This was a Sims 2 game I played many years ago, that was one of my favorite stories to come out of the game. I might not remember it all well, but that's what dramatic license is for.

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The mysterious Mr. Black moved into an apartment building in Veronaville. He wasn't particularly interested in the drama of the Capps or the Montys, rather, he was interested in some strange things that drew his attention from whatever corner of the world he actually came from. Little was actually known about the origins of Thomas Black, after all. He was a dark, frightening mystery in Veronaville. And his mysterious nature would become the town's greatest mystery.

Thomas was a charismatic, but dark figure, and he had a way of charming people. He was a regular at the Crypto Night Club, one of the places where he sought his own mysteries. Because while by day, Thomas was a tinkerer fascinated by machines and science, by night he was looking into less rational things. It was said that Mr. Black became close to the creatures of the night, the master vampires themselves. Yet he walked openly in the daylight, and he himself was not a vampire. That is not to say he was ordinary, however.

One night, Thomas Black located a dark witch, and cajoled her into teaching him her gifts. Thomas began his studies into magic, which was the true purpose of his travels. He sought to understand both science and magic, and this was the place he could do so.

Shortly after arriving, Thomas became involved with a young woman named Cassandra. His girlfriend was one of the few normal, mortal people not to shy away from Mr. Black. For her sake, she might have been better off avoiding him.

Mr. Black moved into his own home, a nice, decent-sized house with enough privacy to keep his cauldron and spells safe, and allow him to work on his greatest project: an android. It was an interesting house, filled with automated machinery invented by Mr. Black. The so-called Black House was of course, subject to talk even while Black was alive.

It is said that Mr. Black invited a vampire over to his house, perhaps in hopes of being bitten himself. What is said is that he invited Cassandra over, as well, and she met with the vampire. That night, Mr. Black invited her to move into the house, but he did something horrible. He asked the vampire not to bite him, but to bite her. So that she might live forever.

Cassandra was not pleased with her "gift", not happy when the sun rose and she was outdoors. That morning, Cassandra turned to ash. Mr. Black is said to have fought with death to save her, to no avail, and he changed that day. He rarely left his home, and spent his time studying magic to find a way to resurrect her. Then he never came out at all. The machines were silent. And when investigating, there was no trace to be found of Mr. Black.

After some time, a Scotsman named Jake MacGregor because obsessed with the stories of Mr. Black of Veronaville, who sought the dark forces of the city. Jake was a curious man, an aspiring writer, and he decided to make his debut with a book on Mr. Black. So he moved to Veronavilla, and attempted to retrace all of the steps Black had taken. Even to the point of studying machinery, to gain a better understanding of Mr. Black's mind.

Of course, it was Jake's obsession with Mr. Black that led him to meet a witch. A white witch, however. And he learned the ways of magic, as well. But unlike Mr. Black, he kept his distance from the vampires, except to discuss Mr. Black with them for his book.

Jake spent years in Veronavilla, coming to call it his new home. And unlike Mr. Black, Jake was welcomed by the community. His research was cut short by his need to have an actual life, to work and meet people. He was a frequent traveler, going on distant trips whenever possible.

Finally, Jake had become financially successful, and moved out of his tiny home, into an unowned, long-vacant house. The Black House. Where he could at last finish his research. He found no sight of Mr. Black, but he did find the machines and the android, 00000001 Black, broken and disabled. So Jake learned how to repair the robot, and 00000001 returned to "life". But he was not activated when Mr. Black disappeared, and knew nothing. And Jake lacked the skill to design machines of his own. It was only a minor hobby to him. But there was someone who could finish the work of Mr. Black. The robot he had made, which bore all of his own skills, including that of creating robots. 00000001 assembled two new robots himself, machines made by a machine. 00000010 and 00000011 joined the MacGregor household, but they did not choose the name Black, since they were not made by Mr. Black. As the second line of robots, they went by the surname 0010.

In order to raise money, and to devote more time into magic and the search for Thomas Black, Jake opened the Black Museum, turning the house into a tourist attraction run by the robots. It was popular enough that it kept a number of visitors around. Jake, however, kept into the back rooms, studying magic.

It's unknown how the magic lamp appeared, but a lamp was given to 00000011. She gave it to 00000001, who used it to wish to resurrected Thomas Black. And so the mystery of Thomas Black was solved by Thomas Black himself.

Black explained that he was searching for a way to revive Cassandra, but also working on building more machines. Trying to repair 00000001, however, he was electrocuted. The shock was so strong it vaporized him. The magic of the lamp gave to Mr. Black and Jake immortality, ensuring they would never grow old. Together, they researched the magic of life, and found a way to bring Cassandra back. Back, and fully human, and mortal. But when she returned to life, she still could not forgive Thomas. She left, never to speak to him again.

The house began to feel crowded, however, with the five of them. So 00000010 and 00000011 each moved out into the neighborhood, the first android citizen of Veronaville. They, of course, sought to reproduce their own families, and studied mechanics. Eventually, the city had a sizeable android population. 00000011, meanwhile, moved in with Bigfoot and they got married in the strangest ceremony ever.

Soon, though, Mr. Black was restless again. He was now immortal, and had learned everything he could from Veronaville. Being a museum attraction, being a local boogeyman, was not his taste, so he gave his house to Jake, and moved on. He was never seen again.

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Actually, it's been my intention if I ever get the supernatural expansion, to bring back Thomas Black (and Eliza Evil) in a new neighborhood to continue both of their stories.