powers, though he was remarkably nimble, agile, strong, and quick for once so incredibly fat. His seeming ability to sense when Luna was in danger suggests that he may possess a latent form of clairvoyance - the psychic ability to perceive distant or concealed things - though this could just as well be attributable to his own inherant heightened animal senses. It is unknown what abilities Bakeene may have had in his Youma form since he never got the opportunity to demonstrate any powers he may have possessed, but is said to have been the most powerful of the Seven Great Youma with claws capable of ripping through solid titanium. He could apparently merge with his fellow Seven Great Youma to form a single, incredibly powerful, shadowy demonic entity, though, fortunately for the Sailor Soldiers, he never got the opportunity to demonstrate this ability.
Paraphernalia: Rhett Butler could throw a fish skeleton with remarkable precision - in much the same as Tuxedo Mask does his roses - an interesting trick considering his lack of proper hands. :)  

Japanese Voice Actor: Masahiro Anzei  
North American Voice Actor: Unknown  
  
This entry first appeared on: December 10, 2000 
This entry was last modified on: December 10, 2000 

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