It's a well written ending to the fight, but, while I could definitely see the mayor eating Faith as part of the Ascension, I read him as genuinely caring about her. Nah, I don't buy into this version of events... but you get points for writing quality :)

...

Okay... On hearing that Faith had actually killed Buffy, I could see the mayor throwing a small and tasteful party, asking himself 'What now?', mulling it over for a few seconds/minutes, then calling in the death squad.

If you had a scene where the mayor was plotting to kill Faith that took place before Buffy's battle with Faith, maybe I'd have something to object to.

As it is, after careful thought, I concede :)

See my view of the mayor was that he always knew just what to give someone to get exactly what he wanted. That's how he was able to remain in Sunnydale for over a hundred years without anyone digging too deeply into what he really was. He was always good with the flattery and pleasant personality (ex. complimenting Snyder just before the graduation). This seemed even more apparent during his video tape to Faith after her coma, when he flat out told her she was nothing without him and her time was running out. That seemed to me to be how he got her to use the body switching device. Once again just using Faith for his own ends even after he had died.

All that being said, I'm glad you liked the writing....Thank you.